At one time, Radioshack was very big in the USA. I was told about a comeback, although most of the products look as if they were made in China.
Maplins, that was a near equivalent here in the UK, closed some years ago. These days, many people buy direct from China!
At one time Radioshack sold a nice single band 10m SSB rig. The name escapes me.
Way back in 1961 I was bought a Heathkit electronics workshop for Christmas. Little did I know then that this was to be the start of an absorbing hobby and career. Heathkit is trying to make a comeback although the offerings I have seen have definitely not been impressive. These kits are overpriced and I am surprised they are still around. They must have some very loyal customers!
See https;//shop.heathkit.com/shop
See also https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp/Home/ew on my very old (not maintained) website. The links of the left cannot be relied upon.
It was far more expensive than I wanted to pay from a UK dealer, but I rarely buy gear and I probably haven't that many years to enjoy it. It should give me years of fun. I cannot see the prices falling any time soon. The IC-7300 hasn't dropped in years.
In the end, the review by Peter Hart in the latest RadCom persuaded me. So, I have succumbed. At the moment I am still reading the manual and will probably try it later.
More later....
As many will know, I am not a great DX chaser these days. If I work DX great, although I rarely go looking for it. To some, it is an important aspect of our hobby. Working rare DX on multiple bands can be a source of great excitement.
If I remember correctly, I achieved DXCC on 10m SSB QRP way back in the 1980s. My greatest thrill was working New Zealand with 10W SSB on 10m early one morning with a simple sloping wire dipole. The other thrill was working a VP8 in Antarctica.
If you are a keen DXer you may like Club Log. It seems an ideal resource for keen DXers.
In the last few years, FT8 has become the dominant mode on many bands.
Unlike speech modes, FT8 is definitely not a chatting mode. Basic QSO data only is exchanged. To use FT8 needs special software like WSJT-X that can be got for free on the internet.
Whilst this mode is great for simple stations and those who find talking hard (like me), it is not a mode that you just stumble across. Many years ago I "found" amateur radio by chance hearing AM stations on 160m and 15m.
In the end FT8 and similar could kill our hobby. What I am advocating is FT8 should be seen as complementing speech modes, not instead of speech modes. I hope, as HF conditions improve, more people will use SSB, FM and AM again.
