Research Hint

[Keith Rowland]

Fellow Hobbyists:

Hardly a day passes that one does not see on the various reflectors
numerous requests for information on parts sources.  This is fine; it's
one of the purposes of these reflectors.  It's also been said that
"..there are no dumb questions," and that's true, for no one can know
everything.  But many of the questions that come across could easily be
answered if the questioner would take just a little time to accumulate
(and read) the massive amount of information available to us from the
various suppliers of electronic parts and devices.

It is obvious from many of the requests for information on the
reflectors that many of us either do not have any catalogs or are
unwilling or unable to read them.

For a starting point in accumulating catalogs, one need only look in any
ARRL Handbook (what, you don't even have this???), where there is a long
list of suppliers and their addresses and other information about them.
If you have a local parts house, you can often get semiconductor
reference books from them for free, especially if you frequent the place
a good bit.
For example, when I started collecting catalogs in earnest, I filled up
an entire drawer of a full-size file cabinet with catalogs within 6
months.  As far as technical references are concerned, including files
of QST back to the mid-50s, I have filled four large bookcases and am
working on a fifth one.

I know space may preclude some folks from amassing that much reference
data, but catalogs are cheap (even free in many cases), and include a
wealth of information about the uses to which the parts listed in them
can be put, and surely anyone can find a bit of space for a few
catalogs.

I shall now go and pour my first cup of coffee and improve my mood...!
:  )

73 and Good Cataloguing,

Keith

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