Modern Day RadioShack?

[ahab]

Back in the 80s and early 90s, radio shack was the shit. i was too young and too stupid to appreciate that, but nowadays, you walk in, and half of the store is for cellphones and an annoying clerk trying to make a commission off of them.
never the less, i love to go to radio shack and look at their 'diy' projects and i think about all the possibilities.

no that we have the internet, what would you consider to be a viable sight for electronic, that offers everything from a diode, whachymacallit, to a breadboard, thingymadoodle, to books on electricity, to diy electronic projects, to cat 5 cables, to spi cameras? what is todays radio shack.

and you can say radioshack.com. im talking the hackers/crackers/do-it-your selfers/moders/ site.

[jeffmoss26]

parts express
mouser
digi-key
newark

[magician59]

I don't know if this is a regional store, or a national chain; But Fry's Electronics is pretty popular here.

[ahab]

I don't know if this is a regional store, or a national chain; But Fry's Electronics is pretty popular here.

wow, i thought fry's was a california thing. good to know. i love that place. its basically a best buy on steroids but love it.

[Logan]

If you ever find yourself in MA check out You-Do-It Electronics in Needham, you'll love the place. They carry A LOT of hardware hacking goodies etc.
No idea about website for it though always had that store just a stones throw away.

[Lumpy]

I like Sparkfun.com for my electronics kits, gizmos and gadgets. More for a hobby builder.
Digikey for electronics components.
E-Bay for bulk LED's, resistors and such. It's all made in China. Might as well buy direct from China!
For cables, cat 5, Home Theater type goodies you can't beat monoprice.com

[Vitti]

Ramsey electronics is great for kits of all kinds. Www.ramseyelectronics.com

All Electronics is great for surplus stuff. www.allelectronics.com

Digikey and mouser can't be beat on price and selection. Digikey is a bit more user friendly to the hobbyist in my opinion.

Spark fun has some cool kits but most everything they sell can be had cheaper elsewhere. That being said, they are a really cool company and I still support them from time to time.

Parts Express has a lot to offer but their prices on individual components are a little high.

Then, as mentioned, eBay is great for bulk pricing.

[vienessewaltzer]

I like Sparkfun.com for my electronics kits, gizmos and gadgets. More for a hobby builder.
Digikey for electronics components.
E-Bay for bulk LED's, resistors and such. It's all made in China. Might as well buy direct from China!
For cables, cat 5, Home Theater type goodies you can't beat monoprice.com

This. Anything I usually want to buy I get from sparkfun.

[jeffmoss26]

Never heard of sparkfun until today! Bookmarked it!

[Josh66]

I'm gonna have to bookmark some of these sites.

As far as being able to actually walk into a store, RadioShack is all there is within 30 miles of me.

They do still have all the parts and stuff, they're just tucked away in the back - and you better know exactly what you're looking for, because the sales people sure as hell won't be able to help you.. They do have a shitload of batteries too... No rechargeables at all though - not even AA's.