MC Howards Electronics

[Cliff Schecht]

So I've been working on a Trainwreck Express clone (finally "finished" tonight!) and needed a few extra decoupling capacitors on the high voltage rails, amongst other parts. Since I'm impatient and didn't want to wait the ONE day it takes Mouser to have an order at my house, I decided to take a trip down to Howards to see what he had in stock. I found some perfect 250V 47uF Nichicon caps and did the almost ceremonial act of walking around the store filling up a box with resistors, caps, switches, standoffs, screws and other parts that I know I'll be needing for future builds. And of course as I walk up to the counter to purchase my $100+ worth of parts, the guy at the counter (younger guy, don't know his name) looked at the box and said $10. You can't beat that deal with an ugly stick.

Now for the sad news. As I was shopping around, I heard the larger fellow (Mel is his name I think) talking about how kidney cancer struck him earlier in the year and how he was tired and ready to sell the store. There was definitely a somber feeling in the air and I could hear the other employees speaking in a similar manner (using a lot of past tense, talking about store memories, etc..). The guy at the counter told me that Howards is going out of business as early as January 1st and as late as the end of January. This was very disheartening news as I've been going to Howards since I could drive to pick up parts for different builds and think of the place with a certain reverence. It's always a great day after you spend 3 hours going through the whole store picking up whatever looks cool and/or useful. I'm really going to miss the whole experience, not just the fact that I could get just about anything I needed on the cheap.

I was thinking that we could get a small group of people in or around Austin to make a trip down (or up) to Howards to pick over the store and enjoy a sort of last stand, if you will. This would not only be a great opportunity to pick up any parts/accessories you need on the very cheap, it would also be a great chance to meet some fellow Austin builders. RG, maybe this can be our chance to actually meet at Howards like we talked about years ago. Anybody down? I'm in town until Saturday (damn you school!!) so anytime between now and then works for me.

[bean]

Yeah, I got the same story from Mel the other day. I happen to stop by on Saturday just as he was leaving and he told me about the cancer thing. I had no idea. He also told me he is looking for a buyer, and is probably only going to ask 40k for it. That definitely piqued my interest, but since the wife and I are most likely relocating next year it is out of the question.

I'm headed down there this week to pick up an armful of super mojo stuff. If I get anything in quantity I'll offer some up. Not sure about my availability in terms of coordinating a time, though. I might have to bring my rowdy little 3 yr old girl along!

[Cliff Schecht]

I'm thinking about heading down there either today or Wednesday to buy a little bit of every cap value he carries. Especially those fantastic sounding but easy to ruin polystyrene caps, I'm sure he has some left but I didn't think to look before.

[bean]

Actually, I'm going over there tomorrow at about 3pm. I hope they don't close early 

[Cliff Schecht]

Actually, I'm going over there tomorrow at about 3pm. I hope they don't close early 

I'll try to be there by 3 tomorrow.

[bean]

Awesome!

[Cliff Schecht]

I drove on down to Howards with my dad today and spent a good two hours amassing thousands of parts. I was pretty much told that I was cut off by the guy at the counter by the time I was considered done. I picked pretty much every good polystyrene, mica, mylar and other film capacitor that I could find in values ranging from 1pF to 4uF. I also scored a large heap of high voltage electrolytics and power resistors that will be great for my future amp builds. I picked up bunches of different switches, LED's, pilot lights and hardware (#2-#8 screws, bolts and nuts) as well. All in all I had a good 30-40 pounds in parts and after a quick look, the guy at the counter said $30. Pretty ridiculous price for what was essentially a couple thousand dollars worth of parts! I'm going to miss Howards dearly but at the same time, I think I'm good on parts for the next 20 years..