We’re BAAAACCCCKKKKK! Not that anybody seems to have missed
us. The last couple of months Cousin QRM has been severely depressed due to SADD
(Sunspots Ain’t Doing Diddly), which have made the bands about as exciting and
sluggish as day old cold oatmeal. As a result, activities around the Lost
Island DX Society clubhouse have been at a lull.
But now it’s SPRINGTIME. A time when a young Big Gun’s (or Old
Phart’s) fancy turns to ANTENNAS! It’s time to nurture those small springs of
aluminum and steel that were planted last winter in hopes that they will
blossom into magnificent spires reaching to the heavens and sprouting stacked
arrays, or at least tribanders.
But even QRP DX’ers know that big antennas require an
infusion of See Eh Ess Ach to grow to the heights needed to bust that new Yemen
pileup. Short of a well-crafted Ponzi scheme involving P5 QSL cards, the
quickest way to raise some See Eh Ess Ach is your local hamfest. Those lovingly
cared for (cough) veteran rigs and amps of many past pileups and contests can
be traded to a sucker fellow ham for that all important infusion of See
Eh Ess Ach to feed your current habit of power and tower.
Every flea market scrounger knows that the one feature that
differentiates treasure from trash is ………The Original Box. Any radio or
accessory, regardless of its condition immediately doubles in price if it is
accompanied by The Original Box. Just catch an episode of one of those Roadside
Antique Picking shows and watch as the professionals wet their pants over the
most insignificant trinket, looking old and dirty, but …. in …. its …..
Original Box.
Let’s be honest though. How many of us still have an
Original Box for any of our gear? If we do, it beaten and dog-eared with the
corners rounded off. And the styrofoam inserts? Forget it. If they’re still
there, they’re cracked and crumbling. If you’re anything like me, and I hope
you aren’t, the Original Boxes you do have certainly won’t have any Antique
Picking Roadshow guru getting his undies even slightly damp.
But now there’s a solution! Dr. DX’s DX Industries and Pig
Pharma Industries have combined in a joint effort to bring you The Original Box
Company.
The Original Box Company can provide genuine Original Box
replicas for your old gear. Have a TS-520 or Drake 2B collecting dust in the
bottom of your closet? Double its value at the flea market or on ebay with an
Original Box, including foam or cardboard inserts. It might have 10,000 hours
of operation on the tubes, but with an Original Box it can pass for a gingerly
babied shelf queen and bring top dollar.
If you’re worried that showing up at the local swapmeet with
a battle worn KWM-2 in a pristine box will raise a few eyebrows, The Original
Box Company offers appropriate box aging as an option with all its boxes. By
giving an Original Box signs of gentle wear and aging, the value of the gear
can be enhanced without raising suspicions. Collectors and eagle-eyed flea
market junkies expect a modicum of wear and tear on an Original Box. A gently
worn box is testament to the excellent condition of the equipment inside it.
Original Boxes will be offered for Drake, Kenwood, Yeasu,
and Icom radios and accessories. Original Boxes for equipment prior to 1975 by
special order only. Box aging additional. See us at Dayton. Blue van with Texas
Bugcatcher on the rear bumper in the grass field across from HARA. Catch us
before you setup in the flea market.
Original Box
NOT in the Original Box
