Do you have any gear that was outright given to you?

Nope,  I given stuff away but no one ever gave me anything.

Yes - My uncle gave me his Dynakit 70 in the late 80s.  Still in use today.  

My uncle gave me a Heathkit AR15, a pair of AR 3a’s and a Miracord 50H with a Shure V15 ll. The receiver required $60 dollars of repairs (about $200 in current dollars), two tweezers and a midrange were blown on the speakers which would have cost over $200 to repair in 1972 dollars so were traded for a pair of large advents. The TT worked fine. I had the Heathkit and the Miracord throughout undergrad and eventually gave them to my sister.

Because nobody was taking care of our apartment landscaping. I started to give it a try. Over the years I would also work on the next door tattoo business space as well. This was all voluntary on my part. One day he tells me that he is retiring and for all the work I have done, he bought me a new Rel HT/1003. Funny thing I don’t have any tattoos. 

I have given equipment away, but never received any..