[Radio Wrangler]

I'd like to stick up for the humble field-effect transistor.

There have been some very good FET-based VHF converters over the years. Many from a period now considered classic. They're in the RSGB handbooks, or the circuits of the microwave modules ones can be found. If you want to be very posh, you could clone one of the Mutek front-ends. Chris Bartram made a very good job of those.

Low noise small signal VHF work is where transistors are getting into their strengths and valves are starting to have difficulties.

In order to be a compleat electronics guy, you need to understand valve gear because there is still a lot of nice classic valve gear around. But you also have to understand transistor stuff because it has some great tricks up its sleeve and there is also some rather nice solid state gear around. Both sorts have some real stinkers, of course.

David