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K4ICL EQUIPMENT GRADE SCALE The condition of ham equipment has a profound effect on its assessed value. This Grading Scale is offered as a aid for eliminating confusion and misconceptions inherent when establishing an overall "grade" to represent the judged condition of amateur radio equipment.  This scale is guideline and not a set of rigid rules (See Examples of interpretations, below). Grading Chart Click on the item to see the detailed  criteria for each grade. GRADE Condition A+ NEW A EXCELLENT B+ VERY GOOD B GOOD C+ ABOVE AVERAGE C AVERAGE C- BELOW AVERAGE D POOR D- BAD F JUNK Examples of interpretations: An item still sealed in the factory box and still in a manufacturer's authorized dealer's control an/or ownership is rated as A+.  Equipment in non-authorized dealer's possession yet still in the factory box rate a A.  An item bought from a dealer but remaining in its factory sealed box would be an A, since it is no longer in the possession of the dealer. The same item, no longer in its factory sealed box,  little used and is still in the same condition as when NEW  (AS NEW) would rate a grade of A-. The same item, used, looking and performing like new but having been modified is given a B+ rating because it it no longer AS NEW. Notes on Using this Grading Scale When grading a piece of equipment, the following should be kept in mind. The main objective of of this rating approach is to improve equipment-grading reliability and provide consistency of results.    The definitions used do not attempt to change the common meaning of the terms. Instead, the standards provide criteria for making judgments and deciding which grade category matches the target equipment.   Equipments' rating is be based solely upon what can be seen and learned of the equipment through a visual and hands-on inspection, including powering-up the equipment (if applicable), and determining whether all originally specified functions and features, as given in the manufacturer’s specifications, are working properly and satisfactorily.   These ratings are only concerned with equipment condition. Ratings are not  based upon the perceived value or age of the equipment. A totally useless piece of equipment might have a graded EXCELLENT (A), and a highly sophisticated, current production item might have a BAD (D-) grading. Also, the chronological age of equipment does not affect its grading. Even if a piece of equipment is totally obsolete, it could have an VERY GOOD (B+) rating.   Equipment is rated using the manufacturer’s specifications.  The rater uses his experience and common sense to make any judgments relative to manufacturer’s published specifications.     Modified equipment is eligible for all grade categories except NEW (A+) and EXCELLENT (A). Generally speaking, professionally done equipment modifications, enhancing the equipment's usefulness and/or performance, will not reduce the rating. Modifications that collectively and/or individually detract from the usefulness and/or performance of the equipment can lower the rating.     The addition of a manufacturer’s (or third party manufactured) accessory to equipment is not considered a modification, since the manufacturer intended that certain accessories be used with the equipment. For example, the addition of a filter to a receiver, using a filter designed for the receiver, should not considered a modification of the receiver.    The a fully serviceable user’s manual or other suitable user-documentation, often including user’s instructions, schematics, and other technical information, usually has a unique part number, and is part the equipment. If it is missing, the equipment is incomplete and the rating of the equipment will be lowered, in some cases. NEW (A+) and EXCELLENT (A) equipment should always have a proper ORIGINAL manual; equipment that is VERY GOOD (B+) or GOOD (B) should have a complete, readable manual. This requirement does not apply if the manufacturer did not originally provide a manual or other suitable user-documentation with the newly delivered equipment.   Interconnecting cables, originally furnished by the manufacturer, also are part of the equipment. If manufacturer-supplied interconnecting cables are missing, the equipment is incomplete and the rating of the equipment might be lowered in some cases.. This means that, to be rated as VERY GOOD (B) or higher, a complete set of interconnecting cables should accompany the equipment, if normally supplied by the manufacturer when originally sold.   If equipment has been used and/or stored in a "smoking" environment, and has detectable tobacco or other smoke-particle residue inside and/or outside of the equipment, its rating should be lowered. NEW (A+), EXCELLENT (A)  or VERY GOOD (B+) rated equipment must not have any detectable smoke residue. ANY detectable smoke residue limits equipment grade to no higher than GOOD (B). Description of the Grades Grading is based upon the GRADE hierarchy, defined below. NEW (A+) This grade is given only for equipment that is still in the control and domain of the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s authorized retail vendor or agent. Approximately 2.0 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW EQUIPMENT Should be in factory sealed box. Equipment must still be in a factory sealed shipping container or carton, if originally provided by the manufacturer, and must have never been sold or used in any way. Should have original user manual and other furnished components. A new original user’s manual (not a copy), the original interconnecting cables and all other original manufacturer-supplied parts must be included, if originally furnished by manufacturer. Should not have been a demonstrator. A vendor’s stock item that has been used for demonstrations or customer evaluation does not qualify but may qualify for LIKE NEW rating. Should not have been repaired. A vendor’s item that has sold and, returned defective, thence repaired and resold does not qualify. Should not have been refurbished. Equipment sold by an authorized manufacturer vendor or sales agent that is classified as "New-Refurbished" does not qualify. Should not have been sold before. Once an item is sold to the initial customer, it does not qualify, even if it is still in factory sealed carton. Should include any warranty. Should include any OEM provided warranty and related documentation Smoke Residue Any smoke residue disqualifies for this grade. If homebrew or kit-built, should not have used or have been sold. To be considered NEW, homebrew equipment should be in the control and domain of the original builder (the equipment manufacturer), should not have been previously sold, and should have never been put into service by the builder or another. To be considered NEW, kit-built equipment must still be in its complete kit form. Back EXCELLENT (A) This grade defines radio equipment that has been sold or donated by a manufacturer and is in the same condition as the equipment was in when it left the factory where manufactured, like new. Approximately 0.5 percent of all equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF EXCELLENT EQUIPMENT Should be functioning perfectly. Equipment should be functioning perfectly, should have no faults or issues and should meet all manufacturers’ specifications. Should have no sign of use. There should be no damaged or missing parts, no sign of wear, and the outer finish and other surfaces must be perfect, without showing a any sign of use. Any scratch, permanent smudge, blister, dent, smoke residue, rust, corrosion, discoloration or mar of any kind on any surface disqualifies. Should have original manual and/or other supplied components. A new original user's manual should accompany equipment, along with original interconnecting cables, and any other manufacturer supplied parts originally furnished by manufacturer. Should have warranty documentation, if transferable to another owner. For grading purposes, the presence of warranty documentation should be ignored, unless the warranty is transferable to the new owner. In such cases, missing transferable warranty and associated documentation disqualifies. Should not have been repaired or modified. No components shall have been replaced or repaired, nor should any non-factory OEM modifications of any kind have been made to the equipment. Should be clean. Should be pristine clean. There should be no dust, smoke residue, corrosion, or other chemical alteration on any inner or outer surface of the equipment. Should not be restored or refurbished. Restored or refurbished equipment does not qualify. Smoke Residue Any smoke residue on equipment disqualifies. If homebrew or kit-built, should be in same unused condition as when originally sold. To be considered for this grade, homebrew or kit-built equipment should be is the same condition as when originally sold by the equipment builder (the manufacturer) and meet all other requirements, above. Back VERY GOOD (B+) This rating is defined as being nearly in the same condition in which the equipment left the factory when it was manufactured. Approximately 4.5 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF VERY GOOD  EQUIPMENT Should be complete and totally functional. Equipment should be completely functional, meeting all manufacturer’s specifications, having no missing or damaged parts. Should have little signs of use. Should show only very minute signs of use. Any deep scratch, permanent smudge, blister, dent, smoke residue, rust, corrosion, discoloration or readily visible mar of any kind on any surface disqualifies. Should have manual and/or other components. A complete, serviceable user’s manual should accompany equipment, along with serviceable interconnecting cables, and any other manufacture supplied parts, if originally furnished by manufacturer. Should be clean and not have smoke residue or corrosion. The equipment should be clean inside and out. There should be no dust, smoke residue, corrosion, or other chemical alteration of any surface of the equipment. Should not show signs of aging. The materials from which certain parts are made may not show physical age, discoloration or fading. May have replaced components. The equipment may have had components replaced, but the workmanship should be equal to the quality of the original manufacturer. May have been modified There may be modifications installed that were not performed by the original manufacturer. The workmanship should be of professional quality, and the modifications should have enhanced the usefulness of the equipment and should not have eliminated an original feature or design characteristic. May have been repaired. There may be repairs completed on the equipment but the workmanship should be of professional quality, and the repair work should meet all original specifications and applicable safety standards. Should not have modifications that limit original features. If the equipment has been modified in any way that removes or limits the manufacturer’s designed usefulness, it is disqualified. Smoke Residue Any smoke residue on equipment disqualifies. Restored or refurbished may qualify. Restored equipment may qualify for this rating. Back GOOD (B) This rating is defined for radio equipment that is used, undamaged, complete and fully functional, meeting the OEM specifications, as originally manufactured. Approximately 9.0 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD EQUIPMENT Should be completely functional. Equipment should be completely functional, meeting all manufacturer’s specifications. May have signs of minor wear, no dents  rust or corrosion. The outer surface finish will have no dings and only very minor wear; a few small scratches or signs of wear but not deeper than the surface finish. There shall be no visible rust or salt-water corrosion on any inner or outer surface. If equipment is saturated with smoke residue it is disqualified. May have refinished surfaces. The outer surfaces may have been repainted, provided the quality, color, and finish is equivalent to original. Repairs should have proper components. Defective, damaged or missing parts should have been replaced with components that match the original manufacture’s design, look, and intent. May have been modified. There may be modifications installed, not provided by the original manufacturer. The workmanship should be of professional quality, should have enhanced the usefulness of the equipment and should not have eliminated an original feature or design characteristic. Should be clean Should be clean and dust free. Grease or other unknown residue that is coated on the surface will lower the rating. May have some discoloration. There can be barely discernable fading of outer visible parts or components. Should not have extra holes in outer surfaces. Equipment with extra holes left visible on the outer surfaces do not qualify for this rating. Should not have modifications that limit original features. If the equipment has been modified in a manner that has removed or limited a manufacturer’s designed usefulness, it is disqualified. Restored or refurbished equipment may qualify. Restored or refurbished  equipment may qualify for this rating. Back ABOVE AVERAGE (C+) This rating is defined for radio equipment with no major damage,  being functional,  meeting all manufacturers’ specifications, showing substantial use, and, perhaps, missing non-essential components. Approximately 17.0 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF ABOVE AVERAGE EQUIPMENT Should be complete. Equipment is complete, having no major components or essential parts missing. Should be fully functional. Equipment should be functional and need no repairs. May have been modified. Equipment may have been modified. Will have signs of use and wear. Equipment should be clean. There will be sure signs of use and wear, but  there may be no visible holes drilled in the inner or outer surfaces. Should have no major scratches or dents. Surface scratches and/or dents may exist but may not be extensive. Should have no significant rust or corrosion. There may be very minor rust or other minor corrosion on some inner or outer surfaces, but the extent should not be significant. Should not have been abused or have any major damage or heavy corrosion. Any excessive scratches, signs of abuse, major damage such as might be sustained if dropped, excessive rust, or heavy salt corrosion on any surface disqualifies. Restored or refurbished may qualify. Restored or refurbished equipment may qualify for this rating. Back AVERAGE (C) This rating is defined for radio equipment having no major damage, being functional, perhaps not meeting all manufacturers’ specifications, may need servicing, but being readily repairable and restorable to factory specifications. Approximately 33 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF AVERAGE EQUIPMENT May be incomplete. Equipment might not be complete, and may be missing nonessential components or accessories. May need servicing. Equipment may need calibration or realignment. All functions might not be functioning to manufacturer’s specifications. May have been modified. Equipment may have been modified. Should be repairable. Equipment should be easy to restore to original factory specifications, using readily available parts. Will have signs of use and wear. Might not be clean. There will be signs of use and wear, and there may be visible holes drilled in the inner or outer surfaces. Should have no major scratches, dents, significant rust or corrosion. Surface scratches and/or dents may exist but may not be extensive. There may be very minor rust or other minor corrosion on some inner or outer surfaces, the extent should not be significant.  Should not have been abused or have any major damage or heavy corrosion. Any excessive scratches, signs of abuse, major damage such as might be sustained if dropped, excessive rust, or heavy salt corrosion on any surface disqualifies. Back BELOW AVERAGE (C-) This rating is defined for radio equipment having no major damage, not being fully functional, not meeting all manufacturers’ specifications, but being  repairable and restorable to factory specifications. Approximately 17.0 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF BELOW AVERAGE EQUIPMENT Is not complete. Equipment is not  complete, having missing components or accessories. Not be fully functional. Equipment is not be fully functional and needs repairs, calibration or realignment. Will  not meet  manufacturer’s specifications. Unrepairable and unserviceable equipment requiring unavailable key components to make the equipment functional (such as proprietary microchips, etc.) does not qualify. Should be repairable. Equipment should be repairable and easy to restore to original factory specifications, using readily available parts, without resorting to extraordinary means. Will have signs of use and wear. Might not be clean. There will be signs of use and wear, and there may be extra holes drilled in the inner or outer surfaces. Should not have been abused or have any major damage or heavy corrosion. Any excessive scratches, signs of abuse, major damage such as might be sustained if dropped, excessive rust, or heavy salt corrosion on any surface disqualifies. Restored and homebrew may qualify. Restored and homebrew equipment may qualify for this rating. Back POOR (D) This rating is defined for radio equipment that is obviously damaged, incomplete, excessively used, poorly modified, abused, or badly rusted and/or corroded. Approximately 9.0 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF POOR EQUIPMENT Should be partially functional. Equipment should be at least partially functional for its original intended use. May be damaged. May have obvious damage or may have been abused. Unrepairable and unserviceable equipment requiring unavailable key components to make the equipment functional (such as proprietary microchips, etc.) does not qualify. May have excessive wear and tear. Might not be clean. There may be obvious signs of excessive wear and tear including heaving scratches, dents, extra holes drilled into the surfaces, frayed wires, missing tubes, worn out plugs and the like. May be mutilated. Equipment with uncompleted repair work, cut wires, and missing components or subassemblies qualifies. May be badly rusted or corroded. Equipment with heavy rust or salt corrosion also falls into this category, though it might be otherwise undamaged and functional. Back BAD (D-) This rating is defined for radio equipment that is unserviceable for it intended purpose, and having no use beyond that of providing parts for use in repairing other similar equipment. Approximately 4.5 percent of all existing equipment will be of this rating. CHARACTERISTICS OF BAD EQUIPMENT Is unserviceable and unrepairable. Any equipment that will not fit in a POOR or higher rating definition, but has usable parts. Needs parts that are no longer available. Unrepairable and unserviceable equipment requiring unavailable key components to make the equipment functional (such as proprietary microchips, etc.) qualifies. JUNK (F) This rating is defined for electronic equipment that is not even useful for parts. CHARACTERISTICS OF JUNK EQUIPMENT Is useful only as scrap metal. Has no useful parts. Has "scrap metal" value only. Back  Availability and Grade Relationship (Grading on the "Curve") The relationship of the type of rating and the anticipated percent of equipment deserving each rating is provided in the following table. This table is based on a normal hypothetical distribution of all radio equipment in the world. For example, if it were possible to locate, inspect, and rating a particular model of all radio towers, ever made, by a certain manufacturer in the world and assign a condition rating to each and every tower, we would expect that about one-third (33%) of the towers would deserve a AVERAGE rating. Of course, this is hypothetical, since it would be impossible to find all such towers, much less inspect them. These theoretical percentages are provided with each rating description. For traders attempting to find a particular piece of equipment in a certain condition, the Theoretical Percentage Existing estimates might be helpful. For example,  the chances of finding a NEW Kenwood TR-7950, 2 meter transceiver is about  2 percent (2 out of 100). Not encouraging. The chances of finding one in AVERAGE condition is 33 percent (1 out of 3). Much easier.   Type of Rating Grade Condition Rating Theoretical Percentage Existing VERY HIGH A+ NEW 2.0 A EXCELLENT 0.5 HIGH B+ VERY GOOD 4.5 B GOOD 9.0 AVERAGE C+ ABOVE AVERAGE 17.0 C AVERAGE 33.0 17.0 C- BELOW AVERAGE LOW D POOR 9.0 VERY LOW D- BAD 4.5 F JUNK 3.5   QTH.COM Home - Classifieds Home - Swap Chat Board - Callsign Lookup Search - Place Ad - Edit Ad - Delete Ad - Feedback Forum - Safe Trading Tips Banner Advertising - Web Hosting - Domain Name Registrations - Make Donation Grading Scale originally created by K4ICL (SK) and currently maintained by Scott Neader, KA9FOX of QTH.COM