I really tried to Buy in South Africa but many electronic items are just not available anywhere
So I've been trying to buy some amateur radio equipment and I was amazed to find not even the more commonly available items are available anywhere locally, and where you can buy the coax cable the connector for that size is not available. It's easy to say build the antenna yourself but you try sourcing the parts locally! It becomes easier to buy it ready made from Amazon at R750 inc delivery and taxes within 7 days (this was for a wire antenna).
As we are now limited to 3 import consignments per person per year I was down to buying three items on my wife's name so I thought I'd at least source the 13.8V DC 25Amp power supply locally, but to no avail after trying Mantech, Hamrads, and a few other electronics places I eventually only found a 12V DC 30Amp power supply at Communica. Not the one I actually wanted at all. I paid R914.20 locally for it and Amazon sells the identical one for $38.98 inc delivery, tax and VAT (R545) to my front door as a single item. It's made in China…
I need M-Type (PL-259) coax connectors to connect the coax to my radio. Well, I can find N-Types and SMA etc but not many N-Type connectors.
What is available is the more common VHF/UHF antennas and accessories. There are two or three online amateur radio importers but they stock specific items only. If you do a market comparison on say SWR meters and then decide on the one you actually want to buy – you find it is either not listed at all, or there is one that has been shown as out of stock for over a month.
South Africans want to buy locally but if local distributors are not going to stock items or make it easier we really just have to import the items ourselves. It is terribly tempting to just go online to Amazon and I have yet to not find what I need from this one site. And don't let me start on double-edged razor blades or soaps…
Image credit: https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/127473/how-much-it-really-costs-to-feed-a-family-of-five-in-south-africa-its-not-r753/
