I miss the days when you could still buy individual capacitors at RadioShack

Back in the late 90s, if I needed a 100uF 25V cap for a TV repair, I could walk into any RadioShack and grab it off the wall for under a dollar. Now I have to order a 50-pack online and wait a week, paying shipping that costs more than the parts. Has anyone else noticed the local supply drying up, or is it just my town in Ohio?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai83923d ago

Funny thing, I actually think the real loss isn't the parts so much as the knowledge that used to come with them. When I was first learning electronics back in the day, the guy behind the counter at RadioShack could tell you exactly which resistor you needed for a project and might even draw you a quick circuit diagram on a napkin. Now if you walk into a Best Buy or whatever, the staff just points at the HDMI cables. The whole ecosystem of "hey, I'm stuck on this" and getting a real answer from someone who actually soldered things is just gone. And that's what I miss more than the parts themselves.

oliver_baker499d ago

Man yeah that napkin circuit drawing thing really hit me. I actually lucked out a bit because there's this old guy who runs a tiny electronics shop near my parents' place, still has bins of resistors and capacitors you can sort through. I was trying to fix an old receiver a few months back and he actually walked me through checking the power supply caps step by step. It's not quite the same as having that knowledge just be part of your regular shopping trip though. I think that kind of help makes you feel less stupid when you're stuck, you know? Now I mostly just end up watching youtube repair videos and hoping the person actually knows what they're talking about.

joseph489d ago

That guy at RadioShack who could sketch out a circuit on a napkin... you ever wonder where those folks ended up? Like did they just give up on electronics entirely or are they all running tiny repair shops out of their garages now?