I realize many here probably would never set foot into a thrift store, and sadly, this story isn't mine per se, but I think all of you will appreciate this.
A guy that I haven't seen in 35 years called me the other day, and said that his brother had found a reel to reel at a thrift store, and did I still work on electronics. Of course I said yes, and then his brother called, and said he grabbed it because it was made in Switzerland. My ears perked up. I asked if it was a Nagra, and he said YES, THAT'S IT! I was a bit skeptical, but he brought it over yesterday, and sure enough, it was a Nagra IV stereo unit. Zero accessories included, but all 12 D batteries were still in it (and worked!), but the unit was dead. I've never actually worked on a Nagra before, but saw that it was missing a dummy plug to connect the battery pack to the recorder. I used a jumper wire, and playback, even on weak batteries sounds amazing. I got no accessories with it, no AC adapter, no carrying case, but hey, it's a Nagra!
The paid price? A paltry $20 CDN, which is about $16 USD. I'm still shaking my head...
A guy that I haven't seen in 35 years called me the other day, and said that his brother had found a reel to reel at a thrift store, and did I still work on electronics. Of course I said yes, and then his brother called, and said he grabbed it because it was made in Switzerland. My ears perked up. I asked if it was a Nagra, and he said YES, THAT'S IT! I was a bit skeptical, but he brought it over yesterday, and sure enough, it was a Nagra IV stereo unit. Zero accessories included, but all 12 D batteries were still in it (and worked!), but the unit was dead. I've never actually worked on a Nagra before, but saw that it was missing a dummy plug to connect the battery pack to the recorder. I used a jumper wire, and playback, even on weak batteries sounds amazing. I got no accessories with it, no AC adapter, no carrying case, but hey, it's a Nagra!
The paid price? A paltry $20 CDN, which is about $16 USD. I'm still shaking my head...