Hi All, & specifically: Mike Loewen, Dan Roganti, Chris Gioconda, Rich Cini and Jonathan; I am the newbe in the group and will add my 2 cents concerning "Old Electro Shops". If you get up to Needham MA: You-do-it Electronics Center Exit 19A off Route 128 in Needham, MA They seem to be doing well. Been there, nice place. http://www.youdoitelectronics.com Leeds Radio in NY has moved Leeds Radio 175 Walnut Avenue Bronx NY 10454 718 963-1764 _sales@leedsradio.com_ (mailto:sales@leedsradio.com) LeedsRadio.com You can also find Leeds on Etsy.com And reminiscing...... Atkinson & Smith in Eatontown, NJ Went there with my dad when they were right on Rt 35. Behind front counter was covered in d'Arsonval panel instruments. They moved off to a side street and then went out of business in the 90's. Some of the civil workers at Ft. Monmouth were hams so they all congregated there after work. You would find me upstairs (all surplus) in the new location every Saturday scrounging through the junky gold! Good Times Bill Inderrieden
Mike Loewen <_mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us_ (mailto:mloewen@cpumagic.scol.pa.us)
You folks in the MD area will be disappointed to hear the Baynesville Electronics is closing its doors:
Dan Roganti <_ragooman@gmail.com_ (mailto:ragooman@gmail.com) >
I heard about this too, but I haven't seen this interview. I never got a chance to visit there, sad it see it go. But it reminds me of several ones from back home on Long Island. They were also mom 'n pop stores, been around for decades but they also closed many years ago. One of them was Edlie's Electronics in Levittown if anyone here recalls the 70s and 80s on Long Island. But some of them mysteriously survived there such as Leeds Radio in Brooklyn, since 1923.
But I don't think the DIY'er is fading, maybe new TV repairs have. There used to be a TV shop in almost every town. The past 10+yrs, basically since 2000, the makerspace movement has rejuvenated this DIY'er interest. But just as with Radio Shack not changing/morphing with the times and crippling their store chains, mostly due to corporate blindness, and they're only clinging on to their past still. The mom 'n pop stores felt the biggest brunt if they didn't change as well.
I'm not saying it's easy for the mom 'n pop stores to change with the times, it's usually their inherent nature to resist change, it creates a comfort zone. You notice some of them try to split their sales by selling online. Maybe change their inventory to match the trends, as with makerspace. And a common task of advertising can become a burden, where to place Ads has become a circus with this web 2.0+ world. But the "TV repair" and "NTE parts" might be a diehard practice but it's only a small share of the market. [the quotes are only to show typical examples]
Changing into a Mail order supplier takes a big change too that demands effort too. Not a small task for a mom 'n pop store, when trying to compete[$$] with a decades long market. New places prop up online all the time and only some survive. I've seen the same issues with the ones back home and here in Pittsburgh. Dan
Richard Cini <_rich.cini@verizon.net_ (mailto:rich.cini@verizon.net) >
There was a place in New Hyde Park or Lake Success - Electronic City. I remember going there with my father for tubes and parts that Radio Shack or Lafayette didn't have.
From Eugene
I remember Edlie's very well. I think it was on old country road or Hempstead turnpike (I was just a kid at the time). And KRP electronics in Freeport which was a great place too. I think they still exist but have moved. Aah the good old days.
Eugene W2HX
From Jonathan
Heard about this from a customer in Cockeysville. My dad's family is from White Marsh, I used to go to Baynesville Electronics with my grandparents as a treat -- they often had to pick up supplies for the Kingsville and Baltimore fire departments. Pretty much like a kid in a candy store!
I may stop in on my way back from upstate NY tomorrow. Quite a bit out of the way, but who knows how long it will take them to get to the point of having enough inventory sold that they close.
For those in upstate NY, I got warning last time I was at Trojan Electronics that it was starting to cost money to keep the lights on, and the end was probably near.
Thanks, Jonathan