Dawn
Member
Even though I've been in this business most of my life, I've always had a soft spot for all-in-one base/control stations. The combination of several useful instruments such as a clock, metering, speaker, power supply and other amenities in one physical box to me has been an ideal. That was the prevailing form factor up to the 80's across many disciplines. Somewhere along the spectrum, the ubiquitous mobile unit as base or control station with a seperate power supply has become the norm.
The driving factor is economy of scale. That's understandable in today's finance driven world. You're going to sell a heck of a lot of mobiles for every box base.
Without going into specifics, would you consider buying a 70's style base station?
I realize there are still a few in a rack form factor and I think the Galaxy 2547 is still available. None of these really parallel the clock and creature comforts like a front firing speaker or a clock, but do have a frequency counter. Still besides a power supply and metering, these are not an entire station in a box like those of old. Neither is the cosmetics that fit into a home or office decor.
It would probably be impossible at a reasonable price point to make a chassis like those of old. But for some, this would be a plus especially within a domestic setting such as a den rather then relagated to a male space or "shack". There's no reason a saturn, RCI, or galaxy can't be made with wooden end panels and the display alternately functioning as a clock for at least another $100usd for a visually aesthetic appearance.
I do restorations of older units. This appears to be a very sought after quality both in cb's and older Stereo equipment. I don't do wood, but have a guy that does wood and laminations.
If radios such as the old Couriers, Trams, even vinyl covered Simbas were to reappear in a new form. Would you buy them? Or is this something best left to the past with younger generations. Older folks seem to appreciate this quality rather then the mobiles or the high tech rack bases. There has been a divorce from technology as furniture from stereo and televisions to radio equipment. Would this retro appeal be acceptable today? I'm sure that wives would be more accepting to wood grained vinyl or wood in a communal space.
The driving factor is economy of scale. That's understandable in today's finance driven world. You're going to sell a heck of a lot of mobiles for every box base.
Without going into specifics, would you consider buying a 70's style base station?
I realize there are still a few in a rack form factor and I think the Galaxy 2547 is still available. None of these really parallel the clock and creature comforts like a front firing speaker or a clock, but do have a frequency counter. Still besides a power supply and metering, these are not an entire station in a box like those of old. Neither is the cosmetics that fit into a home or office decor.
It would probably be impossible at a reasonable price point to make a chassis like those of old. But for some, this would be a plus especially within a domestic setting such as a den rather then relagated to a male space or "shack". There's no reason a saturn, RCI, or galaxy can't be made with wooden end panels and the display alternately functioning as a clock for at least another $100usd for a visually aesthetic appearance.
I do restorations of older units. This appears to be a very sought after quality both in cb's and older Stereo equipment. I don't do wood, but have a guy that does wood and laminations.
If radios such as the old Couriers, Trams, even vinyl covered Simbas were to reappear in a new form. Would you buy them? Or is this something best left to the past with younger generations. Older folks seem to appreciate this quality rather then the mobiles or the high tech rack bases. There has been a divorce from technology as furniture from stereo and televisions to radio equipment. Would this retro appeal be acceptable today? I'm sure that wives would be more accepting to wood grained vinyl or wood in a communal space.
