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Old electronics shops in Melbourne: what's there today (video)
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SteveLy:
@ vk3yedotcom / OP

I did not pick up on the fact that you've produced these videos. Very well done! Must have been a lot of work. The narration sounds very familiar - from ABC or SBS docos/current-affair programs perhaps..(??)
vk3yedotcom:

--- Quote from: SteveLy on November 09, 2015, 05:06:46 pm ---@ vk3yedotcom / OP

I did not pick up on the fact that you've produced these videos. Very well done! Must have been a lot of work. The narration sounds very familiar - from ABC or SBS docos/current-affair programs perhaps..(??)

--- End quote ---

Thanks!  Never narrated on broadcast media though. 

The second last page of http://armag.vk6uu.id.au/1986-april-AR.html contains photos of Truscotts in Croydon.  It appears they were also a Dick Smith reseller.
VK3DRB:

--- Quote from: vk3yedotcom on November 07, 2015, 10:58:07 pm ---
--- Quote from: VK3DRB on November 07, 2015, 09:59:09 pm ---Here's my list where I used to hang out in the 70's and 80's...

McGraths
All Electronic Components
Japanese Transistor Supplies
Stewart Electronics
United Trade Sales
Tasman Electronics (in Coburg - they were a hidden gem just off Sydney Road, run by a young Italian family)
Ellistronics (the best!)
Radio Parts Group (had everything back then)
Ham Radio Supplies
Altronics
Dick Smith (if I had to)
Rod Iriving (if I really had to)
Tandy Electronics (last resort)

--- End quote ---

A great list!  Curious about Altronics.  My understanding was that the '80s Altronics only had the Perth store (in Northbridge) but there were resellers interstate and in country areas.

Did the Melbourne CBD place brand itself Altronics and have most/all of their range?  (as opposed to the Tandy reseller model where a country appliance store would have a few hooks and shelves with Archer bits and Realistic amps)

From their catalogues and EA ads Rod Irving seemed to have a similar range to Altronics or Jaycar (with more PC stuff as the '90s wore on) but an eye opener has been the low opinion in which they were held (eg your post here and others' elsewhere).

--- End quote ---

Good videos Peter and good research. First of its kind probably anywhere in the world.

Actually I might be wrong. I think it was All Electronic Components in the upper reaches of Lonsdale Street in the early 80's, not Altronics. Altronics today is in Springvale.

By the way, before TECs on the same site was the famous Ellistronics. Besides Tattlers Disco in Swanston Street, that was THE place to hang out in the 70's. ST 2N3055's for 69 cents. 55 timers for 20 cents. Where no females could be seen among us jumper-wearing dags. But my then girlfriend (who is now my wife) bought my 21st birthday present there - the kit for ETI's STAC timer. I still have the wife and I still have the STAC timer. There was fantastic service by the electronics guru's in the store who knew about electronics. There was a dark haired bloke, and a fair headed chap who looked like Ralph in Happy Days. The owner was Jock Ellis whom I heard sold up and went to QLD. Sadly, he passed away some years ago.

United Trade Sales operated in the 1970's too, not just the 60's. Lionel VK3NM used to work there. They were right opposite McGraths. McGraths is pronounced "Mc Grars", not "Mc Graaths".

It is a shame the electronics retail industry has been diminished by a dumbed down society led by dumbed down politicians. It does not have to be that way, but it is. One of my kids lives in Tokyo and he tells me the two great electronics "cities", Akihabara and Nihon Bashi (in Osaka), have devolved into similar to what Dick Smith has. Dick Smith Electronics, once a respected name among electronics enthusiasts, now a laughing stock. The only place where electronics is probably booming is in red China.

We need to pull up our socks and reinvent the electronics industries in Australia. For that we need:

1. Politicians with vision and a strong sense of the value of electronics IP.
2. Big tax breaks for companies developing and manufacturing electronics here (whilst preventing the Chevrons and Apples of this world scamming the tax system).
3. A transformed education system that teaches compulsory maths, physics, electronics and embedded programming from an early age.
4. No fee degrees for permanent Australian residents in electronics, mechatronics and computer systems engineering courses.
5. No GST for electronic test and manufacturing equipment.
6. At least one electronics engineer to be awarded Australia Day honours each year.

Only by transforming our society will we ever become an electronics powerhouse once again.
Circlotron:
Here we go. Ellistronics had a place in the mid 80's at 797 Springvale Rd Mulgrave.

http://fairfaxmedia.newspapers.com/search/#query=ellistronics

https://www.google.com.au/maps/@-37.9230346,145.157781,3a,47.9y,284.51h,91.31t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sV9Oi2yClahExdHbmNkjsRg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DV9Oi2yClahExdHbmNkjsRg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D50.17651%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

Edit -> The Google Maps link won't format properly. You may have to copy and past it.
VK3DRB:

--- Quote from: Circlotron on November 21, 2015, 12:16:07 pm ---Here we go. Ellistronics had a place in the mid 80's at 797 Springvale Rd Mulgrave.

--- End quote ---
For a very short time. Jock Ellis sold out to TECS who is not in Blackburn Road Notting Hill.

In the 70's/80's you could buy almost everything in Australia. RS and Farnell were flush with components. Today, RS and Element 14 have stuff-all stock of even basic stuff. Good luck buying connectors, transistors or IC's without having to import them with a big lead time and in the case of Digikey, a whopping shipping fee. Jaycar and Altronics still have some parts but they are limited to just basic hobbyist stuff. Rockby has a much bigger variety and has SMD parts.

Rockby is only real electronics store left that I know about... www.rockby.com.au. We should all support Rockby to help them stay in business. Their low prices and service levels are excellent and they ship at a reasonable price to anywhere in Australia.

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