Scavenging in California

[paggerman]

G'day everyone. Well, here I am in sunny Long Beach on my annual holiday (vacation). I'll be visiting Vegas and SF whilst I am this side of the Pacific.

I noticed a post by Chuck H where he mentioned a probably long gone source of old kit for scavenging bits. Which got me thinking - does anyone know of any places where I might pick up useful bits and pieces on the cheap whilst I am here? I went to the Rose Bowl flea market at the weekend and was very disappointed with goods on offer.

Many thanks

Jeff

[olddawg]

Alas.. eBay has destroyed most vestiges of places like that.

[Enzo]

Aren't there some surplus outlets in San Francisco? Alltronics in Santa Clara for example. HSC in that area.

Here: *** Junktronix *** Resources

And Long Beach is full of potential.

I am a couple thousand miles from there, but here near Michigan State University, I visit their surplus facility weekly. The school never throws anything away, they send it to the facility so they can sell it for whatever they can get. I often find neat old tesat equipment and sometimes just fun stuff. Just this week there was a pair of Hitachi 60MHz scopes on the shelf for like $35 each. I bought a working WWV receiver for a few dollars recently. $5 tube table radios. And lots and lots of football shoes from the athletic department. I left those there. Found a great old HP 200 series audio oscillator for $5. Only thing wrong was a bent vane on the variable cap. 10 seconds with needlenose pliers and it worked.

But I suspect there are similar departments at major universities and schools in that area, especially since SF is SIlicon Valley territory.

I googled silicon valley colleges and universities and found a list on WIKI. Choosing Univ Cal Davis at random, I found at the UC Davis web site this:
UC Davis Bargain Barn

SO look for universities in the areas you will visit, then check to see which ones have surplus/salvage operations. I bet many do.

[paggerman]

Thanks for the tip. I'll do some searching. Many thanks, as always.

[Chuck H]

If it's still there... Halted Electronics in Santa Clara will have a few dozen boxes of pulled tubes to rummage through. That was my favorite place to scout used good pulls. Since I'm not there I don't mind sharing. Good luck!

P.S. There are many overlooked fly fishing trout waters peripheral to surrounding suburbia too. But I'm not sharing that info

[JHow]

You might find these places fun... haven't been for a while, myself.


Apex Electronics
8909 San Fernando Rd
Sun Valley, CA 91352
Neighborhood: Sun Valley
(818) 767-7202
Apex Electronics

C & H Sales (used to be in Pasadena, now Duarte)
805 Highland Ave
Duarte, CA 91010
(626) 256-7907
C&H Surplus


All Electronics
14928 Oxnard St
Van Nuys, CA 91411
Neighborhood: Van Nuys
(818) 997-1806
All Electronics | Electronic and Electro-Mechanical Parts and Supplies at Discount Prices

[paggerman]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I have now been advised that I will not be purchasing anything else while I am here in the USA other than bare essentials and anything my beloved would like for Christmas. This is a consequence of buying a rather nice PRS SE semi hollow. Not to worry - I have several large boxes of junk to use anyway.
Cheers all
Jeff

[Enzo]

Hey go look anyway, just for fun. Then say, "Look, Honey, at all the stuff I am not buying!!!"

[Chuck H]

Or just go get what you can find and use the excuse: "I needed these things anyway. You should be glad I found them at such a reasonable price. I SAVED money."

That's how my wife does it

[paggerman]

Hey go look anyway, just for fun. Then say, "Look, Honey, at all the stuff I am not buying!!!"

Oh yeah. That'll work. I think it was Oscar Wilde who said "I can resist anything except temptation itself". How could I not buy a piece of junk that has a chassis and case with a chunky PT - especially if it has 'world' voltages on the primary? I'll have to stick with the junk i have. And learn how to play at least one of my guitars.
Jeff

[paggerman]

Or just go get what you can find and use the excuse: "I needed these things anyway. You should be glad I found them at such a reasonable price. I SAVED money."

That's how my wife does it

Funnily enough I was on the same subject last week. She was buying a new pair of boots ( and I have no objection to that) and she was saying that they were 20% off and therefore she was saving $100 or whatever. She couldn't understand that she wasn't saving anything. The boots were still a lot of money, and they were going to cost that amount. No savings anywhere to be seen. All spends.

Ta

[Prairie Dawg]

Funnily enough I was on the same subject last week. She was buying a new pair of boots ( and I have no objection to that) and she was saying that they were 20% off and therefore she was saving $100 or whatever. She couldn't understand that she wasn't saving anything. The boots were still a lot of money, and they were going to cost that amount. No savings anywhere to be seen. All spends.

Ta

I remember seeing a cartoon one time that had a fellow asking "Honey, where are we going to borrow all the money we just saved?