Do you miss Radio Shack and Fry's? I sure do!

[Verdinut]

Yes, the local Copps Buildall only had a few 4 foot flourescents. I wanted to replace 8 halogens in the recroom with LED and also get bulbs for the under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen. The recroom uses small PAR bulbs and only Bulbspro had them in LED format. No bulb failures so far.

Another big Canadian electronics supplier:

https://www.mouser.ca/

 

[Eppie]

Another big Canadian electronics supplier:

https://www.mouser.ca/

Just down the highway from me too, thanks.

 

[slipperybidness]

Here in the greater Montreal area and Laval, we have several stores carrying parts. I know it's handy to be able to visit a local store where you can see what they stock.

As an alternative, you and I have both Allied Electronics and Digi-Key (Cdn branch) online. I have bought from both firms which have a lot of stuff and an excellent reputation. Digikey is the more complete place:

https://www.alliedelec.com/

DigiKey Electronics Home

Digi-Key offers millions of products from thousands of manufacturers, many in-stock quantities available to ship same day. Apple Pay, Google Pay™ & Paypal accepted, order online today!

www.digikey.ca

For raw speaker drivers and passive crossover components, Solen is the place. They make excellent capacitors which TLS Guy and I use and they manufacture about the best air core inductors. Even Parts-Express sell their products while Solen sell some of theirs as well, including Dayton speakers::

Solen

Discover Solen Inc., your trusted supplier for high-quality audio components and electronic parts. Offering secure payment options, fast shipping, and dedicated customer support, we ensure seamless shopping for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

solen.ca

My preferred electronics supply is Mouser. They have pretty much everything you could need, and have an excellent database search and filter system. They also have the main warehouse in the DFW area, so I get my parts within 2-3 days.

Digi-Key is the same as far as on-hand availability, but it always seems like Digi-Key costs a little more $, and they can't beat Mouser on the shipping (for me, being nearby).

Beyond that, yeah, P-E is also one of my preferred vendors.

 

[slipperybidness]

Never used Radio Shack or Fry's a whole lot, but then I wasn't into electronic kit building much either. I do remember the pre-Radio Shack Tandy stores, tho

Oh man, my first computer was a Tandy / RatShack TRS80. We had a couple of different models in that line over the years, I think our best one was 48k. Affectionately, these were called the CoCo for "color computer"

 

[highfigh]

Yes, I've been aware for years! You save on electricity consumption and what you're saving will never cover increased costs with the new bulbs.

They tell us to use less energy and then, they raise the rates.

 

[ellisr63]

We still have a Radio Shack in our town. We go there once in while, but no comparison to Fryes...as they had a much bigger selection of products.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

 

[slipperybidness]

We still have a Radio Shack in our town. We go there once in while, but no comparison to Fryes...as they had a much bigger selection of products.

Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

Modern RadioShack is a mere shadow of what they were during their heyday.

 

[Eppie]

Modern RadioShack is a mere shadow of what they were during their heyday.

I can't fault them for getting out of the parts business. Would have been a very small part of their business and is better left to dedicated electronics suppliers. Miss the convenience though for the more common parts.

 

[ellisr63]

Modern RadioShack is a mere shadow of what they were during their heyday.

I agree 100%. Now it is mainly cell phones, and portable electronics.

Sent from my SM-G985F using Tapatalk

 

[j_garcia]

I drive by Fry's locations almost on a daily basis. It is very sad to see them fenced off/boarded up/for sale. It was always a Friday or lunch kind of thing, drop by and see what is on sale and what is new.