Survey of 'Old-School' Electrical Supply Houses

[Gannon]

Yikes! I'm getting into a small electronics project, amidst an ever-growing pile of slightly-broken hifi and video devices my clients were tossing to the curb, and would LOVE to know all of the real electronics supply houses all over town. I'm also finally getting to the experimental stage of all those Tesla-technology dreams I had five years ago.


I used to frequent one on Van Born east of Telegraph with the original name of Tel-Van...where the old guy had the greatest collection of TV antennae and old tubes. He closed up shop years ago.

Norwest in Livonia closed long ago. I need to get out to RS Electronics, haven't been there in ages, but they have a neat Sound Pressure Meter with warning lights I'd LOVE to put in the live music venues I frequent.



Did business with Electronic Connections on Ford Road in west Westland for a long time, but the owner's wife seriously pissed me off the last time I was through...and I will forever boycott them because of it. Had to do with them selling me defective parts that they refused to take responsibility for...please don't get into discussion about them. I mention 'em only because they will never be on any list of suggested businesses for me.



Where are the electronics equivalents of Brooks Lumber, Third Avenue Hardware, and Busy Bee? Please don't tell me Radio Shack, either. They haven't been truly useful for decades...unless you want to buy toys.


Now that I'm on the eastside, I'm hoping there are a few lingering ones nearby.

When I was last in Chicagoland, I found exactly ONE worth the drive when a client's video projector failed due an old transistor crapping out.


Any tube stashes would be greatly appreciated. The Tesla stuff works better with non-silicon parts. May even be making my own inductor coils and capacitors...


Cheers!
John

[JBMcB]

RS Electronics in Livonia is still pretty good
Abel electronics in St. Clair Shores [[Haven't been there in years, but last time they still had a tube tester)

Have fun re-creating Tesla's experiments. Careful with the later stuff, though, as he went off the deep end a bit and had a habit of designing and promoting stuff that didn't work [[but involved highly lethal amounts of electricity)

[Detroitnerd]

Wasn't there a supply house north of I-94 and east of Woodward? I think it's gone. Now I go to the place in Hamtramck, on Caniff, right off I-75.

[ndavies]

Surface Mount Technology has pretty much done in all the hobbyiest and self fix support places. I get all my parts online, since most local places usually don't have the part I need and next day shipping will save me a drive.

You can try www.digikey.com and www.mouser.com.

for fun little hobbyiest projects there is also www.sparkfun.com

[birwood]

You may want to try Dukes Hardward on Ford Rd west of Telegraph on the Dearborn Hgts side, they have a lot of Old School Electrical and Plumbing fixtures and parts. There is also Madison Electric Wholesalers on Greenfield north of Michigan in Dearborn or their other location on Plymouth in Redford

[Gannon]

Thanks, everyone!


I turned the wrong way on purpose out of Verizon on Harper an hour ago...and almost gave myself whiplash passing Abel.

They still have their tube tester...LOL...and a great young guy Rob who seemed eager to help. The older gent gave me a tip for finding tubes on-line...but I've already forgotten the name...something like Vintage Electronics, but the term began with the letter A, but it isn't Ancient or Archive. Darn my verbal memory...it's always been a problem for me.


They've got a great selection of switches and other parts for low-voltage electronics...and some gadgets, too.


I'm betting they'll see me pretty often now...there are at least two repairs I need to get done quickly.


Thanks for the reminder about Mouser, N, they are a truly great resource. I do business with Pacific Radio in LA, too...for professional audio and video parts and wire. I used to go through there monthly when I lived there...it is like a candy store for me!


Cheers!
John

[Gannon]

You may want to try Dukes Hardward on Ford Rd west of Telegraph on the Dearborn Hgts side, they have a lot of Old School Electrical and Plumbing fixtures and parts. There is also Madison Electric Wholesalers on Greenfield north of Michigan in Dearborn or their other location on Plymouth in Redford

Those are not the electronics I'm talking about...you are thinking electricity distribution in homes...I'm talking about buying transistors, resistors, diodes, transformers, and the like.

But thanks!

[Crystal]

When my Dad died in 1998 he left behind several boxes of old tubes, tube testers, oscilloscopes, and other electronic parts and testing equipment.

Remember Heathkit? Dad built our family's televisions, stereos and other things. Dad was color blind so my brothers and I took turns reading resistors for him.

[Gannon]

RS Electronics in Livonia is still pretty good
Abel electronics in St. Clair Shores [[Haven't been there in years, but last time they still had a tube tester)

Have fun re-creating Tesla's experiments. Careful with the later stuff, though, as he went off the deep end a bit and had a habit of designing and promoting stuff that didn't work [[but involved highly lethal amounts of electricity)

He had a habit of sharing his overall goals with a few of his biggest investors, who shut him down because they knew he had no plans to profit off of the energy he'd be sharing with the world. All of the history you know about him going off the 'deep end' is fabricated. He did significant work with the Military, and when he chose to stop...they killed him and stole all of his papers. Gave it all to the top dudes at Los Alamos, who had time on their hands after the Manhattan Project was completed.

But I appreciate the warning...heck, Jennifer Granholm even signed some odd law banning the design and building of EM weapons, which actually don't 'exist' publicly...and I'm sure the research I'll be doing bumps solidly up against those restrictions. Heh...whatever.


Cheers!

[Gannon]

When my Dad died in 1998 he left behind several boxes of old tubes, tube testers, oscilloscopes, and other electronic parts and testing equipment.

Remember Heathkit? Dad built our family's televisions, stereos and other things. Dad was color blind so my brothers and I took turns reading resistors for him.

Whatever happened to all that stuff?!

[gnome]

Don Lors....

[Gannon]

OMG, I forgot about them. Gerry Stanecki's son owns that joint!

Thanks, Gnome. I owe you an e-mail reply, too...

[Gannon]

OK, found that tube source...first item in the ixQuick search engine...


http://www.tubesandmore.com/


Antique Electronic Supply.

[Jimaz]

The last time I was in a Radio Shack they tried to test whether my flashlight bulb was burned out by measuring its voltage. LOL! Zero volts. Yep, that's one dead bulb alrighty.

[Crystal]

All of my Dad's old stuff is in our garage in Green Oak Township. You could mosey by some time and take a look and see if there is anything you'd like.

[Meddle]

Some of that stuff could probably be in a museum.



I remember a Heathkit store on Grand River w/o Greenfield. I think it later turned into Lafayette Electronics who also had a store on Woodward up around 10 Mile.

I remember Northwest too, something like Five Mile and Farmington or Miiddlebelt as I remember.

RS was OK for certain things, but I wasn't too fond of some of their policies. Seems like there was another place right near them too.

[JBMcB]

He had a habit of sharing his overall goals with a few of his biggest investors, who shut him down because they knew he had no plans to profit off of the energy he'd be sharing with the world. All of the history you know about him going off the 'deep end' is fabricated

Nope - he bought into the physics of "Aetherism" just before it was destroyed by a series of failed experiments proving it was bunk, and rejected the theory of relativity even after it's descriptive and predictive properties were well established.

We went over a couple of his designs in one of my EE classes. They were based on forces that were proven not to exist. These were the forces he associated with the "Ether" which aren't forces at all, but the curvature of space itself - something Tesla rejected as impossible but has since been proven in multiple experiments, as predicted by general relativity.

Good luck with your experiments, but keep this in mind: the forces Tesla based his later gadgets on have been proven, through decades of contradictory experiments, to not exist. If they did exist, the computer you are using right now wouldn't function, we wouldn't have GPS, or nuclear power, or a few hundred other technologies.

[JBMcB]

Almost forgot

If you are looking for surplus stuff the U of M property disposition usually has some interesting stuff. All kinds of old instruments and electronics. Not nearly as much cool stuff as they used to, but you might find a few gems here and there. A decade ago they were clearing their physics labs and had all sorts of awesome stuff - giant HeNe lasers, bell jars with vacuum bases, lab-grade microscopes and scales. They had a small cyclotron for $500, and by small I mean the size of a mid-size truck. While you're in AA check out the Reuse center, they sometimes have cool stuff there, too.

[Hamtragedy]

Isn't Lip-Pan still on Chene and Forest? If not Forest, it's nearby on the NW corner of one of those intersections on Chene. Been there for 50 years.

[Gannon]

No kidding?! I'll have to go check them out.

Thanks! [[this is what I was hoping for starting this thread)

[Hamtragedy]

I don't know if I would call them a supply house, but I guarantee you they've got boxes of parts falling over other boxes of parts in there. I figured it was worth a mention cuz it's in your general vicinity.

[Gannon]

Almost forgot

If you are looking for surplus stuff the U of M property disposition usually has some interesting stuff. All kinds of old instruments and electronics. Not nearly as much cool stuff as they used to, but you might find a few gems here and there. A decade ago they were clearing their physics labs and had all sorts of awesome stuff - giant HeNe lasers, bell jars with vacuum bases, lab-grade microscopes and scales. They had a small cyclotron for $500, and by small I mean the size of a mid-size truck. While you're in AA check out the Reuse center, they sometimes have cool stuff there, too.

Thanks...I went there a decade ago, but they mostly had old desks and tables at the time. I had heard they sell all sorts of cool stuff, but then met a guy who knew someone and always got an early peek and grabbed the really unique things. I guess this happens everywhere, when my mother worked at the Salvation Army, the main guy had been bribed to allow some to access the donations before anyone else touched them.

I stopped going to either...since the real treasures were scammed away already.



But it sounds like it was not too different than an old junkyard near the Burbank Airport that I went to a few times...that place got old stuff from the Jet Propulsion Labs and other Military/Industrial researchers in the valley. Lots of Sci-Fi film set designers would shop there, as well as prop people. But some of the aisles were scary...you knew you were only a sneeze away from an avalance of old electronics...LOL! It was called Apex or Aphex, something like that.


Cheers

[Gannon]

Here it is, check out their pictures!


http://www.apexelectronic.com/

[JBMcB]

Here it is, check out their pictures!
http://www.apexelectronic.com/

I tried vising that place when I was out in LA for a job, but they had closed their retail store and were internet-only for a while. I was always intrigued by the concept of buying the cone and guidance system from a Sidewinder A-A missile.

You never know when you might need one of these:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mightyo...7614344445452/

[canuck]

Heathkit was a great company from Benton Harbor Michigan. My friend's dad used to build his own sound systems and other stuff from Heathkit.