When I was growing up, industrial and military surplus electronics were the way to go for experimenters looking to try stuff out on the cheap. Companies would shut down a product line and all the excess components would be purchased for pennies on the dollar by a number of 'surplus houses' who would sell them for cheap. There were a few in Seattle that I dealt with on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, with most of the manufacturing moving overseas, these markets are drying up and the houses are closing. Another big one bit the dust this new year.
From Ramsey Electronics:
For more than 4 decades, the name Ramsey Kits has been synonymous with some of the neatest and the greatest electronic products and hobby kits for the do-it-yourself hobbyist. In those 40+ years, we always thought “outside the box” when we designed a new kit, making us known worldwide as the number one hobby kit manufacturer.
Back in the early 70’s it all started with the infamous “LED Blinky Kit” as our first kit. As the standard first kit sold to schools, scouting groups, and individuals, that one single kit became the very first electronic soldering kit experience for hundreds of thousands of hobbyists. And from that very first kit with only 10 components in it, the 16 page manual was written to delve deep into the circuit to cover how and why it works, in a fun and very easy to understand format. This practice followed over all these years, some 311 products later, earning us praise from everyone from teachers, educators, and engineers, to school children, scouts, and do-it-yourself hobbyists.
While our Hobby Kit Group was busy churning out the kits and products you’ve become so familiar with, our Professional RF Test Equipment Group was busy achieving similar milestones in that industry. From the largest manufacturer of RF pager test equipment, the world’s largest pager test training school, the world standard for cost effective communications service monitors, to our patented RF Isolated Test Enclosures, Ramsey Test has become equally synonymous as the most trusted RF Test Enclosure manufacturer worldwide.
The rapid changes in technologies have made it difficult for the do-it-yourself hobbyist. You just don’t go out and build yourself an 802.11ac wireless router these days! You buy one at the corner big-box store for fifty bucks! One of my favorite kits I personally built was a 25” Heathkit GR295 color TV! It was considered ahead of its time for TV’s, and you had to build it. You just can’t do that today either.
Therefore, following our well respected predecessors like Heathkit, KnightKit, Eico, and others in the past, we are discontinuing our Hobby Kit Group January 1, 2016.
I have built a lot of Ramsey kits. Their little FM stereo transmitters were awesome - great sound and range in a $40 kit. Amazon is selling off the residue of their kits - these are excellent value for the money.
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