Well, more of a rhetorical complaint :-)

Why is it that the simplest, most basic super-regenerative receivers (and even crystal sets, for cryin' out loud) are trading hands for stupid money?

I was looking for some Allied (Knight) amplifier information on a popular auction site and happened to notice this auction (with 4 hours left to go):

http://cgi.ebay.com/KNIGHT-KIT-OCEAN-HOPPER-SHORTWAVE-RECEIVER_W0QQitemZ320015859411QQihZ011QQcategoryZ4 673QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

http://www.nmia.com/~elecsurp/W1TT.JPG

up to $368-plus smackers!?!

Now, in the mid-1960's Allied had a "high end" super-regen receiver that even had an isolation transformer for the AC line :-)
I happened to notice one of those under completed auctions that went for a "mere" $71.25:

http://cgi.ebay.com/KNIGHT-SPAN-MASTER-4-BAND-RECEIVER-RADIO-NICE-ONE_W0QQitemZ170016997136QQihZ007QQcategoryZ15051Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://i10.ebayimg.com/01/i/07/fc/03/02_1.JPG

Now, if we extrapolate from these two data points, a decent, general coverage superhet receiver oughta be, what, maybe $10? :-)

effing weird sense of 'value' out there sometimes...

1) It is Old; therefore,
2) It is Valuable.
3) The Great Unwashed know no better- If "genny" sets are so good, why aren't they still makin' 'em ?
4) For what some Boobinson is gonna lay out for this set, he could have him a very decent Hallicrafters, or possibly, an R-390A...and THEN he'd have something. Regenerative sets have their place, but unless you wanna be constantly fiddling w/the dials, listening to it yowl 'n' yelp, you'd be better off spending yr money for a proper radio....

I suspect most are being purchased for nostalgic reasons, possibly something they owned as a youth and want to relive the experiance :scratch2: Certainly there are better receivers for the same of less prices.

Lefty

The nostalgia thing carries a lot of weight...although I don't think I'm nostalgic enough to cough up $368!!! Those old plug-in-coil "Ocean Hoppers" are somewhat rare, though...so many of them were trashed. (Or, as in my case, gutted and the parts recycled into another project!! Still have a few items from mine in the junkbox) One thing that irks me, though, is the crazy high prices people expect to get for a Halli S-120. "Rare Hallicrafters S-120!!" (kof, kof) How many hundreds of thousands did Halli punch out, anyway? And they'll often command higher prices than an S-38..a much cooler looking rig, IMHO. I must have 9-10 S-38s...at least one of each model...looking to eventually add an S-38EB (blonde cab) and an S-38EW (walnut cab). The original (no letter suffix) model is the best performer.

BTW...is it just me...or do others feel prices for Zenith T/Os have tamed down a bit? Mint examples command big bux, of course...but it seems ordinary radios are a bit more realistic. All we need now is for the Chinese to tool up a 1L6 line!