Feeling a bit gutted today

[myPinballs]

I wouldn't normally post a message like this but i want to share this.

A guy who ran a uk electronics business died recently which was the source of many hard to find and rare ics from the 80s, some of which i use to make my replacement pinball boards.

Unfortunately after the guy passed away the family could not find anyone to buy the business or someone to buy all the stock, so a lot of it was dumped. Such a shame, and wish they'd just sent a general email to all customers to alert them of the close down. I didn't know anything about it until today when i was going to top up my supply of a few ics.

So i'm feeling a little gutted, firstly that this great guy who had the foresight to keep many old chips for us retro fanatics and in top quality condition i might add to, properly stored for all these years has passed away and then secondly for the fact that a lot of semiconductor gems have been lost to land fill forever

Please join me tonight in a few beers to celebrate Quarndon Electronics Ltd.

RIP

 

[Nedreud]

lost to land fill forever

 

[stoptap]

Sad news.

 

[Kenny Taylor]

Indeed very sad. My co-worker/colleague whom I've worked with for about 15 years died suddenly of a brain haemorrhage at the young age of 36 just 8 weeks ago. He was a real gaming enthusiast. From NES games to high end PC gaming rigs. His latest vice was virtual 3D pool and pinball. Would have a loved a pin of his own and was very keen on getting a RFM someday. You just never know whats round the corner.

 

[PeteB]

a lot of semiconductor gems have been lost to land fill forever

my god!!!

I often worry about stuff like this. Ya know, like you see these old guys running a little business, dedicating their whole lives to looking after something vintage and preserving a piece of history. Then they die and the family or friends haven't got a clue what to do with all this stuff.

Value of these things should not be associated with money. That's something else.

 

[DRD]

Within my family, I have had to deal with the death estate of a hoarder/ collector. It is really, really difficult both logistically and emotionally. There is all this stuff, skip loads of it. It took about 8 skips and that was after my four stage process

1 worth over £30 - ebay
2 worth anything - charity shop
3 neighbours - grab what you want
4 broken, bulky, etc skip

It cost about a grand in skips, and I doubtless threw some things away that I shouldn't have

The house clearance industry, did not remotely appeal
Flogging stuff on ebay takes forever
Skipping it seems obscene/ destructive
Charity shops just do not seem to understand value, so giving it to them is not realising as much money for the charity as flogging it yourself

I even tried to find skint / minimum wage type teenagers to put it all on ebay and take a meaningful cut, but they could not be ****d

If you know guys like this, the best thing to do is to DIPLOMATICALLY talk succession planning with them. They do not want their collection to get skipped or for rip off merchants to take it. My 70 yr old uncle was completely ripped off by guys that took all his machine shop equipment for next to nothing.

I know of one pinball owner who is retired. He has left instructions for his wife (who has little interest in his hobby) informing her how to properly dispose of his games and parts hoard - essentially getting a trusted dealer to handle it for a percentage.