This kind of thing, it seems to me, might well be something the ARRL/QST
should be willing to shed a little more light and help on. Anyone know if
it has been suggested to ARRL to welcome, for example, at regional
hamfests some kind of large auction of such gear?

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On Tue, 7 Feb 2006, Ron in Radio Heaven wrote:

I am president of the Carolinas Chapter of the Antique Wireless Association.
One of the services our club provides to our members and their families
is the auctioning of estate collections at our annual conference in
Charlotte NC.

We have done a number of these over the years and so far we've
gotten several times what the family thought the junque was worth.

Last year there was so much stuff in the collection that we had to have
2 auctions. It took all day for seven people to load the collection
in a 30 foot race car trailer and then haul it 5 hours and unload it
in a warehouse. We then spent many, many hours cataloging
the collection for the auction and bagging small items in zip lock bags.
We then loaded it all in a u haul truck and unloaded it at the Sheraton.
At the time the club only charged 5% auction fee.
That's not much for all that work. It's 10% now.

An auction at a radio meet is by far the best way to dispose of items
like this. You may have to haul it to the site, but there's no shipping
or packing involved. And it's at an event where poeple have
pockets full of money and are looking for radios to buy.

Unless it's really rare, early gear, most museums are not going to want
it. The best thing is to get it in the hands of those that do.

73, Ron
cc-awa.org