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)
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).
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.