Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.

--
*I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met *

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

On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...



--
€œBut what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an
hypothesis!€�

Mary Wollstonecraft

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
news
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

yes they do

It's called facebook

tim

On 28/02/18 13:56, tim... wrote:


"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
news
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

yes they do

It's called facebook

Thats a hobby like smoking crack is a hobby...


tim





--
In todays liberal progressive conflict-free education system, everyone
gets full Marx.

On 28/02/2018 13:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.

Toys R Us won't be missed - they really lost the plot.
Maplin was handy if you ever needed something small in a big hurry.

I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

They do, but it is certainly true that the median age of people with
non-trivial hobbies that require skill and patience is getting older.

There are very few younger members in astronomy, model engineering and
live steam preservation clubs these days. When I was young there were
enough of us to form a separate sub group from the adults. Now they are
an endangered species - preferring to mess around with their iThingys.

I swear there will be a new RSI disease of texter's thumb soon.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 14:17:45 UTC, Martin Brown wrote:
On 28/02/2018 13:20, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.

Toys R Us won't be missed - they really lost the plot.
Maplin was handy if you ever needed something small in a big hurry.

I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...

They do, but it is certainly true that the median age of people with
non-trivial hobbies that require skill and patience is getting older.

There are very few younger members in astronomy, model engineering and
live steam preservation clubs these days.

But there are still some that take hobbies to the extreme but they are few in number, there was one on the early news or the oneshow IIRC last night.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-engl...ith-furby-toys

I don't believe what was said though in that he just got most bits from a skip, there's some serious kit there and he has more space than we have seem to have for such things so I don't see how his place can be a standard flat on mile end road.


When I was young there were
enough of us to form a separate sub group from the adults. Now they are
an endangered species - preferring to mess around with their iThingys.

We used to have a radio society and an electronics society now all we have is sports and islamic socities but don't tell Harry.
You never hear of studetns being drunk and causing noise anymore either.

I swear there will be a new RSI disease of texter's thumb soon.

In article , The Natural Philosopher
scribeth thus
On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished
Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless
I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies any more...



Yes they do computer games and playing with their smartfone;(....

--
Tony Sayer

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies
any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ... uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a lot
of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who appreciate the
sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the like, as opposed
to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche operations
(e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

On 28/02/2018 13:58, tim... wrote:

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

Wilco's still do though.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 13:59:21 UTC, tim... wrote:
"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE hobbies
any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ... uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a lot
of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who appreciate the
sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the like, as opposed
to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche operations
(e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Supermarkets are all about avoiding anything niche. If they act as landlords it'll be to sellers of all the most popular lines.


NT

In article ,
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Whereas Lloyds seem a bit more focussed.

so focussed that they no longer stock lady's razors as SWMBO found last week

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jethro_uk wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Whereas Lloyds seem a bit more focussed.

so focussed that they no longer stock lady's razors as SWMBO found last
week

The problem with being a high street dispensing chemist is that your main
business is moving away from you as there is a trend for even larger
doctor's practices with pharmacies on site,

Plus the introduction of "electronic" repeat prescription has led to
competition from companies who will order your meds for you and deliver them
to you door.

tim

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i-
y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

Of course all of the "homeware" type stuff appeared in the store when they
"merged" with Timothy Whites (extra points for remembering them - ISTR
there's a Dad's Army script where they get a mention)

tim

In article , tim...
wrote:


"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:58:08 +0000, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
news On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 13:20:49 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

On 28/02/18 12:29, newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R
Us. If you can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small
tools.

There is little or no hobby interest in the market to day at ALL.

Models shops have vanished Craft shops are having a hard time
Electronics stores are pointless I am not even sure people HAVE
hobbies any more...

I'd suggest the internet was the first refuge for such places ...
uk.d-i- y being an exemplar.

Online fora - some attached to internet retailers have replaced the
bricks and mortar element, with Amazon/eBay mopping up the rest.

A hobby I have developed since the internet - home brewing (and
distilling) seems to be fairly healthy. But that's probably because a
lot of shops are run by people who *want* to run them and who
appreciate the sense in stocking whatchmecallits, oojimaflips and the
like, as opposed to the high value/high margin ****e that Maplin were
trying to push.

I suspect there will be a period of some kind of consolidation where
owners (or renters) of big retail units that are starting to struggle
(Sainsburys, Tescos) start to act as landlords for more niche
operations (e.g. homebrewing) in an attempt to entice footfall into
their domain.

there used to be a homebrew section in larger Boots

there is no more

tim

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen
into the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a
pharmacist, or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on
the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

Of course all of the "homeware" type stuff appeared in the store when
they "merged" with Timothy Whites (extra points for remembering them -
ISTR there's a Dad's Army script where they get a mention)

you mean Timothy Whites and Taylors?

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:26:08 -0000, "tim..."
wrote:



Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

Those three bits seem to have survived the attempts to diversify

It's all the rest that has disappeared

How many remember they once had a library service?

G.Harman

On 28/02/2018 15:18, Jethro_uk wrote:

Ah, I'd add Boots to that list of "I remember them". They've fallen into
the BHS trap of not really knowing what they are. Are they a pharmacist,
or a discount make-up store flogging the odd sandwich on the side ?

The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

The other outdated store chain is WH smiths. They can possibly survive
at stations and airports but I suspect not on the high street.

One imagines that high streets will become secondary shopping areas soon, and presumably rents will plummet.
No one wants to pay more than a quid for an hdmi lead, even if it is gold plated

In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 13:35:09 UTC, charles wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

I remmeber buying from them in the mid-late 70s from southend, then they had a shop in hammersmiths.
Problem is electronics as a hobby pretty much died out, trying to find something interesting to make was difficult as most things could be brought ready made from china. Now there is a bit of a comback with embedded systems but it';s all modules and if it;s not in a module the average students just can't connect things together.
I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-

On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 05:49:36 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave
wrote:

I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-


The answer being they cannot solder and can only use a breadboard

--

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 09:41:54 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
The answer being they cannot solder

Health and safety innit

Owain

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 09:41:54 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 05:49:36 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave
wrote:

I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector.. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-


The answer being they cannot solder and can only use a breadboard

Look at the thing. The LDR has legs, these are soldered to an otherwide empty bit of PCB... which then has legs. Ie you could plug the ORP12 in just as well as you could plug the 'module' in. It's the total antithesis to basic sane engineering.

Point out that you may as well just plug the 23p part in directly and the arduino pi youngster crowd are wholly unable to take that on board.


NT

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 09:41:54 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
On Wed, 28 Feb 2018 05:49:36 -0800 (PST), whisky-dave
wrote:

I've just asked a student why he really needs 2 of these at £1.70 each
http://hobbycomponents.com/sensors/1...-module-ky-018

When I have these in stock (23p)
https://www.rapidonline.com/truopto-...sistor-58-0134

and he can freely take any resitor from our rack and same with connector.. I'm betting he;ll say he doesn't know how to connect them up as a potential divider. :-


The answer being they cannot solder and can only use a breadboard

some can;t use breadboard , I found some veroboard stripboard in the lab where a student hasb soldered the components to the wrong side of the board i..e the none copper strip side.

But we do have some good students just not as good as they were 15 years ago.

"charles" wrote in message
...
In article ,
newshound wrote:
On 28/02/2018 11:01, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If
you
can tell the difference.


I thought they were quite good in their day, but don't compete for
convenience with eBay for almost any sort of electronics and small tools.

They were quite reasonable in their original mail order days,and possibly
when they had half a dozen shops in sensible areas - but when they went
"nationwide" including expensive central London sites anybody with any
sense could see itb wouldn't work.

It's the same scenario that did for Jessops

tim

On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:01:45 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


A lot of magazines have disappeared too.
Even DIY is no longer done by younger elements.

On 28/02/2018 16:33, harry wrote:
On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:01:45 UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.


A lot of magazines have disappeared too.
Even DIY is no longer done by younger elements.

'Sfunny you say that. This afternoon I had to kill about 45 minutes and
had a B&Q close by. I decided to waste 45 mins in there. I was pretty
much the only one in the store, and whilst walking round my memory
drifted off to the late 80's, when on a Bank Holiday Monday you couldn't
get near the car park of the same store.

I know today was a cold and windy weekday but I'll bet there will be
plenty of spaces this coming Easter.

--
Chris B (News)

On 28/02/2018 18:11, Chris B wrote:


I know today was a cold and windy weekday but I'll bet there will be
plenty of spaces this coming Easter.


Toady was also old age perishers day where they can get 10% all purchases.

--
mailto : news {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On 28/02/2018 18:11, Chris B wrote:
On 28/02/2018 16:33, harry wrote:
On Wednesday, 28 February 2018 11:01:45 UTC, Dave Plowman (News)Â* wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us.
If you
can tell the difference.

A lot of magazines have disappeared too.
Even DIY is no longer done by younger elements.

Not sure about that. There seem to be more magazines on the rack than
ever before (although a few that used to be are misisng/amalgamated).

'Sfunny you say that.Â* This afternoon I had to kill about 45 minutes and
had a B&Q close by.Â* I decided to waste 45 mins in there.Â* I was pretty
much the only one in the store, and whilst walking round my memory
drifted off to the late 80's, when on a Bank Holiday Monday you couldn't
get near the car park of the same store.

I know today was a cold and windy weekday but I'll bet there will be
plenty of spaces this coming Easter.

I once made the mistake of going to B&Q on a Bank Holiday. Never again!

AFAICT it was a prototype design for the inner circle of Hell.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc.
The situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock seems
to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies which
supplied them may also be in trouble.
The whole thing has been killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you
can afford to buy stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend
as much as getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack
prices.
Its a shame but there you are.
I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of course they have been under
pressure in the states by imitators who do the toy stuff better than they
did.
You can never sit back and relax as competition will come along and steal
your business.
Sadly with Maplin there seems no business to steal any more.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
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Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.

--
*I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met *

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

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 08:57:29 UTC, Brian Gaff wrote:
I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc.
The situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock seems
to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies which
supplied them may also be in trouble.
The whole thing has been killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you
can afford to buy stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend
as much as getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack
prices.
Its a shame but there you are.
I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of course they have been under
pressure in the states by imitators who do the toy stuff better than they
did.
You can never sit back and relax as competition will come along and steal
your business.
Sadly with Maplin there seems no business to steal any more.
Brian

no-one buys shortwave radios, except the occasional old timer, for whom there are plenty on ebay. The other things you mention are mostly bought online. As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics now that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist can keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

And of course being able to buy stuff for less than 1/10th the price is a good thing.


NT

On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 01:29:28 -0800 (PST), wrote:

As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics now
that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist can
keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

Oh yes these surface mount components are so reusable!

On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:10:13 UTC, idiot mechanic wrote:
On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 01:29:28 -0800 (PST), tabbypurr wrote:

As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics now
that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist can
keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

Oh yes these surface mount components are so reusable!

of course they are. The through hole ones, which are plentiful in e-scrap, are easier & quicker though.


NT

In article ,
wrote:
On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:10:13 UTC, idiot mechanic wrote:
On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 01:29:28 -0800 (PST), tabbypurr wrote:

As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics now
that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist can
keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

Oh yes these surface mount components are so reusable!

of course they are. The through hole ones, which are plentiful in
e-scrap, are easier & quicker though.

Given how cheap new components are, I'm surprised you can be bothered. I
can't.

Resistors cost me about a penny each. Really not worth raking round lots
of old boards looking for a suitable one then removing it - only to find
the leads are too short.

--
*I believe five out of four people have trouble with fractions. *

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

On 01/03/2018 13:19, wrote:
On Thursday, 1 March 2018 12:10:13 UTC, idiot mechanic wrote:
On Thu, 1 Mar 2018 01:29:28 -0800 (PST), tabbypurr wrote:

As for electronic parts, we are so awash in scrap electronics
now that it's mostly not necessary to buy anything, a hobbyist
can keep a box of boards and be moderately well supplied.

Oh yes these surface mount components are so reusable!

of course they are. The through hole ones, which are plentiful in
e-scrap, are easier & quicker though.

Most of my escrap consists of multi legged beasties that do whatever the
functionality of the device is and a few buffers LEDs and a dedicated
display LCD. Almost none of it reusable without a lot of effort.

The days are long gone when you could buy scrap chunks of TLL laden
boards to get basic parts. These days you get a few discrete components
and capacitors that are already life expired and probably the cause of
unit failure. PC motherboards with capacitors swollen and at a rakish
angle are a telltale of why it stopped working. I have mended a few.

You can buy known working parts from Rapid in chunks of £40 a throw
complete with datasheets with "free" next day delivery. Time was when
RadioSpares wouldn't deal with you unless you had your company name up
in lights next to an A-road. Those days are long gone. Lock Distribution
were more laid back dealing with start-ups. Whatever happened to them?

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

In article , Brian Gaff
wrote:
I wonder now who is going to supply those components and weird cables and
short wave radios and wireless doorbels that actually work etc. The
situation is that there is no hobbist electronic market of enough size
now and the scatter gun approach they have used to add to their stock
seems to have been ill conceived. I suspect a number of other companies
which supplied them may also be in trouble. The whole thing has been
killed by cheap imports on the internet, where you can afford to buy
stuff and even if its no good you probably did not spend as much as
getting into town ad going to maplin and buying it at top whack prices.
Its a shame but there you are. I'm rather surprised at Toys R Us, but of
course they have been under pressure in the states by imitators who do
the toy stuff better than they did. You can never sit back and relax as
competition will come along and steal your business. Sadly with Maplin
there seems no business to steal any more. Brian

There's Rapid Electronics, CPC, RS and then ebay. What more do you want?

--
from KT24 in Surrey, England

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Just been on the news that they've collapsed. Along with Toys R Us. If you
can tell the difference.

I am just waiting and hoping for Bunnings to go broke.