I can remember buying parts (in the 1990s) from an electronics store that was on the West side of Plano Rd, between Arapaho and Belt Line.
But I can’t remember the name of the store. Can anyone tell me what it was called? Thanks!
Was it Wilson Electronics?
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Thanks - but it looks like Wilson Electronics is a manufacturer. The place I remember was a parts store, with rows of shelves full of electronics components. The most “specific” memory I have, is of buying a selection of different sized and colored heat shrink, to use on some cable assemblies I was building in the late-'90s / early-00s. I’ve still got some of that heat shrink.
Looking more closely at the aerial view in Google Maps, the shop could have been along Plano Rd., between Collins and Arapaho, or further south towards Belt Line. The memories I’ve got of pulling off of Plano Rd. into the parking at the building don’t match up exactly with the current buildings I see on Maps - but it’s certainly possible that some of the buildings along there have been replaced during the last 20 years.
There used to be a surplus electronics store called Lolir or something like that in Richardson. It has been too long; I do not remember the location.
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Off The Shelf Components.
Bought many wire wrap sockets and connectors there.
Digikey did them in. I think they went out of business in the early 2000s.
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Yes, thanks - It was Off The Shelf.
Do you remember their address?
1211 N. Plano Road
https://www.allbiz.com/business/off-the-shelf-components-972-238-0808
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Do you know whether that’s a new building at that address, or the same one that was there 20 - 25 years ago? Thanks.
Another flashback through the way back machine. Bought parts from them during my stint at F&M Global Comm. Back in the days when there were multiple surplus sources in the Dallas area.
Anybody remember a surplus outfit called Rondure? Probably spelled this wrong.
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Tucker Electronics? I cannot remember exactly where they were but I remember buying a ton of stuff from their going out of business clearance auction a few years ago.
I remember there being an Off the Shelf Electronics in one of the strip warehouse buildings just north of Beltline on 35E in Carrollton. I seem to remember hearing that it closed after the owner passed away around 20 years or so ago… My dad used to take me there as a teenager back in the late 90’s. I also remember Tanner Electronics being in the now demolished strip center across from downtown Carrollton at Beltline before it relocated to Valwood and Diplomat.
If my memory is correct, Rondure was a Surplus Warehouse on Maple Ave, down by the Love Field Airport. Now that dates back to the 1980’s and 1990’s. There was no showroom, just a wide open warehouse where you could dig to your heart’s content. I remember buying sevral boxes of paper tape for my PDP-8 computer’s paper tape punch and reader.
My Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) PDP-8/S computer had an IBM Selectric typewriter with a paper tape punch on one side and a paper tape reader on the other side, very unique.
I had bought the PDP-8 Computer from my alma mater, The Ohio State University, from their bi-monthly surplus sale for $37 back in the 1978 era. It came with a steel desk, the PDP8/S computer was rack mounted on the lower right side and the Selectric typewriter was mounted on top. It had 4096 twelve-bit words of magnetic core memory, if I recall correctly. I requisitioned (or rather borrowed and copied) the Fortran Complier from the College. Fortran was on a long paper tape that was read into the computer. Fortran was a two pass compiler, which meant that you had to physically read in the paper tape twice through the paper tape reader, hence two pass. That was my very first personal computer and weighed about 90 pounds.
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Sounds about right. Remember location being a bit of pain to get to. Long tables stacked with surplus test gear and parts.
The good ol’ days…
Not in this area, but one of the Grand Daddys of electronic military surplus bit the dust eariler this summer. Fair Radio Sales was located in Lima, Ohio. It started after WWII in 1947, lasted 77 years. In it’s hey day it regularily advertised in all of the Ham Radio and Electronics magazines. Since I grew up 40 miles from there, it was my source of Ham Radio goodies. The place consisted of 5 huge warehouses, all packed to the ceiling. They had a showroom but also would let you walk through all of the warehouses. My final and last visit was a few months ago in May when I visited the Dayton Hamvention near Dayton, Ohio. With tears in my eyes I said my last goodbyes.
While in High School, alomost 60 years ago, I converted a WWII BC-659 backpack radio into a CB Radio. I paid less than $20 for the radio, and it was brand new and still in the crate. The radio channel crystals were hand ground using a piece of glass and toothpaste as a grinding agent. The local Ham Radio guy helped me do this. Those were the days when old Military equipment was availble on the surplus market. Those days are gone.
Fair Radio may have been where my Westinghouse aircraft gyros came from. Currently working on pwr sply to run them.