Looking for electronic components in New York City!!

[djwackfriz]

OK, this is arguably the most alive city in the world, I have food from 5 continents within 2 blocks of my apartment, and yet I have not found ANY walk-in stores that stock components aside from Radio Shack.

Now that I have bought everything useful Radio Shack has, I NEED HELP!

Any natives know of hidden gems/accessible stores for caps, resistors, trannies, switches... whatever! I've found lots of wholesale, but nowhere I can go and browse...

HELP!

[jefe]

lol, we just had this discussion recently. There's not much bro...

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=56408.0

[kurtlives]

You can pick up Smallbear orders...Steve is quite cool about that....

[smallbearelec]

The ONLY place I know of in Manhattan that does walk-in electronic trade is 269 Canal. Expensive, and limited selection, but it is there (in the back past the Jewelry displays). Many years ago, Sylvan-Wellington Electronics, one of the old distributors, was there. High rents and changes in the electronics market have driven everyone else out.

Actually, I'd love to have a retail shop like the ones I used to visit. I CAN'T! The economics of having a person, or Bear (especially a knowledgeable one!) tend a counter make it unviable. So we invite customers to order on-line and pick up at Mazzotti Music.

Someone mentioned Leeds Radio in Williamsburg. When I was a boy, they were on Canal street, and I remember visiting them on weekends. The Brooklyn place is the same time warpthat I remember...like a museum of WW II surplus gear. Worth a visit, particularly if you are into old tube equipment. I picked up a Victoreen g-m tube from them that I hope to use for repair of an old geiger counter.

Regards
SD

[elberto]

I just hit up 269 Electronics, and it looks like a good spot if you need a resistor/cap/jack NOW and don't want to wait for mail order.  Scored a nice huge heatsink there for a chip amp.

[caress]

leeds electronics in brooklyn is the jam.

www.leedsradio.com

it's a great big old warehouse filled with shelves upon shelves and drawers upon drawers of TONS of components, hardware, junk etc.  a lot to look through and the (owner?) guy who works there (steve?  maybe i forget) is really friendly and helpful to boot.  you should probably have a little bit of an idea about what you want before you go there, though, as it is really that vast.  it's hard to miss - just a small door with a hard to read sign above it.  you need to knock, as well!

don't expect them to necessarily be there when you go though...

[aloupos]

Was trying to convince one of the hobby shops in queens (big apple hobby or something) to talk to smallbear (Steve) about carrying some merch, but from Steve's response it seems like nothing came of it.  He was up on all of these geek social events I'd never heard of, like soldering competitions held at a bar on the LES or something. 

It is great to have leeds here, for me it's 3 blocks away, so I pop in from time to time, see whats new (old) and chat about whatever is topical with Rich, who is seriously omniscient.  Other than 269, I've heard only rumors about an old mom and pop tv repair shop somewhere in the depths of Brooklyn.

Ahh, one last gold mine is a place on Canal, near 6th avenue, where they have tons of 80's/90's junk electronics, mostly stripped down to circuit boards.  They have bins along the walls with all kinds of treasures, covered in inches of manhattan dust.  Don't know how they make money there, but i guess they do. 

Surely a city like this could support a well stocked, fronted store for electronics hobbyists. 

[elberto]

I think you're talking about Argo electronics, at 369 Canal.  bins have a ton of surplus ripped apart speaker crossovers?  I dug up some crusty 1/4 inch jacks and the dude wanted $1 each, to which I replied "no way"

[aloupos]

Thats the place!  You can negotiate;  I needed the caps from one of those crossovers, so I bought the whole board.  Think I paid $1 for a dual ganged pot with 3 or 4 caps.  I also got a bag full of cheepie orange leds for $6.00 also ..

Leeds is a much better experience though! 

[space_ryerson]

If you must got to Radio Shack, the one on Broadway, between 54th and 55th has the best 'geek section'.

Sometimes you will see the most incredible audio stuff lying on the curb waiting to be picked up by the garbage man.