Loaner Radio

[RST Engineering]

I have a couple of radios that are excess to my current needs, but I really
don't want to sell them. It's the old "Why didn't I keep those around. Now
I've got to buy new ones" syndrome. Here's the list (all 12 volt only):

Microair 760 (760 COM)
Narco Com 11A (360 COM)
Genave A-200 (180 COM, 100 NAV)
RST-572 (720 COM, 200 NAV)
RST-571 (360 COM, 200 NAV)
Narco Nav 11 (200 NAV)
STS AV-7600 (720 COM, 200 NAV Handheld)

All radios come with the Karmic Standard connector and are completely
interchangeable (with the exception of the handheld).

I know everything except the Genave work and work well; I just haven't
plugged the Genave in in a long time. In addition to the above, I've got
the "ferry pack" that I wrote about in Kitplanes (August 04) and talked
about at my Oshkosh 04 forum. Basically the ferry pack is a gel-cell
battery plus a box with all the connectors to fire up any radio independent
of the electrical system of the aircraft.

What I'd like to set up is some sort of "lending library" for these things
so that somebody can get some good short-term use out of them rather than
just collecting dust on the shelf. What I cannot come up with is a good
scheme for the lending process.

99% of all pilots I know are honest. That means that on the average, I will
lose one radio each 50 times I loan one out. That's not good. But I don't
have an alternative security solution.

I also think a $10 fee (or thereabouts) to cover postage and insurance is
reasonable, as is a 30 to 60 day return policy. How say the rest of you?

Thoughts appreciated.


Jim

[Ron Wanttaja]

On Sun, 19 Jun 2005 08:53:48 -0700, "RST Engineering" >
wrote:

>I have a couple of radios that are excess to my current needs, but I really
>don't want to sell them. It's the old "Why didn't I keep those around. Now
>I've got to buy new ones" syndrome.

[snip]

>What I'd like to set up is some sort of "lending library" for these things
>so that somebody can get some good short-term use out of them rather than
>just collecting dust on the shelf. What I cannot come up with is a good
>scheme for the lending process.

Ummmmm..."short-term" in the geologic sense? My Narco quit speaking, and my
Microair transponder could use something its own size to play with. :-)

>... a 30 to 60 day return policy.

Ah, I guess not....

>Thoughts appreciated.

Perhaps you should solicit for article ideas that use the radios...lend them to
folks, have them shoot pictures, etc. After all, you've been at this a long
time:

http://www.wanttaja.com/cover.jpg

Ron Wanttaja

[Charlie]

RST Engineering wrote:
> I have a couple of radios that are excess to my current needs, but I really
> don't want to sell them. It's the old "Why didn't I keep those around. Now
> I've got to buy new ones" syndrome. Here's the list (all 12 volt only):
>
> Microair 760 (760 COM)
> Narco Com 11A (360 COM)
> Genave A-200 (180 COM, 100 NAV)
> RST-572 (720 COM, 200 NAV)
> RST-571 (360 COM, 200 NAV)
> Narco Nav 11 (200 NAV)
> STS AV-7600 (720 COM, 200 NAV Handheld)
>
> All radios come with the Karmic Standard connector and are completely
> interchangeable (with the exception of the handheld).
>
> I know everything except the Genave work and work well; I just haven't
> plugged the Genave in in a long time. In addition to the above, I've got
> the "ferry pack" that I wrote about in Kitplanes (August 04) and talked
> about at my Oshkosh 04 forum. Basically the ferry pack is a gel-cell
> battery plus a box with all the connectors to fire up any radio independent
> of the electrical system of the aircraft.
>
> What I'd like to set up is some sort of "lending library" for these things
> so that somebody can get some good short-term use out of them rather than
> just collecting dust on the shelf. What I cannot come up with is a good
> scheme for the lending process.
>
> 99% of all pilots I know are honest. That means that on the average, I will
> lose one radio each 50 times I loan one out. That's not good. But I don't
> have an alternative security solution.
>
> I also think a $10 fee (or thereabouts) to cover postage and insurance is
> reasonable, as is a 30 to 60 day return policy. How say the rest of you?
>
> Thoughts appreciated.
>
>
> Jim

Well, since you run a business I assume you accept credit cards. Why not
just take a credit card deposit roughly equal to the value of the radio
& issue a credit when it's returned? That's what most auto parts houses
do when they loan tools. A temporary payment to the card company would
be ok with me, knowing I'd get it back as a credit in a month or two.

Charlie

[RST Engineering]

Because...

(a) it costs me 4% or so to ACCEPT a credit card and another 4% to issue a
credit, I'm out 8% of the deal from the getgo

and

(b) I'm trying my bestest to keep this from being a company gig and a
personal loan...

that isn't going to work.


Jim



> Well, since you run a business I assume you accept credit cards. Why not
> just take a credit card deposit roughly equal to the value of the radio &
> issue a credit when it's returned? That's what most auto parts houses do
> when they loan tools. A temporary payment to the card company would be ok
> with me, knowing I'd get it back as a credit in a month or two.

[Luke Scharf]

RST Engineering wrote:
> Because...
>
> (a) it costs me 4% or so to ACCEPT a credit card and another 4% to issue a
> credit, I'm out 8% of the deal from the getgo

Hotels do something similar -- it's not actually a charge, but they
sort-of claim some of your limit as collatoral or something like that.
Or maybe they just keep the credit card number around just-in-case.
There may be different fees that are no less prohibitive, though.

-Luke

[Matt Whiting]

RST Engineering wrote:

> I have a couple of radios that are excess to my current needs, but I really
> don't want to sell them. It's the old "Why didn't I keep those around. Now
> I've got to buy new ones" syndrome. Here's the list (all 12 volt only):
>
> Microair 760 (760 COM)
> Narco Com 11A (360 COM)
> Genave A-200 (180 COM, 100 NAV)
> RST-572 (720 COM, 200 NAV)
> RST-571 (360 COM, 200 NAV)
> Narco Nav 11 (200 NAV)
> STS AV-7600 (720 COM, 200 NAV Handheld)
>
> All radios come with the Karmic Standard connector and are completely
> interchangeable (with the exception of the handheld).
>
> I know everything except the Genave work and work well; I just haven't
> plugged the Genave in in a long time. In addition to the above, I've got
> the "ferry pack" that I wrote about in Kitplanes (August 04) and talked
> about at my Oshkosh 04 forum. Basically the ferry pack is a gel-cell
> battery plus a box with all the connectors to fire up any radio independent
> of the electrical system of the aircraft.
>
> What I'd like to set up is some sort of "lending library" for these things
> so that somebody can get some good short-term use out of them rather than
> just collecting dust on the shelf. What I cannot come up with is a good
> scheme for the lending process.
>
> 99% of all pilots I know are honest. That means that on the average, I will
> lose one radio each 50 times I loan one out. That's not good. But I don't
> have an alternative security solution.
>
> I also think a $10 fee (or thereabouts) to cover postage and insurance is
> reasonable, as is a 30 to 60 day return policy. How say the rest of you?
>
> Thoughts appreciated.

Require a credit card number as a "deposit" and only charge it if the
radio isn't returned.

Matt