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I miss the old Radio Shack catalogs.

I sort of remember Radio Shack catalogs

Radio Shack doesn't even sell a simple solid state relay junction anymore.

I concur with most of ya....

I'm an electronics technology grad, and had the opportunity to do a two year co-op working on 12000 and 9000 series Cisco routers as a Failure Analyst. Essentially when they came off the test bench not functioning, I fixed em.

Just to clarify, I'm a phone/network geek now.

Here's the problem, it took me a year to learn how to reliably repair a device that complex at the component level on the first crack. You can't honestly expect some electronics hack to be able to figure out the cell phone that he just broke. Truth is, the technology that was used to solder down half those chips uses machines worth millions and the BGAs on the boards can't even be inspected with the naked eye. (you would need 3d xray imaging equipment worth millions more)

Sure, the guy in the cell phone stall can solder new LEDs into your teenager's cell phone to make it look pretty, and I can put a cap across a switch and debounce it with the best of em. But in reality most technology has gone WAY too far for anybody to work on the complex stuff.

The Furbie dolls (talking children's toy/doll) of a couple years past had many magnitudes more processing power than a mid 80's computer. They don't use vacuum tubes either.

After a quick Visual Inspection of a board, most of us are toast, even if we are in the know.

I don't carry my oscilloscope or logic analyzers in my service truck for a reason; electronics are seldom built in a manner that allows a lowly tech to work on them in the field. Our disposable mannerisms have bred disposable products.

Jason

And getting back to the topic at hand, up in Canada RS was bought out by "The Source by Circuit City". I recently found 5 pallets of their electronics parts, as well as a bunch of RS branded keystone and biscuit jacks, at a local liquidation store. Needless to say I spent a good deal of time and money sifting through the loose contents that day.

I think the days of finding the resistor you need just around the corner are over. They just can't hire staff that has a clue, so are probably giving up. They don't even carry the headphone amps I used to use for music on hold anymore.

If you are in Ontario and need parts, try NuTEC (St. Catherins/Hamilton) or Sonnam Computer (Toronto) or that other computer store on Bloor just down from CPC if you know the area. My favorite still is Active Surplus (Also in Toronto).

Jason

I still spend hours at a local place called PhilCap

They have everything that you can't find else where, kind like to think of it as "Ed's Place" and a lot like "Sandman" place too!
If it ever closes, which will happen someday I guess, I want to be long gone or well stocked up.

I have heard of Philcap but have not made it out there yet...