HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => The RF Workbench => Topic started by: redhat on February 25, 2022, 0021 UTC
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I see this popping up in threads around here from time to time, and it bears repeating. To eliminate problems in your builds, especially as beginners;
*Don't buy components off ebay, or Aliexpress, wish, etc. This is especially true of vendors overseas. Many times these parts are restamped low quality parts of substantially different rating than they claim to be.
Buy parts from reputable domestic vendors, like Digikey, Mouser, etc. It may seem daunting, as there are usually many versions of a particular part, but if you don't know which one will work, ask for help here. We'll do our best to help you sort them out.
The money you think you will save is usually lost chasing problems related to counterfeit parts.
+-RH
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On the few occasions i've had to buy online, I've had very positive experiences buying off eBay.
Either I wasn't able to get a part from my usual supplier, or it was ridiculously expensive.
Maybe I've just been lucky.
For most run of the mill, low value parts, I stick to my usual local-ish supplier as I know I will usually have them delivered within a few days.
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I stick to Mouse/Digikey/Jameco most of the time, but occasionally need to go the eBay/China route when looking for ancient parts long out of stock from franchised distributors. So far so good, but it is a crap shoot.
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The only things I have purchased from Amazon or Ebay (general Ebay, not a dedicated Ebay store for some manufacturer) are wire, test clips, etc. and even with the simplest things there is risk.
I bought some 2 foot long coax cables with BNC connectors on both ends from Ebay and they are absolute shit. I tossed them out.