View Single Post
Old 11th Apr 2019, 3:10 pm   #22
dave walsh
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Ramsbottom (Nr Bury) Lancs or Bexhill (Nr Hastings) Sussex.
Posts: 5,814
Default Re: RA17 and AR88 cost when new?

I suspect Ian's original question will be very hard to answer in any direct terms. For example the ARR88 was an enormously subsidised, war time high quality production effort, despite only being a single IF model. It was a real Rolls Royce by comparison with it's predecessors, even the AR77 and remained so long after hostilities ceased. Money is no object when it comes to Military applications so it's difficult to do a real cost comparison. I know someone who works on fairly mundane items for Helicopters but the price and quality are both very, very, high.

Subjectively, in the 60's, an AR88 was generally the province of older/financially superior Amateurs and looked upon with some reverence. [Nobody ever mentioned the weight then ]. There was a common belief that they had "cost thousands" originally [pounds sterling presumably]. Unfortunately, I've just sorted and put out of reach, my mag collection while painting but I've found a private ad for an AR88LF in the RSGB Bulletin [Sept 67] at £30 and absolutely brand new AR88D's were available from A J THOMPSON [HERTS] in Practical Wireless [April 1965] for £75 [or £45 reconditioned and tested].

Both of those prices would have been well out of reach at the time. I got about six pounds a week as a teenager and £12+ was a good wage for an adult, if that gives any perspective. Even if you had more money there were always other priorities ahead of your hobby. David must have made a heroic effort to buy his AR88 [post 9] but there are always exceptions. Earlier generations accepted having to "strive and save" as a given perhaps but that achievement would have been impossible for many of us and as he says, took an [admirable] single minded approach for a year.

Dave W

Last edited by dave walsh; 11th Apr 2019 at 3:39 pm.
dave walsh is offline