I miss hanging out in ham radio stores

[mjdewey]

I sure miss Universal Electronics outside of Columbus Ohio. Go to R & L every once in a while. One day I needed some items and went to both stores. They were about a hour and half apart. Also miss going to the R & L store when they had one in Indianapolis.

Now it's ham fests or online.

 

[mass-man]

gonna get back on the hamfest bandwagon...been working weekends for 5 years. Not at all good for "festing."

 

[GlobalNorth]

If the social aspect is what you're missing... why not attend a Ham club meeting for the socializing?

 

[kc2asb]

No ham stores, but we had a local CB shop who was also a Bearcat dealer going back to the Electra days. The tech, Al, could repair anything.

It was dingy building with a small showroom, but it was fun to browse all the shiny CB's, scanners, marine radios, antennas, coax, etc. Need a custom coax assembly? No problem. Measured, cut, and connectors put on while you waited.

Bought a couple of CB's, a Uniden BC-210XLT and even a used Electra Bearcat 220 from them. Great shop, great people. Sadly, long since closed.

 

[kc2asb]

I use to hang around EEB in Vienna, VA. on the weekends when I was in the Army they had radios
hooked up and stuff and you could use them , cool place nothing like that anymore just "Gone"
by era that will be missed ....this was like 87-91 when I was stationed at Ft. McNair in D.C..
good memories ....73,s Marcy

EEB was great. Got my first tabletop receiver from them, a Drake R8, back in 1993 or so. Bought it just before Christmas break and had it shipped overnight! Big purchase when I was just a college kid on a budget. Great dealer, and they are missed.

 

[CKnobb]

Nice thread. I recall my first experience in the 70s when I was a mere lad. I went with my dad (and mom) to Adirondack Radio in Amsterdam, NY. It was a 2 hour drive up there but that was my first taste of ham radio heaven. Dad ended up buying a new Kenwood TS-520 with the digital frequency interface box, all to replace the Hallicrafters SX-101 and Eico 720 pair. Great memories.

 

[eaf1956]

I mise driving the 3 hours one way to go to the Ham Station and see Jeff and place hands on the radio you were interested in.

About a 5 minute drive for me, but HAM Station is long gone....

 

[k6cpo]

In spite of their faults, that's why I go to hamfests. 15 so far this year.

Even those are closing down. San Diego hasn't had a decent hamfest since well before the pandemic. We used to support the Southwestern Division convention until the organizing group had some internal strife and it was cancelled. One of the local clubs put on a small single-day event but even that has fallen by the wayside due to lack of vendor support. Now we have to go to either LA or Yuma (or other parts of Arizona) for a decent hamfest and that gets into travel and lodging costs.

 

[Mikek]

...Jun's in Culver City was also a great ham radio store, but they are gone now too, though I think they still have an online presence...

Ah Jun's. I walked with a new Yaesu FT470 and asked if they could do the "Mars Mod":
Mr. Jun (loudly) "Ahhh we don't do that here!"
Mr. Jun (leans over the counter and whispers) "35 Dolla"

Loved that place....

 

[Engine104]

Speaking of ham swap meets..Has anyone in SoCal recently been to the monthly TRW Swap Meet in El Segundo? The last time I went, there wasn't much ham or radio gear there.

 

[N4GEX]

Yeah, they were great places to pick up girls.

 

[madscanner]

I simply miss the generic, mom-and-pop "radio electronics shacks" that once existed in most urban and suburban towns in decades past. There was one such business in my home town, which sadly closed in the 1990s, called "G&H Electronics." Its owner basically stocked everything from citizen's band and amateur radio transceivers and scanners to circuit board components and breadboards, antennas, coaxial cable spools, connectors -- essentially anything and everything related to DIY level electronics building and modification in the category of radio communications.

The atmospheres of those old stores could never be replicated today, with their dated, mid-20th century interiors and cluttered isles. Somehow, rows and rows of haphazardly pegboard-mounted electronics merchandise, stucco ceilings, fluorescent tube lighting, and the humming of scanners and ham radios just fit perfectly together.

 

[megascanner]

It's fun to look back at the great radio and electronics stores we had in the San Fernando Valley. Of course I do recall HRO in Burbank, which is where I bought several scanners and traded in some older equipment. Anyone remember Video Electronics Supply in Northridge or Sandys Electronic Supply in Canoga Park. Both were family-owned stores and had super smart people working there who could teach you things and solve problems. Hard to get that kind of help online today.

 

[918Dave]

Speaking of ham swap meets..Has anyone in SoCal recently been to the monthly TRW Swap Meet in El Segundo? The last time I went, there wasn't much ham or radio gear there.

You reminded me of a ham fest I attended MANY years ago in Mesa AZ. A friend of my daughter asked where I was. When my daughter replied, 'He went to a ham fest.' She responded, 'Boy, he must really like ham.'

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I use to hang around EEB in Vienna, VA. on the weekends when I was in the Army they had radios
hooked up and stuff and you could use them , cool place nothing like that anymore just "Gone"
by era that will be missed ....this was like 87-91 when I was stationed at Ft. McNair in D.C..
good memories ....73,s Marcy

Around same time I bought my ICOM IC-R9000 from EEB. They were getting scarce many being sent to QATAR in first gulf war for COMINT.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

HRO winter springs florida making a plug for them because they are nearby.