20 Nov
2001
20 Nov
'01
3:27 a.m.
And don't forget the fact that people today seem (in my opinion) to
experiment and tinker with electronics less and less.
I moonlighted at a Radio Shack for two years, and during that time I sold
maybe three or four electronics kits to people. I was the biggest buyer in
the district of component parts (capacitors, resistors, ICs, and such),
while the only real component sales we had were fuses and lamps.
Signs of the times. We had a Fry's open up near me (Houston, TX), and
walking in there was a real tinkerer's dream. Everything from appliances
and telescopes to computers and electronic components (and a decent
selection of REAL test equipment - not just DVMs!). I'm surprised that they
actually sell electronic components.
I could get lost in that store and not come out until Chapter
11....... : )
- Matt
At 09:46 AM 11/20/2001 -0700, you wrote:
This is only another sign of the trend. Whereas, some
20+ years back, it
was no
problem to go out and buy IC's and passives, which could easily be reworked,
today's ultra dense and surface mounted technology is so difficult to work by
hand that board-level repair is very difficult with tools likely to be in the
hobbyist's kit. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what that's
done to the market.
Consequently, there's little sense in having a worldwide components
distribution
network, as Radio Shack has had for >25 years. Today's electronic gadgets
have
a hundred+ components per square inch of PCB, and most of them are
difficult to
remove/replace without damaging them or the board. For me, it's enough of a
problem if I just drop one part. Resistors, capcitors, and inductors are the
size of a pinhead nowadays, and you need not only a microscope to read the
designators on them, but a vast library to interpret the markings. The retail
space is too valuable to use for something that no longer serves the public
interest, or the corporate coffers. What's more, the economy benefits
more from
replacement of a PCB than from its repair, though it costs you, the end-user,
more, and generates more rubbish in the landfill.
Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuck McManis" <cmcmanis(a)mcmanis.com>
To: <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 9:11 AM
Subject: Re: Radio Shack abandons components
Matthew Sell
Programmer
On Time Support, Inc.
www.ontimesupport.com
(281) 296-6066
Join the Metrology Software discussion group METLIST!
http://www.ontimesupport.com/cgi-bin/mojo/mojo.cgi
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
"Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer" - Adolf Hitler
Many thanks for this tagline to a fellow RGVAC'er...
I've seen this coming for a while.
At 06:58 AM 11/20/01 -0500, John wrote:
challenging.
>
> --Chuck
>
>
> I have seen several posts on other fora
bemoaning the fact that our
beloved Radio Shack is rapidly phasing out it's sales of carded
components, resistors, caps, diodes, etc.
I imagine this to be the case... and another blow to Enginerds and
parts-level hobbyists not lucky enough to be near a Fry's or other
still-functioning small-quantity parts outlet.
Experimenters: Time to stock up!
If you live in the US (sorry John) then Digikey is pretty good at getting
many of the parts you need. Between them, Mouser, and a few surplus places
I can find everything I need for any given project. However, it is true
that "hobbyist" electronics is quickly going to become a lot more