Local Sources

[bmschech]

As a newcomer to all this stuff I've quickly become frustrated with
Radio Shack as a quick-fix supplier for parts. Buying on the Internet
is an option, but for small orders the shipping fees can really mount
up. All of which leads me to ask what are some of your favorite local
sources for electronic and mechanical parts. Come to think of it, what
are the best internet sites for these things? And where can you find
junk worth salvaging for motors, etc? I'd be happy to gather
suggestions together for easy reference on the website.

[Zach 'Hoeken' Smith]

personally, i love octopart.com for finding electronics parts online.  i usually end up going through mouser.com for the actual order.  jameco sometimes has killer prices too, but less variety.

as for local electronics shops... there are some places in chinatown that have been mentioned.  the NYU computer store is a good choice, and there is some random place full of cool junk that Bre found in williamsburg.

~Zach

[David Sanderson]

Also try 269 Electronics,  its at 269 Canal St.  Talk to the old guy in the very back of the store. Be prepared to haggle
 

--Dave

[Bill McIntyre]

I've put up a (crude) "Local Resources" Page on the Wiki.  
http://nycresistor.com/wiki/index.php?title=Local_Resources_/_Parts

Hopefully it will evolve into something usable.
Please go crazy listing and reviewing.

Thanks,

Bill

On 10/29/07, Bill McIntyre <bi...@atomo.com> wrote:

I've put up a (crude) "Local Resources" Page on the Wiki.  
http://nycresistor.com/wiki/index.php?title=Local_Resources_/_Parts

Hopefully it will evolve into something usable.
Please go crazy listing and reviewing.

Thanks,

Bill

[e c kern]

There is no such thing as a modern neighborhood electronics store.  Try doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation of the business model and you'll see why.  There used to be one u.s. chain that had a pretty solid selection, active electronics, but they closed all their u.s. stores a few years ago iirc.

Two words: junk box.  Most people who have been serious electronics hobbyists for several years have a much more extensive inventory than radio shack.  At that point it becomes more a matter of *finding* something than *having* it.  This is one of the reasons electronics is a frustrating hobby for newbies.  It's one thing to get hung up because you are missing some weird, obscure part, but getting hung up for lack of a 74HCT08 or a 0.1uF ceramic or something is just plain stupid.  If that is your situation I would recommend spending some cash (maybe a few hundred $) on front-loading your junk box.  If you assign your own time a non-zero value that will be the best investment you ever make.

I've never been to one of these backroom electronics places on canal st, but I would expect that if you want to haggle down to the 100-count digikey price you might need to bring a gun ;-P.

-chris.

On 10/29/07, David Sanderson <sanders...@gmail.com > wrote:

[Matt Joyce]

jameco has some great assortment sets for setting up a starter collection of parts.

[Bill McIntyre]

Good thought.  I've also put up a fav. mail order parts house page on the wiki as well.
http://nycresistor.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mail_Order_Resources_/_Parts#Electronic_Parts
Add your favorites, finds, and comments.

-Bill

[emperor_dane]

it might be a good idea for everyone to add their favorite local
electronics stores to the wiki page mentioned above. For instance,
there's a sweet old school electronics shop up here in troy. its
complete with everything from tubes to ferric chloride.
<trojan electronics/>

i will post it to the wiki in a couple minutes
-Dane

On Oct 29, 4:51 pm, "Matt Joyce" <mdjo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> jameco has some great assortment sets for setting up a starter collection of
> parts.
>
> On 10/29/07, e c kern <eck...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > There is no such thing as a modern neighborhood electronics store. Try
> > doing a back-of-the-envelope calculation of the business model and you'll
> > see why. There used to be one u.s. chain that had a pretty solid
> > selection, active electronics, but they closed all their u.s. stores a few
> > years ago iirc.
>
> > Two words: junk box. Most people who have been serious electronics
> > hobbyists for several years have a much more extensive inventory than radio
> > shack. At that point it becomes more a matter of *finding* something than
> > *having* it. This is one of the reasons electronics is a frustrating hobby
> > for newbies. It's one thing to get hung up because you are missing some

> > weird, obscure part, but getting hung up for lack of a 74HCT08 or a 0.1uFceramic or something is just plain stupid. If that is your situation I

> > would recommend spending some cash (maybe a few hundred $) on front-loading
> > your junk box. If you assign your own time a non-zero value that will be
> > the best investment you ever make.
>
> > I've never been to one of these backroom electronics places on canal st,
> > but I would expect that if you want to haggle down to the 100-count digikey
> > price you might need to bring a gun ;-P.
>
> > -chris.
>

> > On 10/29/07, David Sanderson <sanderson.m...@gmail.com > wrote:
>
> > > Also try 269 Electronics, its at 269 Canal St. Talk to the old guy in
> > > the very back of the store. Be prepared to haggle
>
> > > --Dave
>
> > > On 10/29/07, Zach 'Hoeken' Smith <hoe...@gmail.com > wrote:
>
> > > > personally, i love octopart.com for finding electronics parts online.
> > > > i usually end up going through mouser.com for the actual order.
> > > > jameco sometimes has killer prices too, but less variety.
>
> > > > as for local electronics shops... there are some places in chinatown
> > > > that have been mentioned. the NYU computer store is a good choice, and
> > > > there is some random place full of cool junk that Bre found in williamsburg.
>
> > > > ~Zach
>

[Matt Joyce]

I actually have a pretty decent collection of tubes including a box of russian nixies.

And a tube tester from the 50s =P

[Craig Plunkett]

Out in Syosset, there's LNL Electronics, on Robbin's Lane. They even
have a selection of Vacuum Tubes! www.lnl.com, they've been around
awhile, long enough to have grabbed a three letter domain back in the
day. They are the closest thing to an old time electronics store that
I know of out here.
-Craig

[Eric Skiff]

Craig! Eric Skiff (of PodCampNYC) here. Awesome to see you here on the NYCResistor list. Somehow I totally missed that you'd joined.

For anyone who doesn't know Craig, he does amazing things with wifi and is just generally awesome. He set us up at PodCampNYC1 with tons of Linux-firmwared linksys routers and had the place swimming in good, free connectivity.

If you need wifi access in NYC, check out his company http://www.urbanhotspots.com/index.html

Great to have you on the list, Craig, hope to see you at a meeting soon :)
-Eric

http://GlitchNYC.com
Podcast : http://AlternativeMusicShow.com
Learn Stuff: http://clipiversity.com

[Craig Plunkett]

Hi Eric,
My daughter and I have started putting together electronics kits ( one
of those stay connected with your kids things...), and one of my
favorite jobs ever was doing energy management programming, where I
had to write stuff to manipulate pneumatic operators and switches to
control HVAC equipment. It was much like the open source hardware/
software scene today, where people were putting things together out of
building blocks to make cool systems. I would like to show up at a
meeting soon, hopefully scheduling will permit.

Your praises are making me blush!
-Craig

On Oct 31, 12:38 am, "Eric Skiff" <glitchc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Craig! Eric Skiff (of PodCampNYC) here. Awesome to see you here on the
> NYCResistor list. Somehow I totally missed that you'd joined.
>
> For anyone who doesn't know Craig, he does amazing things with wifi and is
> just generally awesome. He set us up at PodCampNYC1 with tons of
> Linux-firmwared linksys routers and had the place swimming in good, free
> connectivity.
>

> If you need wifi access in NYC, check out his companyhttp://www.urbanhotspots.com/index.html

>
> Great to have you on the list, Craig, hope to see you at a meeting soon :)
> -Eric
>

> On 10/30/07, Craig Plunkett <plunk...@cedx.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Out in Syosset, there's LNL Electronics, on Robbin's Lane. They even

> > have a selection of Vacuum Tubes!www.lnl.com, they've been around

> > awhile, long enough to have grabbed a three letter domain back in the
> > day. They are the closest thing to an old time electronics store that
> > I know of out here.
> > -Craig
>

> --
> Eric Skiffhttp://clipmarks.com
> 718-809-8692
>
> Blog :http://GlitchNYC.com