Anybody got a clue?

Hey folks,

Don't know where this would go so I'm putting it here.

Was bored and just this second found this on EBAY:

cgi.ebay.com...

Anybody got a clue as to what this stuff was used for, I think the seller would be interested to know as well.

Spiderj

Hmmm..

I'm in the UK and got this message when I tried to view the item: -

Dear User:


Unfortunately, access to this particular category or item has been blocked due to legal restrictions in your home country. Based on our discussions with concerned government agencies and eBay community members, we have taken these steps to reduce the chance of inappropriate items being displayed. Regrettably, in some cases this policy may prevent users from accessing items that do not violate the law. At this time, we are working on less restrictive alternatives. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you, and we hope you may find other items of interest on eBay.


Thank You.


Hit the return button to return to the previous page.

can you copy and post some details?

well, codar is a system used for sea current detection, could be part of such a system?

from the sellers site:

He advised me that he really couldn�t get a firm answer himself, so perhaps I should proceed to sell the equipment with discretion. That is what I am attempting to do.

yeah.. by selling it on ebay!

-koji K.

Sorry I don't know how to link the pictures but the following is the pasted text from the ad:

Very interesting that you can't see it in the UK. Seller is asking ten grand for it as a start bid.

Ultra �High Tech� Military Surplus Equipment


The original total price tag for this equipment was reportedly over $3,000,000 !!! It was custom manufactured for the US Armed Forces. Contains ??% precious metals and/or rare metals components. (Pt, Pd, Au, Ag, Etc ...?)



Precious Metals and Rare Metals Content ?


High Tech Military Computer Systems are generally known to contain various amounts of precious metals including gold, platinum, silver, palladium, rhodium, etc. as well as a variety of rare metals components. I suspect this equipment contains a certain quantities of the same; however, I have little experience with these matters, no smelting equipment, and I am not qualified to proceed with the recovery thereof. The initial price tag of this equipment gives strong evidence to support the assumption that the best materials available were used at the time of its construction irregardless of expense. The equipment is indeed quite heavy. I estimate that the seventeen pieces of equipment offered in this auction total more than 1,400 lbs. in weight. Many of the cases have posted weights on them and I have based my estimates on these weights as well as comparative estimates for those pieces, which do not have posted weights because I do not have a scale capable of measuring these weights. I set the minimum starting price for this auction at less than half of the figure I derived from examining a study performed on high tech military electronics equipment by Sandia National Laboratories and took their individual metal specific recovery ratios and multiplied them by the estimated weight of this equipment lot. This is just a guess on my part. The successful bidder may find more or less value. I make no representation of the actual percentage of precious metals and/or rare metals content value whatsoever. Further, I make no representation of the functionality of the equipment. It looks like it would work, but that's just my opinion.



I may consider a trade, if you have something interesting. Email me and we'll see.



Equipment Description



Much of this equipment is contained inside machined alloy cases. The workmanship is very impressive to say the least. It looks very expensive.



This auction is a little bit hard to describe since I can�t get a firm answer from anyone as to what this equipment actually is. I do know that the basic setup is computer equipment for specialized military applications. I buy a substantial amount of military and government surplus materials and have seen a lot of weird stuff come through Uncle Sam�s surplus system, but this gear is really unusual. I have researched it and have not come up with a lot of leads. Some of manufacturers, who were identified from ID plates, claim to have no knowledge of this equipment and tell me to contact the �proper authorities� for direction. The �proper authorities� were of no help either. I personally do not believe that this equipment represents a classified security interest; otherwise, I would have been allowed to purchase the equipment intact. However, since no one admits to knowing anything about this gear, I�m not sure exactly how to describe it.



I spoke with an FBI Agent and explained my situation of not being able to get any detailed information about this equipment and yet desiring to sell it for component salvage. He checked with a few sources in the Bureau and drew a blank as well. He advised me that he really couldn�t get a firm answer himself, so perhaps I should proceed to sell the equipment with discretion. That is what I am attempting to do.



Potential Utility/Uses for this Equipment

There are a variety of potential applications for this equipment. Such as:
A source of precious metals and/or rare metals feedstock for salvage recovery operations.
A source of salvageable components, spare parts, and other items of technological cannibalization interest to the electronics field.
A demanufacturing resource project for an electronics technology school.
A super rugged, all weather, field portable computer system for hostile climate conditions.
An assortment of excellent movie props for the Hollywood prop hunter to looking to get their hands on some major, heavy-duty, high tech looking military hardware.


Defense Contractor/ Manufacturer Information


A large portion of the equipment in this auction bears identification tags identifying Martin Marietta as the manufacturer. I understand that the new name for the military technology division location, which manufactured certain portions of this equipment, is Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (LMA). I suspect that LMA�s Waterton Facility located just outside of Denver, Colorado was the particular manufacturing facility which developed this equipment, but have no way to positively confirm this. If you know what kinds of things LMA build�s in its Colorado facilities, then you know why it was so expensive originally and that this equipment probably was made from the finest available materials on the planet.



Other components in this auction lot were manufactured by Miltope Corporation & CODAR Technology, which are known for their ruggedized military computer systems. I do not know if all of these items were used together or if they served separate functions.



Other Information


This equipment appears to have seen light usage and it seems to be in fine condition, perhaps even still functional. However, I have no way of testing this unit, so the auction terms are �As Is, Where is.� If at all possible, I urge the potential bidder/buyer to come and inspect this unit prior to bidding or to arrange for a subcontract specialty firm to do so. Please email me to work out a mutually convenient inspection time.


This Auction is subject to certain Prohibited Bidding /Due Diligence Restrictions


I feel it is diligent to abide by certain precautions in the sale of this property. Therefore, this equipment will not be sold to any governmental entity, representative, citizen, or other such individual representing any foreign nationality. There may be an exception to this provision, but any interested foreign party will need to contact me via email for preapproval prior to bidding on this auction.



It should also be noted that that final award of this property to the Successful Bidder may be subject to final approval by the U.S. authorities, so if you either are a questionable entity or represent the same, please save us all the hassle and do not bid on this auction.



By bidding on and purchasing any item with listing linkage to this statement, the Bidder/Buyer agrees to comply with the following sale requirements:



All property is sold as a salvage item, as is, without warranty expressed or implied as to the use or safety of the product and the Buyer, for himself, his heirs, executors, administrators and assignees agrees to indemnify and save harmless the Seller from any and all claims, demands, liability, actions or causes of action arising out of or in anyway connected with the use or handling of all property by anyone whomsoever (even if predicated upon the negligence of the above mentioned indemnities) and further agree to pay all attorney's fees, costs and expenses incurred in payment amount claimed, defending against the amount claimed and satisfying any judgment that may be rendered in connection therewith.



This property was formerly purchased by the Seller from the U. S. Government may or may not be authorized for export from the United States. If export is allowed, the purchaser is solely responsible for obtaining required clearances, approvals and/or licenses. The purchaser is also required to pass on DOD's export control guidance if the property is resold or otherwise disposed. The required DOD export control guidance is as follows:



The use, disposition, export and re-export of this property are subject to all applicable U.S. laws and regulations, including the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended; the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq.); the Export Administration Act of 1979 (560 U.S.C. Appended 2401 et seq.); Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities (10 CFR part 110); International Traffic in Arms Regulations (22 CFR parts 120 et seq.); Export Administration Regulations (15 CFR part 730 et seq.); Foreign Assets Control Regulations (31 CFR parts 500 et seq.); and the Espionage Act (37 U.S.C. 791 et seq.) which, among other things, prohibit:



(a) The making of false statement and concealment of any material information regarding the use or disposition, export or re-export of the property; and

(b) any use or disposition, export or re-export of the property, which is not authorized in accordance with the provisions of this agreement.



NOTE: This statement must accompany the transfer or resale of this property.





Notice to Bidders


By placing a bid on this equipment you are entering into a legal and binding contract to purchase the above-described equipment. We reserve the right to cancel all existing bids and end the auction early should the item no longer be available for sale. We shall not be held liable for any such cancellation. The Seller further reserves the right to cancel the bid of any bidder, which has any negative feedback.



No bid retractions in the last 24 hours of auction please. If there are bid retractions in the last 24 hours, we may cancel all bids, end the auction early and re-list this equipment to protect the integrity of the auction process.



Winning Bidder must confirm his winning bid with a $1,000 - Non-Refundable Deposit which will be due within 48 hours of Winning Bid (On or before 7/14/04). Balance of Purchase Price is due to Seller within 5 days of Winning Bid (On or before 5/17/04). If the deposit is not received within 48 hours of the close of auction or if the balance is not paid in full within 5 days following the close of auction, we reserve the right to re-list the equipment or to sell it to the next highest bidder or another qualified buyer.



The provisions of this auction shall constitute a final contract between both Buyer and Seller and shall be binding hereto. The final contract and the terms thereof shall govern the sale of this auction item. All disputes arising out of or relating to this auction, any negotiations, the Signed agreement, or to the breach, enforcement or interpretation thereof, shall be resolved by binding arbitration in Commonwealth of Kentucky, in accordance with the terms contained in the final sale agreement and under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Accordingly, the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes and the venue shall be exclusively in Hopkins County.



Terms & Conditions


This auction�s listing description is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of listing but we are subject to making human errors. The Seller's liability, in the event of a listing error, is limited to the amount of the winning bid paid and does not include any responsibility for lost time, opportunity, inconvenience, etc. on the part of the Buyer. We are human and do occasionally maker errors. If this is not acceptable to you or you don't have the patience to work with us on resolving any issues that might arise, please don't bid.



By bidding on this item, the bidder/buyer agrees to assume all responsibility and risk with regard to the appropriateness and legal use of the item and that the Seller is free of all liability regarding the use, disposition, condition, legality and appropriateness of this item.



Payment Methods


PayPal (account must be verified and shipments will only be made to "confirmed" addresses). Please check first to assure that you have funds available before bidding. We are not set up to accept credit card payments through PayPal at this time. We accept Certified & Cashier's Checks, Postal Money Orders, and Bank transfers in US Dollars only. Personal checks are not approved for payment unless specific permission is granted from the Seller prior to auction close. In any event, full payment must be received before the equipment is removed from Seller�s premises.



Shipping



The Successful Bidder will arrange and pay for all shipping costs or come and get this equipment (Point of origin zip codes is 42431). It looks as though it would easily fill up a standard cargo van. If the buyer chooses to have this equipment shipped, I can crate it up for an additional fee to be negotiated. Again this is just an option to consider at the buyer�s discretion.


Summary


One doesn�t run into equipment like this everyday. Here is your chance to get very high quality used military computer equipment at a tiny fraction of its initial cost.



Please email me with any questions that you may have at [email protected]. I will try to answer them if I can. Further, I will be glad to email interested parties a stack of additional photos and an Excel spreadsheet containing various specification and identification numbers that I found on this equipment.



Thanks for looking at this auction.



Good luck and successful bidding!


Sorry I think the pictures would help so if someone else is more computer savvy than me please post them.

Spiderj

Blimey... sounds intriguing. I can't make head nor tail of though!

Well thanks for trying muppet, somebody has to know what this stuff was for.

Spiderj

Wow some of that stuff looks weird.
I can see it and i'm from the UK by the way.

It's been a few days since the original post so maybe MI-#? blocked until they could determine for themselves if it was from one of their operations or some such? I don't know.

Do you have any idea what it is deimos?

Spiderj

yo yo yo again ats im in the usmc and i belive that is an HELLA old skool collection system (maybe one of the first direction finding systems?) all i know is that looks like A LOT of the collection equipment we use today and being a ground comm tech i would bet my bottom dollar its an old df system or some type of intel collection system!
l8ter

Thanks for the input Bigneum.

When you say old school what are we talking about in terms of years.

Any other information on how this would be used?

Also the guy was asking ten grand for it, no one bid, how much is this stuff worth?

Spiderj

Im from the Netherlands and can also see it. It did not know that these kind of military things can be sold to public.

When you say old school what are we talking about in terms of years.

Any other information on how this would be used?

Also the guy was asking ten grand for it, no one bid, how much is this stuff worth?

Spiderj

yo yo yo spider bignizzle is bizzle fo shizzle now back to buisness. hmm when i see gear like this i look at a few diffrent things. notice in picture if you save from the website de_3 that it says on the box workstation. individual collection cpu's when connected in a network are commonly known as "workstations" or "stations". it comes with 2 cpu's that are attached to the monitors (common for the vietnam war era intel junk). one of the pictures is of the power source. i know its vietnam era or possible little before or after. i can research the name "martin marietta" at work tommorow too. it does df system(cannot give the specifics on) that we use today i cannot talk about but thats why i say its some kind of "primal" direction finding system.
keep in mind im not an operator, but the jist of how todays df works if it is df is they get 3 or more of these systems all linked together in a network to throw out lobs to certain electronic stationary targets that are top priority. the df software in these cpu's will in turn locate where the freq is being xmit from because they are facing there antennas in a line and scanning in that line. once all 3 or how ever many systems get the lobs on the exact target its good to go to be bombed. keep in mind df doesnt have to be comm targets but can be radars for aa and stuff too. thats loosley very vaugley how df works sorry if its vauge its late here
bottom line i cannot tell from just looking at pics what it is i dont normally fix df stuff i have a real spicific com op tech mos but i can say this is definatley a collection device of some kind wether its df or not its just speculation but id say DF. the other thing it could be is some sort of freq scanning and recording station but id say the df! estemated prices of something like this?? who knows today the sophisticated sig intel/electronic warfare collection stations are in the millions.... no idea on this price probably worth way more than 10k at time of purchase now buying this to use it would be like buying a pentium1 you probably couldnt even play windows solitare on that thing
hope this helps mabey made it worse? spider if u want more info u2u me