On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 10:08:19 -0800, "RST Engineering"
wrote:

OK, then. A zener makes a poor noise source according to what I'm reading.
Noise.com used to sell off-spec diodes by the onesies for we poor peons to
play with, but for whatever reason that doesn't seem to be the case any
more.

Given that a zener (at whatever current) is a poor noise source, what is a
good source of electronic broadband noise from low HF through high UHF --
say, 5 to 500 MHz.? (No smart remarks about spark gaps.)

Jim



A hot resistor.

How about a thermistor or a lamp filament that was 50 ohms at some
high temperature. You could heat it with DC, sense its
resistance/temp, and let it make noise, all in a single part.

Old vintage noise figure meters used gas tubes. And I think there was
a pencil tube that mounted in a waveguide and made shot noise.

And, of course, the old photomultiplier trick.

John