[NLRS] Electronic Center (ECI) closing ??

[Dr. Gerald N. Johnson]

On 3/16/2017 12:06 PM, Ray Johnson wrote:
>
>
> Hi All
>
> A friend of mine just sent me a notice that Electronic Center Inc (ECI)
> is going to close down soon.
>
> Old timers will remember them by their old name , Acme Electronics, who
> were originally located at 3rd and Washington.
> They moved out to Golden Valley on Hwy 55 near Douglas Ave several years
> ago which was a nice change from the hassles of downtown Minneapolis.

The last time I looked at their web page it seemed like they didn't want 
to deal with any hams or audiophiles that they would almost demand 
seeing a sales tax permit number to sell.
>
> The notice from Dick Atlas said they had been in business since 1950.
> These days they concentrated mostly on pro audio and data-comm wiring.
> They still maintained a nice selection of bubble wrapped connectors too.
>
> This action has not been confirmed so I will wait to see what actually
> happens...
>
> This leaves the Twin Cities with just Radio City and Axman Surplus as
> the local goodie outlets. My understanding is that Radio Shack is about
> to close even more stores locally....

Radio Shack has been a trash store since they were acquired by Tandy in 
about 1959. Radio Shack had been a NE US amateur radio and parts store 
since the 1920s. Tandy was and is primarily an importor of goods. They 
bought Allied Radio, Walter Ashe (in St. Louis), for their retail 
outlets. And immediately disposed of all the US made equipment replacing 
it with imported sometimes second or third rate stuff. Tandy went under 
a couple years ago and about half their stores were taken over by a new 
operator principally interested in selling Sprint cell phone service.

In the past two weeks I have received e-mails offering anything in the 
stores for 50% off. When its 50 miles to the nearest store, and there 
isn't all that much stock there, its easier to go on line to Jameco, All 
Electronics, Digi-Key, or Mouser and have a far greater selection and 
put the post office or brown truck to work delivering.

This week some financial advice e-mail said the new operator of Radio 
Shack stores will be filling for bankrupty and probabaly closing many 
more stores. Last summer I visited an associate store in Osage Iowa that 
had been forgotten by RS and not supplied. I had suggested they buy 
parts and cables from Jameco and All. The gal at the cash register said 
RS had been supplying them better this year.

Mouser and Digi-Key have become huge compeotitors in the wholesale 
electronics trade by having stock and selling in any quantity from one 
up without a minimum order. Some of their competition has avoided 
selling to hams, experimenters, and prototype makers with huge minimum 
order requirements. Digi-Key had a minimum order a decade or two ago, 
but gave it up. A few decades ago I had a Newark account, but when 
Mouser got going I could have product delivered from Texas quicker than 
I could get a quote from Newark. Back in 1963 when I worked at Collins 
in Cedar Rapids if I could get a purchase order for parts from Newark to 
the purchasing department by 4 PM, the parts would be on the back dock 
by 9 AM. It took some foot work to skip over slow internal motions at 
Collins to make that work and the guy at the dock gave me a hard time 
about that. He chewed and I compliained to my boss an elder in the 
church I went too. The next time I went to the dock the guy on the dock 
chewed his tongue and said nothing. I don't know what my boss said to 
him, but I know my boss went straight to the dock after I complained.

There are other places with interesting inventory, Marlin P. Jones and 
Associates is one though shipping sometimes costs more than the 
products. Like Jameco they are big into Arudina and Raspberry-Pi these 
days. > http://mpja.com

>
> The world really is changing...
> Ray Johnson WB0EBG
> EN35la Maplewood


73, Jerry, K0CQ