Maplins UK

[Negative-Bias]

Well in Peterborough, we do have one called Harry Donna who resides in werrington,it's a bit chaotic and he deals only with cash unless over a £10.00p, I do like it in there,he's helped me no-end for parts when I'm in the mood to build some Ham radio antenna's.
And Radio Amateur Rallies are excellent ,but go early  RSGB page on the net will tell you where they are,the reason I go early is two fold ,bargains and old transceivers I buy to restore along with loads of parts for sale,
Two it grieves me to say this as a radio ham, some hams need to get out more and others might consider taking a bath/shower before going to public events enough said.All life is at the rallies,and I do like them.

[Negative-Bias]

Against better judgement I called into Maplins Peterborough  UK today while wife was clothes shopping ,I needed a 470R pot and 4x schottky Signal diodes,simple off the shelf components,and was directed to the "Parts Expert" hmmmmmm worrying. ,first of all no diodes in the vast component store, so 470R pot yes sir freezer spray yes sir, switch cleaner yes sir, bought items got home sprays yes 470R pot the expert said was in the bag morphed into a 470K pot, I know I should have checked,my proper supplier has no competition ,be ware of the Maplin Experts.

Hi from Peterborough! 


Hi Yourself, Im not the only one then

[SeanB]

It was not the fact the tri-pad board was off spec it was the questionable customer service when I complained , ....

This is a nearly fitting 20 pin the more flexible pin ones fitted.

Looking at the creeping error I would say that the machine that is making it is very badly worn, with the wear in a gear train gradually increasing as it machines across the SRBP blanks. I wonder how they drill these, probably a multihead drill and a few passes to get the full rows of holes then another machine that does the milling of the copper off where needed. Probably accounts for the undercuts on the boards. I have had some which were quite offset in the holes in one direction or the other. The QC must be pretty lax, so long as it is in the copper it passes.

[Howardlong]

Well in Peterborough, we do have one called Harry Donnan who resides in werrington,it's a bit chaotic and he deals only with cash unless over a £10.00p, I do like it in there,he's helped me no-end for parts when I'm in the mood to build some Ham radio antenna's.

My folks live in Peterborough, although I've never lived there. I do fancy paying a visit to the place in Werrington next time I'm there, it's an excuse get me out of the house!

[Negative-Bias]

Well in Peterborough, we do have one called Harry Donnan who resides in werrington,it's a bit chaotic and he deals only with cash unless over a £10.00p, I do like it in there,he's helped me no-end for parts when I'm in the mood to build some Ham radio antenna's.

My folks live in Peterborough, although I've never lived there. I do fancy paying a visit to the place in Werrington next time I'm there, it's an excuse get me out of the house!

OK, he's on lincoln road at the werrington end, and should be on your right he does have a sign

[Negative-Bias]

When I built my first radio with my father around 1973, we lived in Mansfield and there was a small emporium there, resistors were 30p each <cringe>, that's nearly £3.50!

On special occasions we went to Birketts in Lincoln, I think that might still be going?

Yes Birketts is still going

[Zero999]

When I built my first radio with my father around 1973, we lived in Mansfield and there was a small emporium there, resistors were 30p each <cringe>, that's nearly £3.50!

On special occasions we went to Birketts in Lincoln, I think that might still be going?

Yes Birketts is still going

I did a search and here's the website:
http://www.zyra.org.uk/birkett.htm

It looks like an interesting place but I live in Bedford and wouldn't travel that far just to browse. Peterborough is a much closer though.

[tggzzz]

I haven't been to H Gee's in Cambridge for a quarter of a century, but google streetview shows them as bing there last year.

The last thing I bought there was a surplus ammeter to use as a Land Rover's fuel gauge. I probably had the only car with radioactive fuel - the fuel gauge was calibrated in Roentgens/hour

[Fraser]

@Hero999

I'm in Milton Keynes so not far from you 

Aurora

[Dave Turner]

Yup, it used to be that no trip to London was complete without a visit to Edgware road. Usually with tongue hanging out for the bits that you couldn't afford.

I also remember, in the 70's, an excellent old style shop in Edinburgh near the George IV bridge which I used to get bits from. I've no idea if it's still there though. It's 35 years since I've been there.

[AndyC_772]

I haven't been to H Gee's in Cambridge for a quarter of a century, but google streetview shows them as bing there last year.

It's nice to know they're still around, though I can't imagine how. Density of students, no doubt.

I bought my first DMM and soldering iron there. Both cheap, and terrible, but they got me started.

[AHT52]

A few years back I popped into the Harrogate store of maplins after first checking the stock levels on some connectors etc on their website. So I handed my list over of about a dozen different items to the assistant behind the counter. He helpfully replied "I am sorry sir I can`t sell you these items as you will use up all the shop stock". "Can you please order these online they should be with you within a few days".    was all I could think and walked out in disgust.

Where as I regularly went to the Middlesbrough store and the staff were helpful and could nt do enough for you. They always had stock of items requested and even would send stuff out if they did nt have it (free of charge!). So it shows it might be down to who is behind the counter and what sort of day they are having. I have recently become bit of a fan of Altronics here in oz as this reminds me of the o`l days visiting the Middlesbrough store.

[22swg]

AHT52 . Your tale made me smile , agree it still does depend on staff , unfortunately they have started to 'pounce' on customers , I expect they mean well and would be fine with non tech customers or 'stuff in the back'  but I just find it a little annoying. They do seem to keep very limited stock. last year I had a LM2940 emergency i needed 2 they sold me the 2 in stock , said the would have 2 more next day.   

[Howardlong]

They do tend to have a 2-in-stock policy on many stocked parts, and that's been the case for some time. I remember about fifteen years ago doing a Maplin shop around half a dozen stores for some IR LEDs and photodiodes for a homebrew gray encoder. Luckily being in London there are no fewer than fifteen Maplin stores within a five mile radius of me.

I have no idea why you couldn't purchase the entire shop stock of a part. If it's not for sale, what's it there for? Complete nonsense!

[Aodhan145]

I have been there. My soldering station had broken. A resistor had burned out because something shorted. I could not get a lift to maplin and I wanted to fix this really quickly. I walked 10km to maplin to buy a 360R resistor. When I got there, I asked someone where their resistors were, she didn't know so she directed me to someone who knew where the where but didnt know what they looked like. I tell him what I need and bought them. Then I walk home to find out it was a 330 ohm resistor. I was really pissed off. I spent like 3 hrs walking to get the wrong resistor. Remember to check what you buy from incompetent staff.

[wagon]

I live in Toowoomba, Qld, Australia and we have a Jaycar reseller who have pretty much the whole catalogue, in good stock levels, along with gadgets of various kinds. They do a bit of Altronics too, and there is an agent for them here too, but they don't have the full range.   I also have a big range of parts I sell to the general public at my workshop when the other shops don't have it, but it's a big chunk out of your day to sell a couple small parts for just about nothing!  Dick Smith started to go down-hill years ago, and finally sold off all their component stock a couple of years ago.  They are now just a seller of consumer crap.

[Zero999]

I have been there. My soldering station had broken. A resistor had burned out because something shorted. I could not get a lift to maplin and I wanted to fix this really quickly. I walked 10km to maplin to buy a 360R resistor. When I got there, I asked someone where their resistors were, she didn't know so she directed me to someone who knew where the where but didnt know what they looked like. I tell him what I need and bought them. Then I walk home to find out it was a 330 ohm resistor. I was really pissed off. I spent like 3 hrs walking to get the wrong resistor. Remember to check what you buy from incompetent staff.

That's probably because they didn't have 360R in stock, so gave you the nearest value but they should've been honest about it, then you could've considered buying other values to connect in series/parallel to get it right.

330R in place of 360R might've been close enough for it to work. You should have tried it.

[G7PSK]

I haven't been to H Gee's in Cambridge for a quarter of a century, but google streetview shows them as bing there last year.

It's nice to know they're still around, though I can't imagine how. Density of students, no doubt.

I bought my first DMM and soldering iron there. Both cheap, and terrible, but they got me started.

I grew up in and around Cambridge a fellow pupil from the school I went to worked at Gee's and took it over I think when the old man retired, but as I moved out to Norfolk I have not visited Gee's for around 20 years. They are still listed though in guides for Cambridge.  http://cambridge.openguides.org/wiki/?H_Gee
And yes it is the student population that keeps such shops running in Cambridge.

[Howardlong]

I have been there. My soldering station had broken. A resistor had burned out because something shorted. I could not get a lift to maplin and I wanted to fix this really quickly. I walked 10km to maplin to buy a 360R resistor. When I got there, I asked someone where their resistors were, she didn't know so she directed me to someone who knew where the where but didnt know what they looked like. I tell him what I need and bought them. Then I walk home to find out it was a 330 ohm resistor. I was really pissed off. I spent like 3 hrs walking to get the wrong resistor. Remember to check what you buy from incompetent staff.

That's probably because they didn't have 360R in stock, so gave you the nearest value but they should've been honest about it, then you could've considered buying other values to connect in series/parallel to get it right.

330R in place of 360R might've been close enough for it to work. You should have tried it.

If I'd gone to that level of trouble, I think I might've considered a resistor pack. I note that the old 1% E24 packs are no longer sold regretfully, I am still going through a couple of those I bought about a decade ago, to fill in between the E3 values that I have tons of. There is still a 610 part E12 pack though. By far most of what I do is SMD though, so you're pretty much out of luck at Maplin for that! I have definitely been known to pop in there for odd power resistors though, I don't carry a general stock of those.

[Aodhan145]

I have been there. My soldering station had broken. A resistor had burned out because something shorted. I could not get a lift to maplin and I wanted to fix this really quickly. I walked 10km to maplin to buy a 360R resistor. When I got there, I asked someone where their resistors were, she didn't know so she directed me to someone who knew where the where but didnt know what they looked like. I tell him what I need and bought them. Then I walk home to find out it was a 330 ohm resistor. I was really pissed off. I spent like 3 hrs walking to get the wrong resistor. Remember to check what you buy from incompetent staff.

That's probably because they didn't have 360R in stock, so gave you the nearest value but they should've been honest about it, then you could've considered buying other values to connect in series/parallel to get it right.

330R in place of 360R might've been close enough for it to work. You should have tried it.

They had it in stock I checked their website. I went back the next day and the man actually new what he was doing and he gave me the correct 360R resistor.

[Negative-Bias]

 I agree with you, talking of prices I went to Harry Donna's last week which is now run by his son, I needed 2 x 8 pin ic sockets ,that cost me £2.00p ouchhh, I was in a pinch, I then ordered 25x 8 pin ic sockets from a internet shop not ebay, and sockets made by the same maker the cost for 25, was £1.60 free post,guess where the rest will come from.

[wagon]

I agree with you, talking of prices I went to Harry Donna's last week which is now run by his son, I needed 2 x 8 pin ic sockets ,that cost me £2.00p ouchhh, I was in a pinch, I then ordered 25x 8 pin ic sockets from a internet shop not ebay, and sockets made by the same maker the cost for 25, was £1.60 free post,guess where the rest will come from.

As someone who owns a small business, (not under my house or back shed) I know you have to charge like that!  Overheads kill you, big time.  Also, how long did that little sale take?  I don't encourage people to buy stuff like that off me, because it takes 10 minutes for a $2 sale. (I'm really a repair business)

[kerrsmith]

I haven't been to H Gee's in Cambridge for a quarter of a century, but google streetview shows them as bing there last year.

It's nice to know they're still around, though I can't imagine how. Density of students, no doubt.

I bought my first DMM and soldering iron there. Both cheap, and terrible, but they got me started.

I grew up in and around Cambridge a fellow pupil from the school I went to worked at Gee's and took it over I think when the old man retired, but as I moved out to Norfolk I have not visited Gee's for around 20 years. They are still listed though in guides for Cambridge.  http://cambridge.openguides.org/wiki/?H_Gee
And yes it is the student population that keeps such shops running in Cambridge.

Gee's is still open in Cambridge and is exactly the same as it always has been. The walls are floor to ceiling component draws and the back room is full of boxes stacked to head height.

I often go in and buy wire and other odds and ends that I need in a hurry - the man who works there knows instantly where everything is and is very helpful and friendly.

[Negative-Bias]

I agree with you, talking of prices I went to Harry Donna's last week which is now run by his son, I needed 2 x 8 pin ic sockets ,that cost me £2.00p ouchhh, I was in a pinch, I then ordered 25x 8 pin ic sockets from a internet shop not ebay, and sockets made by the same maker the cost for 25, was £1.60 free post,guess where the rest will come from.

As someone who owns a small business, (not under my house or back shed) I know you have to charge like that!  Overheads kill you, big time.  Also, how long did that little sale take?  I don't encourage people to buy stuff like that off me, because it takes 10 minutes for a $2 sale. (I'm really a repair business)

I could accept  what you are doing, this company is not a repair outfit, they sell to parts to the public,and his buisness is in a large shed in his garden.

[BurningTantalum]

Talking of the UK - BoB Potts' was still in Derby last summer when I made a pilgrimage - Babbington Lane right in the centre. He and his staff (daughters ?) have never let me down over the decades.

In the 70s I recall a tiny shop in Nottingham on Radford Boulevard (?) absolutely jammed with components, ham junk and ex-military gear. I recall that on one occasion some of the military gear was not 'ex' enough and the proprietor was hauled in front of the beak. He had a wonderful name something along the lines of Grenville Roland Geoffery De Havilland, and was reputed to be related to the great aviation family. What happened to it and him ?

BT