Putting together a Christmas yard decoration and it's been a chore to source parts.

What I'm doing, purchased a authentic official highway grade deer warning sign from Amazon. Going to have a blinking LED red nose on it. All I needed was a LED, a simple flasher kit and a 9v battery connector.

At least Amazon had the pieces I needed. I could have ordered some of them from Mouser or Digikey but I found that Amazon will still ship for free in many cases, the one part from Mouser was less than the shipping.

As usual, projects evolve. Now I find I need a micro on-off switch like car alarms used to use. There was a s******* of those in the spare parts bins in the car dealerships I used to work at but since I'm not in those today there is no access to them. The guys that did those installs always had extras lying around. So off again to Amazon as I can probably buy ten of those for what one would cost me at a local aftermarket car accessory place in town.

It was so nice to just drop in and usually find it on the shelf or a drawer. Closest electronics supply house is probably close to an hour away from here.

Concur. They were very convenient.

There is a good electronics supply house locally but they carry stuff more in line with what pro repairmen need. Not much at all in terms of hobbyist stuff be it radio, stereo, whatever.

I needed a 1 ohm 10 watt resister and the Shack would be the place to have them. Not that I know watt a watt or ohm is. I remember rebuilding alternators and starters and my boss had the parts kits in stock for them all. Mainly Perkins and MB diesels alternators. Cant even find the rebuild kits now at the big box auto parts stores. Used to be around $15.00 and that sure beat buying a alternator or starter.

Oh, yes. I constantly need parts and have to get them on line. It sure delays projects.

One would think that they could have kept one , 40,000 sq ft warehouse open and do on line only sales.

Hire a half dozen 60 y.o. electronics guys to work from 8 to noon to run it.

I worked at one for a year, the same two dozen gizmo wizards would come in three times a week,
get a free battery , spend a dollar on a capacitor and walk out.

A few years ago, I overhauled some vacuum tube communications receivers. I could usually find common resistors and capacitors that might be needed at Radio Shack It was also a handy place for buying connectors and rosin core solder.

It was, at least back in the day, a store that lived up to its name, a good place to buy ham radio gear. From what I can tell, it strayed from appealing to its customer base, which was the electronics hobbyist. The last straw was when it started catering to the cell phone and battery buyer. There was just too much competition for those dollars.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: roustabout,

When I first started traveling for my job (an electronics tech) one of the first things I searched for when going to a new site was the nearest Radio Shack in case I needed something. They saved my butt more than once.

I did always have to laugh whenever I'd ask for something and instead of telling me where it was the clerk would ask "What are you using it for?" Dude, just tell me where it is.

Yeah.

We have Fry's Electronics in Phoenix, which is exponentially bigger than RS was. They're not as convenient to get to, but there's not much they don't have when you can't wait for a mail order.

Check with Sears. Oops!

I find a lot of obscure electronic parts on ebay for dirt cheap. I don't miss Radio Shack at all.

I keep a stock of parts. I go to Tayda first, then small bear, then bitcheslovemyswitches, then Mouser.

If you need a couple of parts and don't want to pay exorbitant shipping shoot me an email and I'll see what I have on hand.

quote:

Originally posted by shovelhead:
Putting together a Christmas yard decoration and it's been a chore to source parts.

What I'm doing, purchased a authentic official highway grade deer warning sign from Amazon. Going to have a blinking LED red nose on it. All I needed was a LED, a simple flasher kit and a 9v battery connector.

At least Amazon had the pieces I needed. I could have ordered some of them from Mouser or Digikey but I found that Amazon will still ship for free in many cases, the one part from Mouser was less than the shipping.

As usual, projects evolve. Now I find I need a micro on-off switch like car alarms used to use. There was a s******* of those in the spare parts bins in the car dealerships I used to work at but since I'm not in those today there is no access to them. The guys that did those installs always had extras lying around. So off again to Amazon as I can probably buy ten of those for what one would cost me at a local aftermarket car accessory place in town.

It was so nice to just drop in and usually find it on the shelf or a drawer. Closest electronics supply house is probably close to an hour away from here.

Are you looking for a small toggle switch? Spdp type? If so I have a few and can spare one if you want it. Email me and I'll drop one in the mail. Rotndad@gmail.com

I loved getting the Allied Electronics catalog (this was before they became/merged into Radio Shack.) Huge phone-book sized catalog listing everything under the sun. Sort of like a Sears/Monkey Ward for electrical tinkerers.

First startup I worked for was on Route 128, and our 'Radio Shack for industry' was You Do It Electronics. That was a great place to stop in and get whatever you needed, in just about whatever quantities you wanted. I don't know if they are still around (this was about 30 years ago) but I hope so.

Fry's became the go-to store as my next stop was Silicon Valley.

Sadly, here in NC there are no Fry's, and the Radio Shacks keep getting scarcer and scarcer. While I am a fan of Amazon and internet shopping in general, when you hit a snag in a project, there is nothing like knowing you can just go get what you need in real-time.

And maybe.. Lafayette electronics..

I’m guessing you’re referring to the Radio Shack that existed before they tried to reinvent themselves as the cellphone and technogadget place.

I don’t know how Radio Shack would have fared without those changes, but those poorly conceived transformations guaranteed the end of that company.

First, thank you Mark123 and Rotndad for the offers. I found a switch today I thought I had, it was going to be part of the ignition kill on a hot rod build I'm doing also. Got my fingers in a lot of pots at once.

I have to give Amazon credit though. I put in the search bar "flashing led light" and got a couple hits for model car and train flashing light kits. One really intrigued me, it was billed as a "slow flash red led light" suitable for use for example on a model water tower or as a end of train device. Five bucks and five bucks shipping. So I gambled and bought one. BINGO! It came today, it works on a 9 volt battery so now I need a small plastic box to contain the battery and the flasher module (very small) and the toggle switch. I'll go to my S-I-L's tomorrow evening, he is a service tech and he may have a box I can repurpose and hot glue to the sign making it all real compact.

Also, I received a 110vac to 12vdc power source today. That is the last link in the base I made for a vintage Federal Signal Beacon Ray light that was given to me by a friend. I am one for the mantra "If I have something it has to work". So it is mounted on a steel 12"x12"x4" steel electrical junction box that contains the power source and the switches. If you are not familiar with that particular emergency beacon, they were built with two red lamps and two clear lamps. The reds were on whenever the beacon was activated, the clear could be turned off if wired correctly due to the clear beams being on an angle, one up and one down that could cause a vision problem in foggy weather. Anyhow, I can control the clear ones from an additional switch. This beacon is the same as the one that was on one of the first fire apparatus I worked with in the 1980's, nostalgic and all.

Also have to start on a couple tube radio projects, a 1942 Zenith 10-669 console radio and a Hallicrafters S38B radio, both up next.

Ahhh, retirement!

I stopped going to Radio Shack the first time they demanded my address and phone number before completing the sale.

The sale wasn't completed.

Radio Shack is a good memory for me - I used to cruise their isles looking at CB transcievers short wave radios and walkie talkies and tools.

One of the best stores from another time.

I too miss Radio Shack.