[HH] You Do It Electronics doesnt carry Zero Force Insertion sockets....

[Greg London]

> The local retail outlets for things like that have pretty much dried up.
> Once upon a time there used to be a few surplus stores in Cambridge
> (Unitech for a short while, and Eli Heferon's for decades), but they're
> gone.

I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. A trip to
Radio Shack once in a blue moon was where I got a lot of
my gadgets. Mail order from Heathkit was the other source.
I wish now that I had bought their robot, dammit, but it
was way too expensive for me. I spent all my money on a
Radio Shack Color Computer and a floppy drive.

;/

Oh well.

> At one time there was a small chain of electronics stores aimed at
> high-end hobbyists and professionals called Active Electronics. (They
> had a store in Woburn I think.) They got bought up and renamed
> Future-Active and turned into a more typical wholesale distributor.

Is this a function of everything going online and brick-and-mortar
stores just aren't needed? Or is electronics just not a hobby anymore?

A few months ago, I read some article by an old school hacker saying
that that hobbyists soldering parts together was a "phase" like the
pet rock or hula hoops were a phase.

At the time, I thought he was nuts. But jeebus, I'm not so sure anymore.

Greg



> Greg London wrote:
>> You Do It Electronics doesnt carry Zero Force Insertion sockets.
>
> That's disappointing. That would be the first place I'd think to look.
>
>
>> is there a place that does? digikey has them, but I dont
>> want to pay shipping for a single part. And if there is a local store
>> that carries that level of parts, I would like to put it on my list
>> of places to visit.
>
> The local retail outlets for things like that have pretty much dried up.
> Once upon a time there used to be a few surplus stores in Cambridge
> (Unitech for a short while, and Eli Heferon's for decades), but they're
> gone.
>
> At one time there was a small chain of electronics stores aimed at
> high-end hobbyists and professionals called Active Electronics. (They
> had a store in Woburn I think.) They got bought up and renamed
> Future-Active and turned into a more typical wholesale distributor.
>
> Micro Center has a small smattering of electronic components, but I
> doubt you'll find a ZIF socket there.
>
> And while this is something you'd probably find at Radio Shack 20 years
> ago, as I'm sure you know, they have a pretty limited stock of
> components now.
>
> Unless I'm mistaken it would seem the only local option is to order from
> a national distributor with a local warehouse and sales office presence,
> like Newark, Gerber, Allied, etc. and hope they've become friendlier to
> non-industrial users. (Most of these companies now let you order online
> with a credit card and don't require a formal account, so it's
> possible.) Call them up and see if they'll take a pick-up order paid by
> credit card. They'll probably charge 20 to 40% more than DigiKey.
>
> I'd certainly be interested to know if there are alternatives. With a
> sizable concentration of electronics and robotics R&D happening around
> here, there certainly should be enough of a customer base to support
> several stores like Y-D-I Electronics.
>
>  -Tom
>
>


--