Bob, You are just starting and finding that it is getting very hard to find parts to build anything.
There are a lot of fun things to build and can be very educating at the same time. I have built a lot of radios when Heath Kits were around. I have also built some the kits you can find on the internet. I have over 200 different electronics things that I have built and learned from. Most of the kits had all the parts in them, some I had to look for. That is not the case now, and it does not look like it is going to get any better. I have 1 project that I have started, and had to go to 28 different suppliers to get the parts. I have 3 more parts to locate and then I can start. The biggest problem is finding some of the parts that are called for in the project list. They may show a supplier, but when you start looking the supplier is gone, moved, or no longer has that part. Finding a substitute that will work is getting hard as well. On the last project that I completed I had to order a crystal that took 3 months for them to make. They had to grow that type before they could make it. The cost was a little high, $150.00, but it was worth it. The radio sound just like it did when it was made in the early 40's. Nicely restored with original parts, no replacement or substitutes. I sold the radio for $1,500.00 as a restored piece and made a few bucks to boot. I have found that the local TV repair shop is a very good source if you have any in your area. They have to have been in business before the 80's or you will get a technician that is to new and does not know what you are looking for unless he worked for one of the older shops. Good luck, and happy hunting. Charles Miller WD5EEH, Dallas, TX ----- Original Message ----- From: "KE5CTY Bob" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2005 8:51 PM Subject: [Repeater-Builder] PARTS I have been all over ebay, does anyone know where my son and I can find a bunch of Ham Radio related spare parts for building some of the home brew projects we are finding all over the internet but no parts, like transistros, resistors, coils, fets, diodes, connectors, ect in one lump purchase? I thought mabe I would find an estate sale or something on ebay but no luck. We are trying to start building homebrew accesories, ect and are starting from scratch. I have built some parts bins out of cardboard boxes and some wooden crates but can't find any parts except in TV's and old radios. Some are usable but I don't have a reference for most of them to see what the specs on them are. Something that would have assorted parts including perf boards, small enclosures, ect We live in the country and the closest parts store is over 100 miles away so we wanted to find it on the internet and hopefully at discounted prices the XYL says, no more than $50.00 TNX, KE5CTY (old calls WB5ZQU - WY5L) http://www.qsl.net/ke5cty/ Code may be dieing but the pioneering spirit that put the code there in the first place is still going strong. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Repeater-Builder/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/