NPR Equipment Auction

[Chip Fetrow]

This auction has been on the broadcast lists for well over a month.   
In fact, I am on call for some possible winners to go get their  
equipment if they win.

It's over thirty years since I started my first broadcast job.  With a  
few breaks, I have 27 years under my belt.  I have some serious  
affection for a few of those pieces of equipment, but not single one  
of those total packages.

Herein lies the problem.  Each of those packages take up a lot of  
space, draw a lot of current, and are complex to wire properly (which  
was originally done, but entire studios/control rooms are not being  
paid intact.  Also, unless you bid on several lots, and win them, you  
are not getting a complete studio/control room.

The other issue is that while the 2A studio/control room cost well  
over $250.000, and with the build out, over $1M, that equipment is now  
worth maybe $5k for all the lots which make up the studio/control  
room.  Hey, it LOOKS impressive, but it isn't any longer.

Why?  You can buy a single box solution today that costs much less  
than that cost, would fit in the footprint of the bathroom in a small  
house, does more, much easier, is MUCH easier to upgrade, is digital  
with both digital and analog inputs, has MUCH better specifications,  
is MUCH easier to maintain, and is MUCH easier to operate.  Why do you  
think NPR is going digital?

These studio/control rooms were built over 20 years ago.  They HAVE  
been upgraded over the years -- note the lack of reel-to-reel tape  
machines and cart machines.  Most of the audio consoles -- which LOOK  
impressive -- are 1980 designs.

There are places for some of this equipment.  I use analog compressors  
to tame the loud commercials on TV.  IF the cable box had a digital  
audio out, and the amp had a digital input, I would use a digital  
compressor, though it would cost three times as much.

I could go on and on, but my suggestion to you is to wait for the  
speculators to buy all this stuff up, break it up and sell it on  
eBay.  You can get exactly, and only what you want, and the  
disassembly and shipping will not cost you an arm and a leg.

By the way, even though NPR SAYS they have many of the original boxes,  
they don't.  When I worked for NPR, we had a huge space intended for a  
"Performance Studio" for things like recording the NSO.  It was never  
built, so boxes were saved.  Then the move from M St. NW to a much  
bigger space on MA, Ave and basically there was little storage space.

On the other hand, it has been very well maintained -- the best  
maintenance our tax Dollars can buy.

The sad thing is, NPR could get a much higher ROI if they put every  
piece of equipment SEPERATELY on eBay, and made a deal with a UPS  
Store or Parcel place to pack and ship each piece of equipment.  This  
COULD be done with the cost paid by the winning bidder. This would  
have been a win/win/win.  Instead they just hired one of those bulk  
lot auction houses.

I have noodled around the idea of buying it all, renting a warehouse  
and sorting, packing and selling on eBay, but the job would be HUGE.

It's too bad for everyone, especially the tax payer.

--chip

On Apr 4, 2013, at 1:00 PM, tacos-request at amrad.org wrote:

> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 09:47:14 -0400
> From: Frank Eliot <feliot at his.com>
>
> NPR is going digital and is auctioning off literally tons of  
> equipment. The list plus bid info
> and instructions are at:
>
> http://rasmuscatalog.com/cgi-bin/mnlist.cgi?rasmus1544/category/ALL
>
> Bidding ends 15 April
>
> Frank, W3WAG