The latest from ctp @ snarkymcf.com.
Tag Archives: bay area
Electronics Flea Market @ DeAnza College
Kylie and I decided to check out the Electronics Flea Market at DeAnza College this past weekend. I took a bunch of pictures and put them up on flickr.
We met a trio of Evil Mad Scientists there and had a great time. I stocked up on tweezers and tiny solder braid, along with some mystery items I’ll feature in an upcoming post.
The last Electronics Flea Market of the year is next month, on Saturday October 11th. Don’t miss it!
By the way, the big news this weekend was that HSC electronics is NOT moving as was rumored earlier in the year. Speaking of HSC, this coming weekend is the annual HSC sidewalk sale. (This year they’re calling it a warehouse clearance sale due to downsizing at their present location.)
Is Electronics Surplus Still Alive in Silicon Valley?
Bins of ICs at Excess Solutions
Last Monday I went on a surplus run in the South Bay.
This was a common pastime for myself and a few especially geeky friends around 1994-2002. After that, eBay and mail order electronics pretty much took over, forcing the most interesting surplus electronics stores in Silicon Valley (ie. RA Enterprises) to close their doors. With the news that HSC Electronics is moving to an undisclosed location and Triangle Machine is going out of business, I was starting to worry that the days of finding cheap, local electronics surplus were over.
However, thanks to this guide I discovered a few new surplus goldmines:
- Excess Solutions in Milpitas (their site is here) – lots of mechanical parts, connectors, as well as ICs and components.
- Advanced Component Electronics (ACE) in San Jose – a jawdropping inventory of logic ICs, resistors, capacitors, and miscellaneous through hole and surface mount parts.
So maybe electronics surplus is still alive in Silicon Valley. Both stores are a bit of a drive from the city, but both are still open to foot traffic and appear to have almost every component you could possibly need for an electronics project. What I did find lacking at both locations was cheap surplus equipment. One of the most rewarding things for me in the past has been taking apart mysterious equipment to collect interesting bits and pieces for my junk box. Triangle Machine still has some, but may only be around through the end of August. Regardless, I will definitely be making the trip back to the South Bay for some electronics scrounging soon, whether HSC sticks around or not.