I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete

--
.................................................. .........................
.. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
.. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
.. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

In article , Peter Lynch
writes
I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete


I tend to use Maplin these days like PC World i.e. for distress
purchases when I need it this moment .. and now and no one else is open
an available!.

Otherwise its RS components rswww.com or CPC Farnell

Http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/home/home...F25MHHT5QJCDQF
IAEXUNZQ


I don't know if RS now do small domestic orders, but Farnell do with a
credit card over the phone....
--
Tony Sayer

Peter Lynch wrote:
I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete

it does seem like maplin are going the way tandy: quite useful, mediocre,
HOW MUCH ?, pfft old and busted, maplin is closing down ?

Peter Lynch wrote:
I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Another possible cause might be the disruptions caused by the
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations which have been
in force since 1 July. The re-engineering of production processes to
eliminate the use of lead in solders, along with other banned
substances, has caused major disruptions to the availability of
electronic components in general.

Some manufacturers and distributors have handled the changeover
efficiently and smoothly, while others are still catching up. The
regulations don't actually apply to components, only to finished
products "placed on the market in the EU", so maybe Maplin are simply
running down their old stocks by flogging them to home constructors.



--
Ian White

In article ,
Peter Lynch wrote:
OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Lack of demand and their high overheads. Luckily, other suppliers are
taking over the 'hobby' side of the business with low minimum orders and
postage etc. Rapid appear to be one such.

http://www.rapidonline.com/products....tier3=Toroidal

--
*Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Ian White wrote:
Some manufacturers and distributors have handled the changeover
efficiently and smoothly, while others are still catching up. The
regulations don't actually apply to components, only to finished
products "placed on the market in the EU", so maybe Maplin are simply
running down their old stocks by flogging them to home constructors.

Don't think Maplin have actually made anything for many years. They simply
retail bought in goods.

--
*One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Oct 26, 10:53 am, tony sayer wrote:
In article , Peter Lynch
writes





I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete

I tend to use Maplin these days like PC World i.e. for distress
purchases when I need it this moment .. and now and no one else is open
an available!.

I've had problems with Maplin in the past obsoleting one range before
the new range is available. There is a rumour that they are going to
stop stocking small components in the shops and that they will have top
be ordered in. This has been denied by a Maplin representative in
another forum.


Otherwise its RS components rswww.comor CPC Farnell

Rapid http://www.rapidonline.com/ are the best of the bunch IMHO. No
minimum order, good prices, post free over £25, otherwise £3.45+VAT.
Orders usually arrive next day by Royal Mail (under £60 in value and
1Kg in weight) or business post.

Farnell are post free but you have to spend £20. Prices have become
more competitive lately. Usually next day delivery (UPS IIRC).

RS have no minimum order but charge more for postage and (usually) for
everything else. Usually next day delivery.

MBQ

On Thu, 26 Oct 2006 11:51:37 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Peter Lynch wrote:
OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Lack of demand and their high overheads. Luckily, other suppliers are
taking over the 'hobby' side of the business with low minimum orders and
postage etc. Rapid appear to be one such.

http://www.rapidonline.com/products....tier3=Toroidal

Yes I normally use Rapid for run-o-the-mill stuff and Farnell for specialised
stuff. As another poster says sometimes there's just stuff you want right
now. In this case I've just finished a project and wanted to run it standalone
off mains power - rather then bench PSU.

It's sad really. I've been using Maplin man and boy (still have one of
their old orange catalogs with a concorde on the front) and sometimes
I'm willing to pay high st. prices for the convenience. I suppose I'll
have to start thinking ahead and planning to order in advance :-(

Pete


--
.................................................. .........................
.. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
.. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
.. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

wrote:
I've had problems with Maplin in the past obsoleting one range before
the new range is available. There is a rumour that they are going to
stop stocking small components in the shops and that they will have top
be ordered in. This has been denied by a Maplin representative in
another forum.

Rumour? I think it's gone beyond that...

I was in the Stockport branch a couple of months back wanting a few
resistors, capacitors and various other sc's etc - they advised me they
no longer stock these items and would have to be ordered.

They did however have a smoke machine, numeours PC cases full of
fluoresecent tubes or a radio controlled boat should I have so desired.

Mathew

tony sayer writes:

I tend to use Maplin these days like PC World i.e. for distress
purchases when I need it this moment .. and now and no one else is open
an available!.

Ditto. They're frighteningly expensive too.

Jon

"Peter Lynch" wrote in message
...
I've just been on their website, looking for a transformer to power
my latest and greatest piece of futility (that's the DIY angle).

Looked up the mains transformer section and got a real surprise.
All their toriodal transformer range is listed as "discontinued" :-(
Just out of interest I looked up variants:
Their total stock holding of PCB mounted mains transformers come to 7
(5 of one type, 2 of the other)
So far as traditional mains transformers goes, most of the voltage
ranges only have single-figure stock levels. the only range that
has what I'd've thought of as practical stocks is the sub-miniature
range.

OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?


They're opening a new store in Camden, London. What does that suggest to
you?
Don't ask me. I don't know.

Sylvain.

Pete

--
.................................................. ........................
. never trust a man who, when left alone ...... Pete Lynch .
. in a room with a tea cosy ...... Marlow, England .
. doesn't try it on (Billy Connolly) .....................................

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Ian White wrote:
Some manufacturers and distributors have handled the changeover
efficiently and smoothly, while others are still catching up. The
regulations don't actually apply to components, only to finished
products "placed on the market in the EU", so maybe Maplin are simply
running down their old stocks by flogging them to home constructors.

Don't think Maplin have actually made anything for many years. They simply
retail bought in goods.


I did say "manufacturers and distributors", because the same comment
applies to both; but Maplin are clearly the latter.


--
Ian White

In article ,
Peter Lynch wrote:
Yes I normally use Rapid for run-o-the-mill stuff and Farnell for
specialised stuff. As another poster says sometimes there's just stuff
you want right now. In this case I've just finished a project and wanted
to run it standalone off mains power - rather then bench PSU.

You must have a better branch than the ones near here - Wimbledon and
Forest Hill have little in the way of components.

It's sad really. I've been using Maplin man and boy (still have one of
their old orange catalogs with a concorde on the front) and sometimes
I'm willing to pay high st. prices for the convenience. I suppose I'll
have to start thinking ahead and planning to order in advance :-(

Same here. In the mid '90s, Maplin expanded their component range and
looked like they were going for the 'RS' market. Quantity discounts, etc.
And what's more, some excellent own brand kits.

Then shortly afterwards changed into a glorified Tandy.

--
*Bigamy is having one wife too many - monogamy is the same

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Rapid http://www.rapidonline.com/ are the best of the bunch IMHO. No
minimum order, good prices, post free over £25, otherwise £3.45+VAT.
Orders usually arrive next day by Royal Mail (under £60 in value and
1Kg in weight) or business post.


Noted their prices do look good!..

Farnell are post free but you have to spend £20. Prices have become
more competitive lately. Usually next day delivery (UPS IIRC).

RS have no minimum order but charge more for postage and (usually) for
everything else.

Yes tho sometimes the actual price for a one off thats holding up
something bigger isn't of consequence .. but!..

Usually next day delivery.

Sometimes, their not as good as they once where unless you pay extra!..

MBQ


--
Tony Sayer

On Oct 26, 6:22 pm, tony sayer wrote:
Rapidhttp://www.rapidonline.com/are the best of the bunch IMHO. No
minimum order, good prices, post free over £25, otherwise £3.45+VAT.
Orders usually arrive next day by Royal Mail (under £60 in value and
1Kg in weight) or business post.

Noted their prices do look good!..

Their new tool catalogue arrived yesterday. An expanding range of power
tools suitable for hobby, DIY or professional use to suit all tastes,
prejudices and pockets, form Pound Shop favourites Blackspur through
RVFM (Rapid Value For Money) to AEG, Bosch, deWalt, Draper, Milwaukee,
Ryobi (in alphabetical order) to name a few. From barely functional to
desireable (I wanted to say designer but I don't think it's quite that
bad yet).

Also a good range of hand tools.

MBQ

In message , .
writes
Peter Lynch wrote:
OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete

it does seem like maplin are going the way tandy: quite useful, mediocre,
HOW MUCH ?, pfft old and busted, maplin is closing down ?
Just about sums it up in my opinion. Ideal if you want chav bling
gadgets but useless for anything a hobbyist might want. Far better off
supporting your favourite online components shop, I'm extremely lucky in
having a local independent component supplier who are actually very
knowledgeable although they don't open Saturdays.



--
Clint Sharp

Clint Sharp wrote:
In message , .
writes
Peter Lynch wrote:
OK, putting aside any views of "they're not a serious vendor anymore,
they're only interested in selling toys" that people may have. Does
this paltry offering reflect lack of demand or is it just another
symptom of their decline?

Pete

it does seem like maplin are going the way tandy: quite useful, mediocre,
HOW MUCH ?, pfft old and busted, maplin is closing down ?
Just about sums it up in my opinion. Ideal if you want chav bling
gadgets but useless for anything a hobbyist might want. Far better off
supporting your favourite online components shop, I'm extremely lucky in
having a local independent component supplier who are actually very
knowledgeable although they don't open Saturdays.

Yep.

I found Cricklewood electronics was teh best place to buy enamelled
copper wire, for example.

On 2006-10-28 19:10:03 +0100, raden said:

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
Simon wrote:
That's an interesting list. I currently order most of my stuff from
Maplin and RS, but I will try some of the others.

I did, but now mainly use Rapid. I don't spend a fortune with them as it's
just a (sometimes) paying hobby. They are generous with their catalogue -
unlike RS.


I find that strange, I've never had any problems getting catalogues out of RS



Me neither. They show up every few months. However, the paper
catalogue is not much better than the current version of the web site.
I find that the search arrangement doesn't seem to work at all well for
a typical search that I want to do. The older one was much easier I
found.

On 2006-10-28 19:57:38 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
raden wrote:
I did, but now mainly use Rapid. I don't spend a fortune with them as it's
just a (sometimes) paying hobby. They are generous with their catalogue -
unlike RS.


I find that strange, I've never had any problems getting catalogues out of RS

Yes - but you're a business. I was talking about DIY or hobby stuff.

I suspect it might be related to amount spent with them. I don't buy
from them as a business but do place a fair number of orders.

On 2006-10-29 08:37:13 +0000, Ian White said:

raden wrote:
My biggest gripe about RS is their stock levels at regional trade
counters.

Or rather their stock levels full stop

since they transferred over to this new system, the whole thing seems
to have fallen apart - for example, I've run them out of capacitors
several times this year with over a month's lead time on replacement
stock ... and then you find that they've run out of the alternative as
well !

It probably isn't their fault. The RoHS directive has thrown the
component industry's JIT manufacturing and delivery processes into
chaos, so there are gaps where certain components just aren't being
made.

Amazing really, since they have had some years to prepare for it.

Clint Sharp wrote:

it does seem like maplin are going the way tandy: quite useful, mediocre,
HOW MUCH ?, pfft old and busted, maplin is closing down ?

Just about sums it up in my opinion. Ideal if you want chav bling
gadgets but useless for anything a hobbyist might want.

Sadly there are many customers looking for the former, and relatively
few hobbyists after the latter I would guess.

(Let's face it, they used to supply the whole countries hobbyist market
with a small shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a central warehouse - no way
is that market going to support the number of outlets they now have)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In message , John
Rumm writes
(Let's face it, they used to supply the whole countries hobbyist market
with a small shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a central warehouse - no way
is that market going to support the number of outlets they now have)
No, I agree, but they used to be able to order bits in to the store for
you from a decent range of bits in a warehouse somewhere, nowadays they
don't actually have a range of components, they have a sort of random
splatter which spends more time out of stock than in (or so it seems).
Even the catalogue was useful, worth paying for, now I object to paying
for their marketing material which is of little practical use, so I
don't.



--
Clint Sharp

On Mon, 30 Oct 2006 17:15:06 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

Clint Sharp wrote:

it does seem like maplin are going the way tandy: quite useful, mediocre,
HOW MUCH ?, pfft old and busted, maplin is closing down ?

Just about sums it up in my opinion. Ideal if you want chav bling
gadgets but useless for anything a hobbyist might want.

Sadly there are many customers looking for the former, and relatively
few hobbyists after the latter I would guess.

(Let's face it, they used to supply the whole countries hobbyist market
with a small shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a central warehouse - no way
is that market going to support the number of outlets they now have)

I used to drive 60 miles each way to that shop.
Since they went nationwide, I don't think I have been in more than 3
times.

Clint Sharp wrote:

In message , John
Rumm writes

(Let's face it, they used to supply the whole countries hobbyist
market with a small shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a central warehouse
- no way is that market going to support the number of outlets they
now have)

No, I agree, but they used to be able to order bits in to the store for
you from a decent range of bits in a warehouse somewhere, nowadays they
don't actually have a range of components, they have a sort of random
splatter which spends more time out of stock than in (or so it seems).
Even the catalogue was useful, worth paying for, now I object to paying
for their marketing material which is of little practical use, so I don't.

Yup, I still have an old 1995 catalogue on the shelf as it was the last
one to include full pinouts for all the ICs. Surprisingly difficult
information to get these days without hours of web searching and yards
of data books.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 2006-10-30 23:10:48 +0000, John Rumm said:

Clint Sharp wrote:

In message , John
Rumm writes

(Let's face it, they used to supply the whole countries hobbyist market
with a small shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, and a central warehouse - no way
is that market going to support the number of outlets they now have)

No, I agree, but they used to be able to order bits in to the store for
you from a decent range of bits in a warehouse somewhere, nowadays they
don't actually have a range of components, they have a sort of random
splatter which spends more time out of stock than in (or so it seems).
Even the catalogue was useful, worth paying for, now I object to paying
for their marketing material which is of little practical use, so I
don't.

Yup, I still have an old 1995 catalogue on the shelf as it was the last
one to include full pinouts for all the ICs. Surprisingly difficult
information to get these days without hours of web searching and yards
of data books.

Does anybody remember Towers International Transistor Selector?

EricP wrote:

I used to drive 60 miles each way to that shop.
Since they went nationwide, I don't think I have been in more than 3
times.

I used to be 10 mins walk from it :-) Its just not the same these days[1]!


[1] Not refering to the fact they bought a bigger shop the other side of
the road about 100 yards away, but more the fact you were fairly safe
in the assumption the staff were not about to ask you "what is a grommet
for?" when you ordered one!

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In article ,
Andy Hall wrote:
Does anybody remember Towers International Transistor Selector?

Yup - still use it.

--
*Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter since nobody listens*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , Andy Hall writes

Does anybody remember Towers International Transistor Selector?


TITS? Yeah, still got one here somewhere, one with a dot pattern all
over it and another somewhere else but they got replaced when the yellow
ELV (IIRC) books became available, I kind of lost faith in the towers
one when a colleague crossed a 2SC1969 to a TIP41C (RF power transistor
to a general purpose LF device).
--
Clint Sharp

In article ,
Owain wrote:

Does anybody remember Mullard Modules?

Encapsulated logic modules?

--
Tony Williams.

HI Owain

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:38:36 +0000, Owain
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
Does anybody remember Towers International Transistor Selector?

Does anybody remember Mullard Modules?

Funny you should say that....

In this most recent house move I dumped a little FM Stereo tuner that
was built from a kit in Everyday Electronics (I think),

Consisted of a fancy front panel, 'conti-board' box and three or four
Mullard Modules.

Didn't they have desigations like LP11?? - ISTR there was a front-end
tuner module, an IF module and a stereo decoder.

Now you're going to tell me that these modules are collectors' items -
and fetching a fortune on ebay !

Regards
Adrian

Owain

In article , Adrian
writes
HI Owain

On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:38:36 +0000, Owain
wrote:

Andy Hall wrote:
Does anybody remember Towers International Transistor Selector?

Does anybody remember Mullard Modules?

Funny you should say that....

In this most recent house move I dumped a little FM Stereo tuner that
was built from a kit in Everyday Electronics (I think),

Consisted of a fancy front panel, 'conti-board' box and three or four
Mullard Modules.

Didn't they have desigations like LP11?? - ISTR there was a front-end
tuner module, an IF module and a stereo decoder.

Now you're going to tell me that these modules are collectors' items -
and fetching a fortune on ebay !

Regards
Adrian

Owain


I remember something like "Logic modules" fitted to the control circuits
on early UHF TV transmitters in the mid Sixties!.
--
Tony Sayer

HI Owain

On Wed, 01 Nov 2006 13:01:57 +0000, Owain
wrote:

Adrian wrote:
Does anybody remember Mullard Modules?
Funny you should say that....
In this most recent house move I dumped a little FM Stereo tuner that
was built from a kit in Everyday Electronics (I think),
Consisted of a fancy front panel, 'conti-board' box and three or four
Mullard Modules.

I do remember one of the columnnists building a radiogram for his father
using Mullard Modules.

Didn't they have desigations like LP11?? - ISTR there was a front-end
tuner module, an IF module and a stereo decoder.

Quite possibly.

Strangely, Maplin now have a small collection of similar audio modules,
made in Germany I think, although mostly amplifiers. I expect they'll
add an MP3 decoder soon.

I think I used one of them - made by 'Kemo'.
The local Church wanted a replacement for their old organ - but it had
to be single-manual as opposed to the more usual 'two keyboards one
above the other' approach. Somebody else in the parish donated an old
Yamaha synth, and I ended up 'gutting' an old 2-manual organ, fitting
the synth into it an using one of these little amps to drive the
existing speaker. Sounded pretty good, though I say it myself... g

Now you're going to tell me that these modules are collectors' items -
and fetching a fortune on ebay !

These modules are collectors' items - and fetching a fortune on ebay !

I thought you were going to say that !

Adrian
(got the broadband reconnected today - deep joy !)