Bob came back with a Kenwood tri-bander, but his failed. It overheated after an hour of operation. He bought it from Crazy Al's Used Rig Lot, where rigs purchased are guaranteed to crap out after an hour. I had a similar experience with Crazy Al a couple of years ago. He showed me a ICOM IC24AT that worked great. At least it worked great in his house and keyed the repeater that was on his bench. But when I got outside it wouldn't key any of the local repeaters. It took me an hour of stressful arguing with Al to get my money back. And Bob had to cancel his check.

The above vignette is from the Belton Swapfest, of last weekend. Bob's still having a rough time with Crazy Al, who unbelievably thinks he can get away with stiffing one of the most prominent members of the ham community in Austin. He just may have targeted the wrong guy for one of his "deals" this time. Because Bob is so well known and has the capacity to go ballistic if he's cheated.

Bob took two precautions, that are recommended for swapfest purchase. 1. He tested the rig right away, but in this case it wasn't enough because the rig had an intermittent logic problem that caused overheating after about an hour of operation. But it's a good idea to test anything you buy. He should have run the rig all the way home from Belton. 2. He wrote a check, and was waiting in line at the Bank at 8:01 am on Monday morning when they opened to cancel it before Crazy Al could get there and cash it.

Is there any way to put Crazy Al out of business legally? Otherwise, post it on your repeater site, write to the ARRL message boards and mass email everyone you know with Ham proclivities. Sometimes, going ballistic is the only way to get your point across! Caveat Emptor

Crazy Al is putting himself out of business by these repeated attempts to cheat local hams. Word is definitely getting around.

Excellent to know! How did Bob fall for his stuff? Bob is no babe-in-the-woods; was the deal too good to pass up?

No he didn't know about my previous bad experience. And he did write a check instead of giving cash. Had he given up cash, he'd really be crying now.

Yup...and Crazy Al'd be long gone! An aggravation, but not an expensive one, fortunately!

Well, yea... its me! Yup, I got lightly crisped at Last week's Belton Ham fest. As Paul said, I luckily did write a check..and stopped payment (first time ever)..and am now following my lawyer's instructions fully. How did I fall for Crazy Al's amazing exploding used radio deal? Well, it was a good price..and I am a trusting and fair fellow who will give the benefit of the doubt..assuming that people are basically good until proven wrong. In Al's case, I was wrong. I must say that I have never seen a person lie so blatently...and then so aggressively(with full NYC dialect) yell at me with counter-acusations. This guy is a criminal mastermind who preys on anyone who has the mis-fortune to cross his path. It is so dis-heartening to know people like this exist. So..we will see what happens. I am sure this is not the end of this issue. Updates will follow. Bob

Lightly crisped as in "burned"? When I bought that ICOM IC24AT from him that he misreprented, I had to pay hell to get him to open his safe where he had greedily and hurridly stashed my cash. He aggressively yelled at me too that I was "causing him grief". Al is indeed a criminal mastermind looking for his next subject to prey on with one of his illicit radio deals. It's too bad, or maybe it's good, that he picked on the wrong guy this time. He didn't find a passive, silent victim in Bob, and the whole local ham community in Austin will now know what a cheat Al Amendola, WA2FXZ really is. If they haven't found out already the hard way.

Aloha, Bob! Perhaps it is in your favor that he was so evil and you so honest. How could you know? I do not think that way, either, and I suppose I am a 'sitting duck' for the greedy and nefarious. Wise man that you are, you did write a check and stopped payment on it. I wish there were a way to put these guys out of commission for life. It is totally disgusting that he is a Ham, and that angers me even more. Hams are gentlemen, all! He is a disgrace! If you need more righteous indignation on your behalf, post again and we will rally to your cause! 3's n 8's

Howdy All One line to watch out for is "It worked the last time I plugged it in..." (i.e. did you last plug it 5 years ago. Was the radio between you and the door... Did you plug it in, then accidently spill beer in it...., etc.) One thing about old toob sets is that they usually smell pretty bad if a capacitor or transformer blew up in it. Its not uncommon to have to recap an old set anyway. The Chicago hamfests have their fair share of bottomfeeders at the local fests so you just have to be cautious when buying stuff. I generally avoid used gear if it is shrinkwrapped but obviously used. Also, a waterline stain half way up the rig chassis is kind of an indication too.... 73 de Mike

Waterline stain half way up... Good grief! Are you being facetious or is this something purchased from the Brooklyn swap and shyster meet?!

Har Har Nah, I once rescued some radios from a flooded out basement in Northern Illinois. Got 3 nice ARC5 receivers in the rack plus a cherry 100 watt ART13 transmitter. There was also a BC348 receiver but it had the waterline damage which was more than I wanted to deal with at the time - shame too since it was a nice WWII era radio. Also, the Brooklyn folks could probably learn a thing or two at some of the Chi swap and shyster meets! (no good deals on bridges though....) 3's and 8's de Mike

Yeah, you're probably right. Noo Yawk is a quick change artist's paradise. Chicage does not yet own the Brooklyn Bridge (do they?) but it was the home of Al Capone who was so crafty the only thing they could get him on was tax evasion. Well, if you hear of anyone who wants cheap land in Hawaii, I gotta lava flow...Get it while it's hot!!! 3's n 8's Masha da goil frum Geo