[Milsurplus] Weirdstuff Warehouse

[John Lawson]

   I live in Carson City, but manage to make it west over to That Other 
State from time to time on various client-related activities: I always 
drive my truck and always arrange the schedules so I can cruise WeirdStuff 
and also Mike Quinn's (quite possibly the oldest BayArea surplus store 
still under the same name).

   Wierd Stuff has mostly aging computer stuff - they also put together 
older systems and sell them for cheap. They hold regular sealed-bid 
auctions - I have yet to participate in these. Like a lot of outfits - 
thier pricing can be a bit arbitrary, but I have scored some excellent 
deals there - recently I got 8 Kepco power supplies , 0-36V and 0-20A 
regulated and adjustable (both V and A) for $20 each - all are working 
pulls. Of course they're 19" rack mount and weigh more than 80 pounds 
each.. but I've alread sold three of them to various local hams for $100 
each... I'll triple my money and still have two for me. ;)

   I got a lovely heavy steel enclosed 6' rack for $30 - with casters and a 
power strip - a DC Load Center from some telecom gear, full of low-voltage 
acircuit breakers, 5 - 10 - 15 amp all mounted in a chassis with heavy 
copper bussbars - $10.  Two Fluke programmable power supplies, 0-100V at 
2A max - $15 each.  They tend to price stuff lower if it's heavy and/or 
not 'recognizable' by whoever was pricing at that moment.  All in all, 
when in the Bay Area, I'd recommend stopping by - they're right up the 
street from Yahoo! on Carribean - opposite is the Landfill - hard to miss.

   Mike Quinn's is a more old-line place - they started in the famous 
Quonset Hut at (IIRC) San Jose airport - then some years back moved to an 
industrial building in a rather ratty part of town.  Much more classic 
'junque' - stuff in piles, rows of shelves, aisles strewn with motors and 
transformers and random heaps of cast-off computers, spools of wire - you 
get the picture. I don't think Quinn's would be worth a special trip if 
you're out of the area, but if you're going Surplus Crawling, I'd 
definitely go by there, too...  very few like them left.


  Cheers

John KB6SCO - who wishes there were more electronics places in northern 
Nevada than just Rat Shack and the Sandy's in Reno...  ;}