In article ,
says...

Hello! I've been reading the mail with pleasure. But I'm sad that it
seems like electronics has progressed so much that it's hard to have fun
with if you're only half-smart, like me. My solution is to work on old
tube radios.

Nothing wrong with that. Many of my fellow hamateur radio folk
feel the same way.

For this I need a frequency counter that goes to maybe 500 MHZ (I might
want to use my ham ticket on VHF someday). I'd like it to be fairly
cheap (no more than $300) and above all reliable and sturdily built. I'd
like it to be new. I want this thing to last!

Well, that being the case... My own choice was a Fluke 1953A that
I got from a local surplus place for about $50. It goes up to over
500MHz on the 'C' input (explanations in a moment). It's built very well
indeed, has a simple front panel, and is relatively easy to service if
something goes phooey.

Failing that, HP, Tektronix, and Optelectronics Corp. all make
(made as well) decent counters. Here are a few sample listings from
Greed-bay of units that I would consider if I needed to shop for one.

http://tinyurl.com/d4e84

http://tinyurl.com/b64tp

http://tinyurl.com/eyw8k

http://tinyurl.com/8n2qg

Another source for such hardware is ham radio swap meets. You can
locate such in one of two ways. First is to try the specialized search
engine at this link:

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html

Second would be to locate a ham radio club close to you, and query
some of its members or officers. Listings of clubs may be searched at
this link:

http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/club/clubsearch.phtml

That should keep you busy for a while. Happy hunting.


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"