Re: Had it with Radio Shack

[W7TI]

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 22:17:02 GMT, Tweetldee wrote:

> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP

__________________________________________________ ______________

Thank goodness for Mouser and ebay.

Bill, W7TI

[W7TI]

On Wed, 02 Jul 2003 22:17:02 GMT, Tweetldee wrote:

> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP

__________________________________________________ ______________

Thank goodness for Mouser and ebay.

Bill, W7TI

[Chuck / KE4ETH]

It's a sad thing.

My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.

The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.

Chuck

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message
...
> Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for the Shack as a source for
> experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a relatively new store (open
> less than a year) today to get a few resistors that I need in a hurry.
What
> did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor, transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> anything that would be considered an electronic component was to be found.
> They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors, cell phones, home phones,
> phone accessories, satellite TV equipment, expensive toys, and a few
stereo
> "systems", but but not an electronic component in sight. They had wire,
> solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing to solder the wires to.
They
> don't even carry the small project boxes any more.
> They're looking more like the electronics section in WalMart every day.
> Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices are 40-100% above what
you'll
> pay for the same item at WalMart.
>
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>
> --
> Tweetldee
> Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in
the
> address)
>
> Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
>
>

[Chuck / KE4ETH]

It's a sad thing.

My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.

The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.

Chuck

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message
...
> Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for the Shack as a source for
> experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a relatively new store (open
> less than a year) today to get a few resistors that I need in a hurry.
What
> did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor, transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> anything that would be considered an electronic component was to be found.
> They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors, cell phones, home phones,
> phone accessories, satellite TV equipment, expensive toys, and a few
stereo
> "systems", but but not an electronic component in sight. They had wire,
> solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing to solder the wires to.
They
> don't even carry the small project boxes any more.
> They're looking more like the electronics section in WalMart every day.
> Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices are 40-100% above what
you'll
> pay for the same item at WalMart.
>
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>
> --
> Tweetldee
> Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in
the
> address)
>
> Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
>
>

[WB3FUP \(Mike Hall\)]

And we only have ourselves to blame. How many of
us, Licensed Amateurs, not members of this group,
but individuals who hold a license, know one end
of a soldering iron form another. Radio Shack is
a BigBoard listed corporation. The Board of
Directors has a responsibility to increase
shareholder wealth. Those of us that do build
something, have other places to buy where we can
get it cheaper, and we do most of our shopping at
that source. Then comes the need for a 48.5 ohm
2.5 watt resistor NOW. We race to Rat Shack, and
then when such a "common" item is not available
bad mouth them. If they sold more components they
would carry more components. They carry a bunch
of them now, there just not hung on the wall
anymore. The parts are in 8 drawer cabinets,
depending on what the store sold in parts prior to
the conversion, about ten months ago the stores
have 4 or 8 of these cabinets. There is a lot of
stuff not in the store that they can get for you.
All you have to do is ask. The quote 10 working
day delivery (better to over deliver than over
promise). In my experience delivery time for the
non-stock item is two to three days. I don't work
there anymore, but I still shop there, and will
continue to.

--
73 es cul

wb3fup
a Salty Bear

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message
...
> Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for
the Shack as a source for
> experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a
relatively new store (open
> less than a year) today to get a few resistors
that I need in a hurry. What
> did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor,
transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> anything that would be considered an electronic
component was to be found.
> They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors,
cell phones, home phones,
> phone accessories, satellite TV equipment,
expensive toys, and a few stereo
> "systems", but but not an electronic component
in sight. They had wire,
> solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing
to solder the wires to. They
> don't even carry the small project boxes any
more.
> They're looking more like the electronics
section in WalMart every day.
> Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices
are 40-100% above what you'll
> pay for the same item at WalMart.
>
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>
> --
> Tweetldee
> Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the
appropriate characters in the
> address)
>
> Time is what keeps everything from happening all
at once.
>
>

[WB3FUP \(Mike Hall\)]

And we only have ourselves to blame. How many of
us, Licensed Amateurs, not members of this group,
but individuals who hold a license, know one end
of a soldering iron form another. Radio Shack is
a BigBoard listed corporation. The Board of
Directors has a responsibility to increase
shareholder wealth. Those of us that do build
something, have other places to buy where we can
get it cheaper, and we do most of our shopping at
that source. Then comes the need for a 48.5 ohm
2.5 watt resistor NOW. We race to Rat Shack, and
then when such a "common" item is not available
bad mouth them. If they sold more components they
would carry more components. They carry a bunch
of them now, there just not hung on the wall
anymore. The parts are in 8 drawer cabinets,
depending on what the store sold in parts prior to
the conversion, about ten months ago the stores
have 4 or 8 of these cabinets. There is a lot of
stuff not in the store that they can get for you.
All you have to do is ask. The quote 10 working
day delivery (better to over deliver than over
promise). In my experience delivery time for the
non-stock item is two to three days. I don't work
there anymore, but I still shop there, and will
continue to.

--
73 es cul

wb3fup
a Salty Bear

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message
...
> Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for
the Shack as a source for
> experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a
relatively new store (open
> less than a year) today to get a few resistors
that I need in a hurry. What
> did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor,
transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> anything that would be considered an electronic
component was to be found.
> They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors,
cell phones, home phones,
> phone accessories, satellite TV equipment,
expensive toys, and a few stereo
> "systems", but but not an electronic component
in sight. They had wire,
> solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing
to solder the wires to. They
> don't even carry the small project boxes any
more.
> They're looking more like the electronics
section in WalMart every day.
> Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices
are 40-100% above what you'll
> pay for the same item at WalMart.
>
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>
> --
> Tweetldee
> Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the
appropriate characters in the
> address)
>
> Time is what keeps everything from happening all
at once.
>
>

[Harold E. Johnson]

> As I say, in reality the situation has never been better! It's we
> ourselves who need to change our buying habits.


Better yet of course, is SMT Ian. If you can use half an order of
FST-3125's, (1250), I can buy them at $0.22 each.

At $0.86 each in single quantity, they're still cheaper than an MCL
mixer/switch, by 5X at least. And, yield greatly improved performance to
boot!

W4ZCB

[Harold E. Johnson]

> As I say, in reality the situation has never been better! It's we
> ourselves who need to change our buying habits.


Better yet of course, is SMT Ian. If you can use half an order of
FST-3125's, (1250), I can buy them at $0.22 each.

At $0.86 each in single quantity, they're still cheaper than an MCL
mixer/switch, by 5X at least. And, yield greatly improved performance to
boot!

W4ZCB

[Al]

In article >,
"Chuck / KE4ETH" > wrote:

> It's a sad thing.
>
> My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
> but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
> engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
> 45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
> and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
> has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.
>
> The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.
>

<<< big snip >>>

Isn't the CEO of RS a women? I don't think she ever built a thing in her
life.

--

Reverse address to reply.

[Al]

In article >,
"Chuck / KE4ETH" > wrote:

> It's a sad thing.
>
> My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
> but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
> engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
> 45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
> and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
> has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.
>
> The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.
>

<<< big snip >>>

Isn't the CEO of RS a women? I don't think she ever built a thing in her
life.

--

Reverse address to reply.

[R J Carpenter]

Not that I think RS is wonderful, but the present-day choice seems to be
Radio Shack or nothing for "right now" purchases.

Unless you have a real electronic wholesaler in town that will deal with
small orders, or are willing to wait a few days for DigiKey, Mouser, etc.


> In article >,
> "Chuck / KE4ETH" > wrote:
>
> > My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS
brand,
> > but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
> > engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company
store,
> > 45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs,
Caps
> > and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles
away
> > has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.
> >
> > The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.

And it's easy to see why they would rather sell $99.95 JunkSonic items
rather than $1.49 capacitors.

[R J Carpenter]

Not that I think RS is wonderful, but the present-day choice seems to be
Radio Shack or nothing for "right now" purchases.

Unless you have a real electronic wholesaler in town that will deal with
small orders, or are willing to wait a few days for DigiKey, Mouser, etc.


> In article >,
> "Chuck / KE4ETH" > wrote:
>
> > My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS
brand,
> > but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
> > engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company
store,
> > 45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs,
Caps
> > and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles
away
> > has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.
> >
> > The seem to want to sell (and promise the moon) on appliance items.

And it's easy to see why they would rather sell $99.95 JunkSonic items
rather than $1.49 capacitors.

[donut]

"Duncan Walters" > wrote in
:

> Anyone would think that home construction was a dying hobby!

No! Say it ain't so! ;)

[donut]

"Duncan Walters" > wrote in
:

> Anyone would think that home construction was a dying hobby!

No! Say it ain't so! ;)

[Ken Finney]

"Alex" > wrote in message
...
> my local RS had a pretty good selection of basic parts (2n2222's
> resistors, tools, caps, etc) until last fall when they just decided, for
> no apparent reason, to stop carrying them. They lost my business. Now I
> drive into Montreal to goto ABRA, much cheaper parts ($0.05 each for
> capacitors), but the cost of gas makes it impractical to go for less
> than $20 of parts.
>
> Tweetldee wrote:
> > Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for the Shack as a source for
> > experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a relatively new store
(open
> > less than a year) today to get a few resistors that I need in a hurry.
What
> > did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor, transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> > anything that would be considered an electronic component was to be
found.
> > They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors, cell phones, home phones,
> > phone accessories, satellite TV equipment, expensive toys, and a few
stereo
> > "systems", but but not an electronic component in sight. They had wire,
> > solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing to solder the wires to.
They
> > don't even carry the small project boxes any more.
> > They're looking more like the electronics section in WalMart every day.
> > Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices are 40-100% above what
you'll
> > pay for the same item at WalMart.
> >
> > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
> >
> > --
> > Tweetldee
> > Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in
the
> > address)
> >
> > Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
> >
> >
>

My local Radio Shack INCREASED the amount of parts they carried a couple of
months ago. They moved all the parts from the wall racks to a couple of
cabinets, but in the process, increased the number of different types they
stocked.

[Ken Finney]

"Alex" > wrote in message
...
> my local RS had a pretty good selection of basic parts (2n2222's
> resistors, tools, caps, etc) until last fall when they just decided, for
> no apparent reason, to stop carrying them. They lost my business. Now I
> drive into Montreal to goto ABRA, much cheaper parts ($0.05 each for
> capacitors), but the cost of gas makes it impractical to go for less
> than $20 of parts.
>
> Tweetldee wrote:
> > Well, I guess the death knell has sounded for the Shack as a source for
> > experimenter and hobbyist parts. I went into a relatively new store
(open
> > less than a year) today to get a few resistors that I need in a hurry.
What
> > did I find? Not a resistor, capacitor, transistor, IC, switch, fuse, or
> > anything that would be considered an electronic component was to be
found.
> > They had all kinds of TV coax, TV connectors, cell phones, home phones,
> > phone accessories, satellite TV equipment, expensive toys, and a few
stereo
> > "systems", but but not an electronic component in sight. They had wire,
> > solder, soldering irons, and such, but nothing to solder the wires to.
They
> > don't even carry the small project boxes any more.
> > They're looking more like the electronics section in WalMart every day.
> > Ooops, I take that back... the Shack's prices are 40-100% above what
you'll
> > pay for the same item at WalMart.
> >
> > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
> >
> > --
> > Tweetldee
> > Tweetldee at att dot net (Just subsitute the appropriate characters in
the
> > address)
> >
> > Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
> >
> >
>

My local Radio Shack INCREASED the amount of parts they carried a couple of
months ago. They moved all the parts from the wall racks to a couple of
cabinets, but in the process, increased the number of different types they
stocked.

[Tim Shoppa]

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message >...
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP

Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.

Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.

Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
$5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in homebrewing.

Tim.

[Tim Shoppa]

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message >...
> Adios Radio Shack !! RIP

Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.

Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.

Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
$5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in homebrewing.

Tim.

[Michael Black]

"R J Carpenter" ) writes:
> "Tim Shoppa" > wrote in message
> om...
>> "Tweetldee" > wrote in message
> >...
>> > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>>
>> Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.
>>
>> Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
>> inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
>> parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
>> of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.
>>
>> Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
>> $5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in
> homebrewing.
>
> Agreed.
>
> I contend that the NUMBER of people homebrewing is probably about the same
> as ages ago, it's just a much smaller percentage of the ham population. And
> the field is so much wider that it's hard to stock everything everyone
> wants.
>
> Back when 100 tube types would satisfy most demands, 10 or 20 variable
> capacitors, 10% 1/2-W and 1-W Allen-Bradley resistors were enough, etc, etc,
> the stocking challenge wasn't so big.
>
>
And this has been seen as the cause of the disappearance of the local
electronic outlet. Even in 1971 when I first entered one of those stores,
there was an awful lot of overlap between the needs of the electronic repair
person and the electronic hobbyist. Most of the parts I bought had
uses elsewhere, and the relatively few parts that weren't, like variable
capacitors, weren't much of a burden.

Even a few years later, I had to go to a different breed of stores to
buy ICs, because the old stores weren't carrying much in that area
(other than costly replacement line devices). The old stores started
fading out, unable or unwilling to make the transition. Face it,
those old stores had been around for a long time, with those wooden
floors and plenty of WWII surplus, and if for no other reason, it
was probably seen by many as a good time to retire or move on, rather
than expend money on new stock and even new decor.

The problem with the newer distributors were that they often didn't
carry radio parts, and sure didn't carry surplus. Likely because
the component count went way up, and they had to stop somewhere.
Instead of one-stop locations, you'd have to go to a few places, and maybe
mail order for some. Many of the newer stores seemed more interested in
only professional sales, so they didn't want those hobbyists hanging around
on Saturday mornings which is what happened at the old stores (and created the
atmosphere). Actually, the newer distributors weren't the type of place
you wanted to hang out. I remember going to Active circa 1975 or 76,
and you entered a tiny reception room where you filled out an order
form, and someone in the back collected the parts.

Radio Shack was handy for some parts, but I never routinely bought
there because the prices were too high, and I couldn't get everything
there. On the other hand, I never had the animosity that some seem
to have for the place, ironically from those who never seemed to
buy parts elsewhere. But the parts there likely were balanced against
the equipment the stores were selling, and they were seen in seen
way as beneficial. For whatever reason(s), in recent years that benefit
seems to have diminished, so the parts are disappearing from Radio Shack.

This is 25 to 30 years after those parts stores I first went to at age
11 started disappearing.

Michael VE2BVW

[Michael Black]

"R J Carpenter" ) writes:
> "Tim Shoppa" > wrote in message
> om...
>> "Tweetldee" > wrote in message
> >...
>> > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
>>
>> Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.
>>
>> Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
>> inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
>> parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
>> of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.
>>
>> Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
>> $5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in
> homebrewing.
>
> Agreed.
>
> I contend that the NUMBER of people homebrewing is probably about the same
> as ages ago, it's just a much smaller percentage of the ham population. And
> the field is so much wider that it's hard to stock everything everyone
> wants.
>
> Back when 100 tube types would satisfy most demands, 10 or 20 variable
> capacitors, 10% 1/2-W and 1-W Allen-Bradley resistors were enough, etc, etc,
> the stocking challenge wasn't so big.
>
>
And this has been seen as the cause of the disappearance of the local
electronic outlet. Even in 1971 when I first entered one of those stores,
there was an awful lot of overlap between the needs of the electronic repair
person and the electronic hobbyist. Most of the parts I bought had
uses elsewhere, and the relatively few parts that weren't, like variable
capacitors, weren't much of a burden.

Even a few years later, I had to go to a different breed of stores to
buy ICs, because the old stores weren't carrying much in that area
(other than costly replacement line devices). The old stores started
fading out, unable or unwilling to make the transition. Face it,
those old stores had been around for a long time, with those wooden
floors and plenty of WWII surplus, and if for no other reason, it
was probably seen by many as a good time to retire or move on, rather
than expend money on new stock and even new decor.

The problem with the newer distributors were that they often didn't
carry radio parts, and sure didn't carry surplus. Likely because
the component count went way up, and they had to stop somewhere.
Instead of one-stop locations, you'd have to go to a few places, and maybe
mail order for some. Many of the newer stores seemed more interested in
only professional sales, so they didn't want those hobbyists hanging around
on Saturday mornings which is what happened at the old stores (and created the
atmosphere). Actually, the newer distributors weren't the type of place
you wanted to hang out. I remember going to Active circa 1975 or 76,
and you entered a tiny reception room where you filled out an order
form, and someone in the back collected the parts.

Radio Shack was handy for some parts, but I never routinely bought
there because the prices were too high, and I couldn't get everything
there. On the other hand, I never had the animosity that some seem
to have for the place, ironically from those who never seemed to
buy parts elsewhere. But the parts there likely were balanced against
the equipment the stores were selling, and they were seen in seen
way as beneficial. For whatever reason(s), in recent years that benefit
seems to have diminished, so the parts are disappearing from Radio Shack.

This is 25 to 30 years after those parts stores I first went to at age
11 started disappearing.

Michael VE2BVW

[John Bartley K7AAY]

On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 17:36:55 -0700, "Chuck / KE4ETH"
> wrote:

>It's a sad thing.
>
>My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
>but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
>engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
>45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
>and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
>has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.

Franchise stores have a great degree of flexibility; the Shack in Lincoln
City, OR, not only stocks componets well, but also has S&W revolvers.

http://www.bizcenter.org/ClientStories/radioshack.pdf
http://www.valuecom.com/acclaim/Oregon/Computers_and_Internet/The_Electronic_Superstore.html

Company stores, on the other hand, are often hopeless.

So sayeth a former two-store Shack manager.

<snip>
--
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.

[John Bartley K7AAY]

On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 17:36:55 -0700, "Chuck / KE4ETH"
> wrote:

>It's a sad thing.
>
>My local Radio Shack is run by a fellow that stocks parts. Not the RS brand,
>but Ohmite and others. We have a college in that town and an electrical
>engineering department, so I guess that one doesn't count. A company store,
>45 miles away, has an upright cabinet with drawer with resistors, ICs, Caps
>and other parts. Not a good selection, but some. Another store 35 miles away
>has the same kinda drawers with the same kinda items.

Franchise stores have a great degree of flexibility; the Shack in Lincoln
City, OR, not only stocks componets well, but also has S&W revolvers.

http://www.bizcenter.org/ClientStories/radioshack.pdf
http://www.valuecom.com/acclaim/Oregon/Computers_and_Internet/The_Electronic_Superstore.html

Company stores, on the other hand, are often hopeless.

So sayeth a former two-store Shack manager.

<snip>
--
Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT.

[Chuck / KE4ETH]

"donut" > wrote in message
...
> "Duncan Walters" > wrote in
> :
>
> > Anyone would think that home construction was a dying hobby!
>
> No! Say it ain't so! ;)

Where will we live......

[Chuck / KE4ETH]

"donut" > wrote in message
...
> "Duncan Walters" > wrote in
> :
>
> > Anyone would think that home construction was a dying hobby!
>
> No! Say it ain't so! ;)

Where will we live......

[Duncan Walters]

Where will we live......

DOH !!

[Duncan Walters]

Where will we live......

DOH !!

[Tim Shoppa]

"R J Carpenter" > wrote in message >...
> "Tim Shoppa" > wrote in message
> om...
> > "Tweetldee" > wrote in message
> >...
> > > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
> >
> > Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.
> >
> > Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
> > inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
> > parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
> > of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.
> >
> > Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
> > $5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in
> > homebrewing.
>
> Agreed.

Actually, Digi-Key's very first product was a digital keyer for hams...
after that for a long while they didn't have much in the way of RF products,
but in the last couple of years they've really come around. They've
been driven almost certainly by consumer electronics use of RF parts,
but as hams we have to learn how to take advantage of all that stuff out
there.

Learning to use all that stuff isn't necessarily automatic! Many of the
parts are available only in surface-mount today. But even though I grew
up on 6L6's and transformers pulled from junk TV sets, I've managed to
make the transition. If a stuck-in-the-mud guy like me can make the
transition, I think others can too!

Oh, yeah, Digi-Key still sells folded-sheet-metal chassis boxes :-)

Tim.

[Tim Shoppa]

"R J Carpenter" > wrote in message >...
> "Tim Shoppa" > wrote in message
> om...
> > "Tweetldee" > wrote in message
> >...
> > > Adios Radio Shack !! RIP
> >
> > Well, they still have fuses and light bulbs, at least.
> >
> > Digi-Key has, in the past decade or so, gotten really good at carrying RF
> > inductors and capacitors. They even have a small assortment of microwave
> > parts now. I think that homebrewing could be entering a renaissance age
> > of using all the really good radio stuff that is permeating everywhere.
> >
> > Recently I built a 1.6 GHz LNA with a 0.5 dB noise figure... using about
> > $5 in parts from Digi-Key. This *is* the dawn of a new age in
> > homebrewing.
>
> Agreed.

Actually, Digi-Key's very first product was a digital keyer for hams...
after that for a long while they didn't have much in the way of RF products,
but in the last couple of years they've really come around. They've
been driven almost certainly by consumer electronics use of RF parts,
but as hams we have to learn how to take advantage of all that stuff out
there.

Learning to use all that stuff isn't necessarily automatic! Many of the
parts are available only in surface-mount today. But even though I grew
up on 6L6's and transformers pulled from junk TV sets, I've managed to
make the transition. If a stuck-in-the-mud guy like me can make the
transition, I think others can too!

Oh, yeah, Digi-Key still sells folded-sheet-metal chassis boxes :-)

Tim.

[cornytheclown]

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message >...
> snipped.....its been reposted enough as this is probably the 20th reply or so...maybe even farthur down the list...

I never bought a whole lot from the shack....batteries,ferric
chloride, and the occasional doo dad were my only big purchases.

Until about 4 years ago I had a shack within walking distance that was
very well stocked in high priced components....like I said I didnt buy
much but they were handy when I somehow didnt have it in one of my
bins.

We did have a regular electronics place here for years....Radio
Electric Supply and it was dingy dusty electronics supply house that
carried everything but they dried up for lack of business about 6 or 7
years ago maybe 8....

2 other places in nearby towns that actually carry electronic supplies
but they are geard more toward cable, computers, and communications
now......any ics or semiconductors will be the 3.00 a pop brand names
like NTE..... no more resistor packs or bulk anything....one of the
stores does not even stock magnet wire and the pros there didnt even
know what it was.

I make my purchases from mouser and electronix express and a few
others....mostly mouser. If you are serious about the hobby you might
as well order 10 or more of the common stuff and make large orders to
save on shipping.

I went to rat shack a couple of weeks ago....they moved to the other
side of town. They had very few components left and didnt knw if they
would restock. They had it all in a big cabinet with bins. They did
have a couple of new rat shack soldering iron stations and some tools
but resistors, capacitors, semicondutors were barely stocked. #
bottles of ferric chloride...I bought 2.

They did have lots of coax type stuff....bncs in many shapes and sizes
and all kinds of "f" coax stuff.

The store was empty and I was immediately accosted by two salesmen who
left me alone when I said I was just loking for electronic parts.

The whole store except for less than 10 square feet is dedicated to
computers and phones....the odd battery selection, the behind the
counter calcualtors etc....but rat shack is clearly a cell phone
dealership now.

[cornytheclown]

"Tweetldee" > wrote in message >...
> snipped.....its been reposted enough as this is probably the 20th reply or so...maybe even farthur down the list...

I never bought a whole lot from the shack....batteries,ferric
chloride, and the occasional doo dad were my only big purchases.

Until about 4 years ago I had a shack within walking distance that was
very well stocked in high priced components....like I said I didnt buy
much but they were handy when I somehow didnt have it in one of my
bins.

We did have a regular electronics place here for years....Radio
Electric Supply and it was dingy dusty electronics supply house that
carried everything but they dried up for lack of business about 6 or 7
years ago maybe 8....

2 other places in nearby towns that actually carry electronic supplies
but they are geard more toward cable, computers, and communications
now......any ics or semiconductors will be the 3.00 a pop brand names
like NTE..... no more resistor packs or bulk anything....one of the
stores does not even stock magnet wire and the pros there didnt even
know what it was.

I make my purchases from mouser and electronix express and a few
others....mostly mouser. If you are serious about the hobby you might
as well order 10 or more of the common stuff and make large orders to
save on shipping.

I went to rat shack a couple of weeks ago....they moved to the other
side of town. They had very few components left and didnt knw if they
would restock. They had it all in a big cabinet with bins. They did
have a couple of new rat shack soldering iron stations and some tools
but resistors, capacitors, semicondutors were barely stocked. #
bottles of ferric chloride...I bought 2.

They did have lots of coax type stuff....bncs in many shapes and sizes
and all kinds of "f" coax stuff.

The store was empty and I was immediately accosted by two salesmen who
left me alone when I said I was just loking for electronic parts.

The whole store except for less than 10 square feet is dedicated to
computers and phones....the odd battery selection, the behind the
counter calcualtors etc....but rat shack is clearly a cell phone
dealership now.