General > General Technical Chat
What happens to my test and measurement devices if something happens to me?
tggzzz:
This is a standard problem with no easy answers.
Dealing with an estate is a major time-sink, and most beneficiaries will balance the money they get with how much of their remaining life they are prepared to spend on things that don't interest them.
I doubt a college etc would take anything old: won't fit their curriculum, won't want to deal with unknown functionality/safety issues.
A hackspace/makerspace might take it, iff they have room. Their (young) members won't be interested in anything "old". If/when they bother to play around with it, they will damage it. Damage can include forcing wrong connectors together, floating a scope etc etc.
Your beneficiaries won't want it, and will simply want a clear empty house that can be sold. They will use "house clearance specialists", who will either dump it or take it to a local auction house.
The local auction house knows how to classify some things so they can be found when browsing. Such classifications include china/silver/taxidermy/tools/cameras/"scientific instruments"/radios. It won't fit into any of those, so it won't be classified, and will be difficult to find by browsing. They won't know what a "spectrum analyser" is, and will probably mis-spell "oscilloscope" and brand names, thus reducing the ability to search for them. Since it is unlikely that two people will notice and bid for an item, they will sell for the starting price, at best. Test all that by visiting https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/search-results?searchterm=oscilloscope and then trying to find the similar items in that auction :(
A better bet is an auction house that specialises in surplus equipment, e.g. https://www.ramco.co.uk/ or https://www.ppauctions.com/ or a local equivalent. They will at least classify things sensibly, but purchasers won't be able to see them switched on and working. Your beneficiaries will still have to go to the trouble of getting all your "rubbish" there - iff they can be bothered.
Hamfests in the UK are now little more than flea markets, with only a few people that only want to spend a pittance. It is unlikely they would have more than £100 cash on them, so even if they want something decent, they won't buy it there. I've recently picked up microwave sources for £5 and 200ps risetime (1.7GHz) sampling scopes for £25.
I've been through all that recently with my parent's treasures, mainly antiques and taxidermy. We looked at several neaby auction houses, and settled on the one that would come to the house and catalogue items decently, and then take them all to the auction house. It took several people several days to do the catalogue, and the removers over a day to load and move the stuff. Even though that auction house did a decent job of cataloguing the items, they do struggle with test equipment - to my benefit :)
For my stuff the only thing I've been able to do is point out to my daughter that the items are worth far more than she guesses. They aren't just bits of wire and boxes. I keep a document listing the points above, the principal items and the likely selling value, in the hope she will pass that on to an auction house.
Other people I've seen have decided to gradually thin their herd so their beneficiaries haven't got the hassle.
i also have a terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side :(
harerod:
--- Quote ---Quote from: tggzzz on Today at 18:20:14
i also have a terrible pain in all the diodes down my left side :(
--- End quote ---
--- End quote ---
Well, at last, in the end Marvin was at peace.
I am also managing an estate at the moment. A certain relative who never cared about his family by now has become rather eager to get his lawful share. He wants to know the value of the furniture and relics in the abandoned home. As my wife commented rather dryly on the estimate of the clearance company: "Now you can tell him, how many minus Euros that stuff is worth."
The whole experience also reminded me to start getting rid of my own stuff rather sooner than later. Rather sobering thought.
Squarewave:
You often find out the real value of people, when they think they can financially gain from the death of someone who they cared so little for.
Someone:
--- Quote from: RK_aus_S on November 09, 2023, 12:56:36 pm ---Some of the answers here make me doubt whether I have expressed myself accurately or whether my "cobbled together" English is the problem... :-[
--- End quote ---
Your english is impeccable, do not worry. To add to all the good information above:
If you gift something for nominal or no cost the recipient may not value the item the way you (or others) would. Equally if you sell something onward with good intentions for a friendly price, the buyer may well sell it on at a profit and there is nothing practical you can do to stop this (asking intrusive questions to buyers will put them off).
Once the items are out of your ownership they are out of your control. I have sold off all sorts of "valuable" assets for friendly prices, most buyers reply with thanks and kindness and warm feelings are shared by all, a minority of buyers will make you feel bad about it to try and extract even more value from you (can you add some more freebies, or deliver it for me, or cut the price in half) which is why most people I know don't even bother selling things and just dump them in the bin or donate to charity.
Microdoser:
At some point, you just have to let go of your stuff or make sure it goes where you want it to. Having recently undergone a minor version of dealing with my stuff, being downsizing home, and having to decide 'sell, keep, or throw' for everything, I realise better the final destination of all the items I own. That end result is either someone else has immediate value for the item, the item has sale value, or it will end up in the bin or a skip.
If there are particular items you wish to have specific homes, I would advise including them in your will after arranging transfer of ownership, because knowing how these things go, anything not explicitly in the will is just included in the 'crap I gotta deal with' for your relatives, and they either keep, bin, or sell.
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