The May 2011 High Frequency Electronics arrived with the sad news that the most recent Digi-Key catalog is the last, replaced by the www.digikey.com web site. Digi-Key are also cancelling their TechZone magazine.
I suppose it was inevitable. The warning signs were certainly there, as Digi-Key sent thinner and less frequent catalogs to hobbyists than to professionals, then cut back to annual issues. Nevertheless, I will miss the giant catalog that has always had a prominent place in my office and home lab.
I received my first Digi-Key catalog in 1983. Back then, it was thin, only 32 or 64 pages long. They had a good optoelectronics section, which remains one of their strengths. The only US semiconductor manufacturer they carried was National Semiconductor, though they distributed several lines of Japanese semiconductors. (At one point, I wondered if National was Japanese, too!) Continue reading “Farewell, Digi-Key catalog”