Transistor Radio Battery Collection - Worth That Much?

[Watson A.Name]

Geez, it might make it past a hundred dollars! Crazy.

Ebay item # 2290094833 or
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2290094833&fromMakeTrack=true

 

[Anthony Fremont]

Geez, it might make it past a hundred dollars! Crazy.

Not so crazy IMHO, considering what people have been paying for
(virtually) useless old transistors. At least the batteries have some
visual appeal; I kinda like 'em. Besides, 21 new 9V batteries would
cost that much and not have nearly as much beauty. ;-)

I'd like to know how they were kept from leaking/corroding. Perhaps
simply waxing them with automotive wax would do it. Any thoughts on
that?

 

[Scott W. Harvey]

Not so crazy IMHO, considering what people have been paying for
(virtually) useless old transistors. At least the batteries have some
visual appeal; I kinda like 'em. Besides, 21 new 9V batteries would
cost that much and not have nearly as much beauty. ;-)

I'd like to know how they were kept from leaking/corroding. Perhaps
simply waxing them with automotive wax would do it. Any thoughts on
that?

Most of the dead 9 volters I have pulled from old transistor sets over
the years have been leak-free, and some of those obviously dated back
from the 60s and 70s (surprising how many people dumped these sets in a
drawer after the original battery died, rather than replacing it).

I think that the size of each individual cell (6 tiny 1.5v cells
contained in the envelope) and the way the batteries were sealed tended
to reduce the possibility of serious leakage. There just isn't as much
stuff that can leak out compared to a C or D cell.

-Scott





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[Michael Black]

Not so crazy IMHO, considering what people have been paying for
(virtually) useless old transistors. At least the batteries have some
visual appeal; I kinda like 'em. Besides, 21 new 9V batteries would
cost that much and not have nearly as much beauty. ;-)

Just before I got my ham license in 1972, I went to the local ham
club auction and got a box of tubes for about fifty cents. An older
guy came over, and asked if he could look through them. I said yes,
and he ended up with a few. Thinking about that now, I'm not sure
how I got talked out of them, except I didn't know much at the time.
He did offer to give me something in return, though what and where
was never defined.

But either he told me, or someone else did, that he collected tubes.
What a novel idea. So I half jokingly decided I'd collect transistors,
this had to be prompted by finding some CK722's at the local surplus outlet.
I knew even then that it had been an early transistor, though from posts
in recent years I suspect those hadn't dated from the early days.

But I never went anywhere with the scheme. One transistor did indeed
look like another, so there really wasn't much use to it all.

On the other hand, I do have a fairly large transistor collection, just
not kept for historical reasons. There have been some oddball cases,
especially in the early days. And if I went through the junk, I'd probably
have a wide selection of transistors in different cases to display.

Michael

 

[Jerry Greenberg]

I think anyone would pay for anything these days! I cannot believe
that a pile of old dead 9V transistor radio batteries would ever be
worth so much!!! Now I have seen everything. From all my years in the
TV and radio service business, I should have saved all my old garbage
that actualy cost me money to get rid of! I must have thown out
thousands of these types of batteries over the many years.


Jerry G.
========

 

[robert casey]

Geez, it might make it past a hundred dollars! Crazy.

I wonder who thought that "Flying Bomb" would make
a good brand name....

 

[Watson A.Name - \Watt Sun, the Dark Remover\]

Just before I got my ham license in 1972, I went to the local ham
club auction and got a box of tubes for about fifty cents. An older
guy came over, and asked if he could look through them. I said yes,
and he ended up with a few. Thinking about that now, I'm not sure
how I got talked out of them, except I didn't know much at the time.
He did offer to give me something in return, though what and where
was never defined.

But either he told me, or someone else did, that he collected tubes.
What a novel idea. So I half jokingly decided I'd collect transistors,
this had to be prompted by finding some CK722's at the local surplus outlet.
I knew even then that it had been an early transistor, though from posts
in recent years I suspect those hadn't dated from the early days.

But I never went anywhere with the scheme. One transistor did indeed
look like another, so there really wasn't much use to it all.

On the other hand, I do have a fairly large transistor collection, just
not kept for historical reasons. There have been some oddball cases,
especially in the early days. And if I went through the junk, I'd probably
have a wide selection of transistors in different cases to display.

Michael

Some people are more fortunate than others in that they're involved in
the industry that makes it easier to collect them. Like right now there
are transistors being auctioned on Ebay that were from the late Lou
Garner's estate. These were very likely given to him by the mfgr's reps
as samples just to experiment with. And they will probably bring a good
price on ebay.

For the rest of us, we just have to catch what we can when we come
across some parts being sold or given away. I got a few CK722s that
way, no one wanted them.

I was watching Antiques Roadshow and they showed a collection of
playbills(?) from the concewrts by the late concert promoter Bill
Graham. These are miniature posters, and the guy said he had all but
three. And those last three would probably cost a fortuner to acquire,
so his collection is probably as complete as it will ever get. Likewise
some stamps and coins are too rare for the average collector to acquire.
So no matter, be proud of your collection, no matter what it is or how
complete and rare it is.

http://www.walfredo.com/bill_graham.html

 

[You already know that]

I wonder who thought that "Flying Bomb" would make
a good brand name....

A fan of Doctor Strangelove?

"YEEEEEEEHAAAAAW!" Ride 'em Slim