Does anyone remember Lafayette Electronics?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Radio_Electronics
I had a Heathkit HW-101 CW SSB Transceiver.
I used to call them “Lousyette”. Poor quality, half the stuff you ordered wasn’t in stock.
Allied Radio was the place to go.
Yep, I do indeed. I remember going to one of their stores in Florida in the '70s. I didn't realize that the FCC's CB radio changes was what crippled them.
“Does anyone remember Lafayette Electronics?”
Yes, and also Olsen Electronics. In Houston, the hams hung out at Madison Electronics.
I started buying at Radio Shack in the mid 1960’s when they sold mostly electrical components. I remember seeing in RS cardboard boxes filled with heaps of vacuum tube modules salvaged from mainframe computers.
There has been an educational and cultural change that affects electronics and other technical hobbies. Most kids don’t build or repair anything with their hands anymore. This country is dying from apathy.