Evan A. Weitz, a senior lab technician and tutor in Minnesota, uses his skill with electronics to restore vintage audio equipment. Without the intervention of someone like Evan A. Weitz, many older electronic items might be lost forever.
Some antique radios can be restored by a person with basic skills in electronics, though the high voltages used by these radios can make them dangerous for amateurs. In addition, many of the parts should be replaced before the radio is powered on for the first time. All capacitors should be replaced with newer capacitors with a similar value and better voltage rating. Any obviously damaged parts should also be replaced. The radio can be tested with a dim bulb tester, which is a small light bulb wired with the line voltage of the radio. If the bulb glows, no shorts exist along the radio's B+ lines, and the radio can be powered on safely. If a radio passes a dim bulb test but does not work, old resistors may have increased in value or tubes may be damaged. After these are replaced, the radio should work.
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The recipient of a PhD in chemistry from the University of Minnesota, Evan A. Weitz works as a tutor with Achieve Academics and as the senior lab technician with Absolute Sound Laboratories. Beyond his work, Evan A. Weitz enjoys collecting rare, out-of-print board games.
Vintage board games can range in value from a few dollars to more than $5,000, depending on a myriad of factors. If you plan on pricing a collectible board game for its sale, you first need to consider the game itself and its age. Popular games such as Scrabble and Monopoly, even if they were made more than 70 years ago, won't be worth very much, while rare games from the same period could be worth a considerable amount. Games such as Black Lagoon, which was released in 1963, or games that were released for a special event, such as Agent of Change, which was a limited edition game released by the Huntington Museum of Art in West Virginia, could be worth hundreds of dollars, even though the latter game was released less than 30 years ago. Additionally, the condition of the game will severely impact its worth. If a game is in poor condition or missing pieces, it is unlikely to sell for a top price. The sales venue also plays a big factor, with informed collectors willing to pay much more for a particular game in an online auction than casual customers would pay at a garage sale. Since 2015, Evan A. Weitz has worked as a senior lab technician for Absolute Sound Laboratories, one of only three McIntosh servicing facilities in the world. In his personal time, Evan A. Weitz enjoys collecting vintage board games. Where vintage board games are concerned, a number of factors can determine a particular piece’s value. Three of the most important factors are quality, popularity, and age. Quality: As with most vintage collectibles, the better condition your board game is in, the more value it holds. While unopened games are often the most valuable, they can be very difficult to find. Collectors typically look for board games that still contain every piece that came with the game. Additionally, the quality of individual pieces also helps determine value. Popularity: Really popular games like Monopoly, Sorry, and Scrabble are rarely valuable since nearly everybody owns a copy. While obscurity does not automatically equate to value, lesser-known games usually have smaller production runs, making them much rarer than the more popular games. Age: Board games are typically considered “vintage” if they were made in or before the 1970s. Unfortunately, the older a game is, the less likely it is to be complete and in good condition. For example, many pre-1930s board games were made of wood or paper, making them nearly impossible to maintain throughout the years. The most valuable games tend to be from before the 1960s, when companies began mass-producing board games. |
AuthorEvan A. Weitz - Chemist and Electronics Tech in Greater Minneapolis. Archives
October 2019
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