"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