Mark Durham Memorial 18watt Raffle

In memory of Mark

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billv
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Post by billv »

I'm thinking we'll have this organized fairly shortly.

Got a pair of Polams set aside. Not DE or GB of course, what do you think? I'm for the very best going into these amps as well.
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Post by dartanion »

I think those folks who have offered up their JJs should still be allowed to donate them. We'll just put those in care packages/secondary raffle prizes.
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Post by EBE »

dartanion wrote:I think those folks who have offered up their JJs should still be allowed to donate them. We'll just put those in care packages/secondary raffle prizes.
I will throw in a universal single rib turret board or eyelet board for a bonus prize if one is not needed for the actual amp(s).

Norm
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Post by Trout »

dartanion wrote:I think those folks who have offered up their JJs should still be allowed to donate them. We'll just put those in care packages/secondary raffle prizes.

That's Fine with me, I just wanted to be sure the tubes were covered when I offered up the JJ's so quick :D
Though, IMHO, I prefer to see amps optimized for new production valves.
Seeing as they are now in abundance and can now be purchased at about any ole Mom N Pop shop. NOS tubes are rapidly becoming an expensive exhaustible commodity.

Drop me an email where & when to send, I am in even if its the secondary care/prize package.
Trout
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Post by Blewsbreaker »

I have a NOS 16/32uf filter cap made by RS to donate....
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Post by NOSMullard »

I was really upset to hear about this tragedy even though I have never met or spoken to Mark. I've been reading the boards for months and know that he was always there to help everyone out and it has made me feel so wonderful to know what great people are here in this community, to have set this up so quickly and to see how generous you all really are. I wish I was in a place to contribute more (im a college student) but I will contribute all i can when it comes to buying raffle tickets. God Bless you all and Im sure Mark is smiling down on his great friends from 18watt.
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Post by Coco »

The transformers I use now were basically Mark's design based on the originals. It might be fitting to put a set of these into the amp since he did so much work on the original concept.
I would be happy to donate a set.
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Post by ctams »

Trout wrote:
We could easily generate a nice sum from the sale of raffle tickets for the chance to win this amp, or do a silent auction or something.
Just a few thoughts,, Please do not shoot me!

Though more complicated, I like the Raffle ticket idea the best.
My principle reason is simply this. There are thousands of members and guests that visit here every week. If its is a ticket affair, I feel more guys will anti up for a $5.00 or $10.00 ticket Vs the few that can cough up big bucks on a silent bid. This gives everyone a more even chance on winning a very special item.

I fear logistics would also be a nightmare either way, But even more so if it is limited to just 18W members. Once word gets around, there will be a lot of guys lining up for a shot at an 18Wer.

Lets do the build, Get Photo documentation on it, Make a builder & contributor list and put it on a cute certificate that goes with them amp.

Set a total maximum number on tickets of say 2500@ $5.00ea tickets. & a Drawing date of XX/XX/06
Give it enough time to sell out if possible.
Then, Announce the Raffle, Spread the word everywhere !! Notify every guitarist online forum we can, And go for the gold!!

If we even sell 1/4th of that, The family will have one sizable sum.

Other Ideas are most certainly welcome!

Trout
I think this is a great idea.
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Post by s2 »

Guys,

Without going into any detail, I've found Mark's family needs all the $$ we can muster. I challenge everyone here to think of ways (that would be outside the box for all you biz types) to maximize the amount of money we can raise for them. I want to see a minimum of $50K for all our efforts here. This is the internet. We can pull it off.

We have a couple of big ticket items offered up. Would it be better to have 3 raffles with 1 big prize each and a half dozen consolation prizes per raffle or one big raffle with 3 big prizes and 3 dozen consolation prizes? Which do you think would generate the most revenue?

Any thoughts are welcome. Please keep them coming.

And please, please, please, hit that PayPal button in the upper left hand corner of the web site. If you can only contribute $5 or $10 it will make a difference. Heck, if you can contribute $1 it will make a difference. Hit that freakin' button for cryin' out loud!

If not for Mark, we probably would not all be here shooting the breeze about amps and fiddles and what-the-heck-ever! If this site has ever brought a smile to your face, hit that button for a dollar or two!

There are several thousand members of this board. If we all skip a Big Mac for lunch, we can raise several thousand dollars for Mark's family. They need your dollar way more than you do!

Yes, I'm pimpin' but I'm shameless about it. Mark rocked! Sheri rocks! Jessica rocks! Marisa rocks! What do you do?!
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sgtoverdrive
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Post by sgtoverdrive »

im very curious to know what mark intended on doing with some tubes i located for him.6dz7 designation i believe, what it was, basically was two el 84s in one bottle .he also was buying up every 6gk6 he could lay hands on.this is a 6bq5 with differnt pinouts.anyone ever discuss this with him? where do i see the layout for the amp ,just curious. also i think its a great thing yall is doin.any of us should be so lucky to have people that care so much .there are so many that dont.it even gives some hope that the world hasnt gone all the way bad.sgtod
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sgtoverdrive
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Post by sgtoverdrive »

s2 i would be happy to see if metro amps is interested in this cause ,and what can be done.t
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Post by markh »

So, I'm confused (and probably not the only one) -- we've had lots of volunteers -- who's going to build what?

Graydon, 18watt is your baby, we're gonna have to throw the bomb in your court (how that for mixing metaphors?) and ask you to make some executive decisions...

I suggest you select one or two (or three?) builders and task them with soliciting/gathering the parts needed. I'll put in one vote for S2, as he knew Mark better than many of us.

--mark h
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Post by dartanion »

I think to make the most cash in the easiest way would be to have one very large raffle and market it extensively. I'm sure we could do the ebay thing, use our internal connections in the business world, craigslist the raffle, myspace the raffle, you name it. We already have many thousands of dollars worth of goods offered up, so drawing a number of names for the number of prizes, electronically at random, should be trivial. We just need to sell as many tickets as possible.
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Post by dartanion »

Mark,

How about you build one? I'm sure you are a much better builder than I and you actually knew Mark. How about the Original 18watt 212 combo.

S2- Vajra 18watt head

Brown-note - how about a LiteIIb

Me - I'll make the head cab for the JTM45 & can build something else depending on what all parts are donated. Maybe a matching speaker cab for the JTM45, and cab for the parts build (if there is enough parts to do this).

Bender,

Is it possible to put up a registry page that has the BOM for each proposed build, at minimum the Vajra & Original. This would allow a member using their user account to submit a transaction to donate certain parts for a build and then those would be listed as donated. Then also have bin(s) to collect the other donations, tubes, chassis, transformers, amps, guitars, etc.

Any famous forum members willing to donate some autographed memorabilia?
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Post by NitroLiq »

Kit package is definitely a good idea for one of the secondary or tertiary prizes.
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billv
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Post by billv »

Dartanion, let me look into that.
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Post by Graydon »

Hi Guys,

Scott is correct. We can bring together a lot of cash and goods to give to the Durhams. I'll tell you that right now (Aug 1), we have over $1000 in cash donations alone which is great.

As has been pointed out, we also have many thousands worth of amps donated to raffle off.

The last time we had a raffle for a kit and cabinet, we raised about $1000 to support the 18watt site. Shortly after that we had the Tsunami, and since that $1000 was more than Gabi needed at the time for website maintenance, we donated I think $500 to some missionaries in Indonesia. We sent a few hundred to the Red Cross when Katrina hit, so I may have gotten my timing mixed up in the above story but my point is that I am pleased to see that our members are concerned for their fellow man and willing to give when the time comes.

Well, the time has really come now and one of our leaders needs us alot now.

Mark was one of the first guys that became involved with this group. The 18W Yahoo group started on April 17, 2001 and Mark joined on Apr 18. He started immediately by submitting photos and schematics. Mark did much of the work along with Richie, Ron Ott, James Grove, Lee MacMillan, Liam and a few others to figure out the correct schematic for the 18W amp. Mark also bought original Radiospares transformers and reverse-engineered those. Without Mark, this project probably would not have gotten off the ground. We'd all be at the Ampage or the Weber BBS still, playing with our tweed Fender clones.

I don't know if we would generate more cash from multiple raffles or if one big one would be better. We have over 3500 members in this 18W community so theoretically, if we all donated a few dollars, it would be easy to generate $10k.

I would propose that we sell "tickets" for $10 each and recommend that each person buys ten tickets each. When all tickets are sold, I will come up with a method to pick the winner (I'll disqualify myself - I have "enough" amps already) and that person will receive the prize.

Then we can run separate raffles for the second and third prizes or we can pick from the same group of tickets for the second and third prizes. Let me know how you guys want to run this.

But, above all, keep in mind that technically, you are going to be _DONATING_ to 18watt.com with no promise of anything in return and then we will have a random drawing to give away some "door prizes". There will be no arguing over how it is done and no complaining that you didn't win something. That would be entirely against the spirit of what we are trying to do here.

Shipping may become the responsibility of the winner but we may be able to come up with some cash donations to cover shipping costs. That was the case when we raffled off the kit last year although our winner was Canadian and unfortunately he had to pay some duty and taxes IIRC.

So, what do you think? I am very interested in the opinions of those of you that may have some professional experience in this field or related fields. (maybe I should split this off to a new thread...)
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Sincerely,
Graydon Stuckey
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Post by doctornorbert »

Since sarge has the tubes covered I'll hang onto my EF86 and save my nickels to buy some raffle tickets. Since it is ultimately cash we are trying to raise.
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Post by dartanion »

Graydon,

Sounds great. I agree with you on the way this should be run. No quibbling once the drawings have happened.

For the raffle, I think it should be one big raffle, otherwise it would get to be way too involved with multiple raffles. I'm sure we can get enough tickets sold to draw as many names as there are prizes from one raffle.

I have already donated some cash and will also buy a bunch of tickets, get my friends and band mates to buy a bunch of tickets, and will do whatever is necessary to help make this happen.
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