Nuts and Volts - January 2017

SMV1404-09 Varactor Diode

This is in regards to the sweep generator (N&V December 2013), the RF generator (June 2014), and the elusive varactor diode.

Unfortunately, shortly after these articles of mine were published, the market on these parts literally dried up. They are not obsolete and are still in current production, but due to the focus on GHz media products, the big time distributors seem to be only interested in varactors that support that sector.

I have had tremendous response to those articles, and the main problem was that those building the projects could not find an outlet for purchasing them at a respectable price other than the large Asian secondary distributors wanting as much as $95 each piece and minimum quantities of 1,000 pieces. So, as a service to them, I took a big risk and purchased the minimum order direct from the OEM (hundreds of dollars). To my surprise and delight, they were completely sold out in one month.

Due to continuing demand, I repeated this one more time with the same results. I am still getting requests for them, and with an upcoming article on an adapter unit for the RF generator that will add sweep function to it, I expect even more interest in those parts. So, once again, I am considering taking the "plunge" for a large OEM order on these parts.

What I would need to know is how many of you would be interested in purchasing them. As in the past, I will be charging $12 for a packet of two pieces with free shipping. I make virtually no money on these transactions and offer this only as a service.