"R J Carpenter" wrote in message ...
"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
om...
"Tweetldee" wrote in message
...
Adios Radio Shack !! RIP

Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.

Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.

Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
$5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in
homebrewing.

Agreed.

Actually, Digi-Key's very first product was a digital keyer for hams...
after that for a long while they didn't have much in the way of RF products,
but in the last couple of years they've really come around. They've
been driven almost certainly by consumer electronics use of RF parts,
but as hams we have to learn how to take advantage of all that stuff out
there.

Learning to use all that stuff isn't necessarily automatic! Many of the
parts are available only in surface-mount today. But even though I grew
up on 6L6's and transformers pulled from junk TV sets, I've managed to
make the transition. If a stuck-in-the-mud guy like me can make the
transition, I think others can too!

Oh, yeah, Digi-Key still sells folded-sheet-metal chassis boxes :-)

Tim.