Electronics Places in London - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Stephen Hill
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 02:15:16 pm
content: Afternoon,Next Friday I'm going to London with my wife for a weekend break and in addition to going shopping and to the theatre, I want to visit some interesting electronics locations.So my question is, are there any electronics places worth visiting in London? Stores, Surplus, Museums, Markets etc?Many ThanksStephen

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 02:46:19 pm
content: I don't know if it is still the same as I have not been to London for some years but Edgeware Road used to be the place for all things electronic.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 02:52:26 pm
content: There isn't really much of interest in London nowadays - no interesting shops to speak of. Maybehttp://www.distel.co.uk/but not sure how browsing-friendly they are.Science museum is always worth a look - check out Tim Hunkin's 'secret life of the home', quite well hidden away in the basement.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 03:05:20 pm
content: I used to enjoy visiting this place when I was young:http://g.co/maps/7ytggUnfortunately I did not at the time know what to do with the treasures found there.Now, sadly, it is gone.

author: Stephen Hill
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 03:12:26 pm
content: The science museum is defiantly on my list. And thanks for pointing out The Secret Life of Home exhibition:http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/visitmuseum/galleries/secret_life_of_the_home.aspxDisplay Electronics look interesting but it would be nice if I could just browse around, can anyone confirm if this is possible? Was hoping to find places like Apex Electronics in the US:CheersStephen

author: quantumfall
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 03:31:09 pm
content: This is one suppliers still around from years agohttp://www.cricklewoodelectronics.com/Cricklewood/home.phpweather they have anything you need, check out their old stock.Science museum and others at South Kensington are a place to visit, I've not been for while now, so not sure what its like now.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 04:18:38 pm
content: BTW of all the good stuff that used to be in Edgware Rd, only Henrys is still there, but really not worth visiting unless you happen to be literally walking past the door. Went there a couple of years ago and they had one small shelf of components and rubbish surplus, probably left over from the good old days 30-odd years ago!

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 19, 2012, 10:26:13 pm
content: I went into the royal society just near charing cross a while back, it was a little interesting to see some of Michael Faradays failed experiements on display.

author: Mint.
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 01:43:34 am
content: The science museum is amazing! Lots of cool stuff there

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 02:09:05 am
content: TCR is basically retail electronics, and even there I don't think it is as exciting as it was 30 years ago. In the 1970's it was an absolute wonderland of amazing stuffIt's a sad testament to the disposable nature of modern consumer goods that an HP-41c or a TI-59 were vastly more interesting in their time than, say, an iPhone is today--even if the iPhone is by comparison like something out of Star Trek. The whole wow factor, the stretching of boundaries, has kind of disappeared from today's stuff.

author: ErikTheNorwegian
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 12:19:05 pm
content: Not electronics, but i always go there to eat a good burger.. best eating in London, great service, friendly staff, BIG portions, tons of memorabilia, a h** of a nice place is Bill Wyman’s Sticky Fingers:http://www.stickyfingers.co.uk/As they advertice it, I`ve never been let down there:"This haven of good times, great food, and original Stones memorabilia continues to provide an enviable environment for eating, drinking, and having fun.Bill Wyman’s Sticky Fingers remains one of London’s favoured restaurants serving award winning burgers, great tender steaks, and the best ribs in London . The service is always friendly and welcoming testifying that Sticky Fingers is even stronger today than the trend it started many years a"PS:Mondays there is 50% of some of the menu..!!

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 01:09:06 pm
content: Quote from: iamwhoiam on April 20, 2012, 02:02:58 amThere used to be some interesting places there 30-odd years ago like Proops, Z&I and a testgear shop, but now it's all just consumer electronics & computers apart from a large branch of Maplin at the north end.

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 03:10:39 pm
content: CPC ought to open a shop somewhere, they have become the "new Maplin" as far as I'm concerned.There is a Maplin's locally but I only really use it for stuff I can't be bothered to wait until I've got enough to be worth ordering from Mouser, Farnell, Rapid or CPC. It's way too expensive for most stuff - 26p for a resistor anyone?

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 03:48:09 pm
content: QuoteThey do, unfortunately itsWay Up North

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 04:06:25 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on April 20, 2012, 03:10:39 pmThey have a trade counter in Preston, I believe, but like Farnell's in Leeds it's a bit out of the way for some of us!RS have a network of trade counters which can be handy for "I need this today" situations. I ordered online and collected from the one in Coventry a couple of times but I think that's now closed, which is a shame.QuoteYep, and it also depends on what you're after -- they carry very little by way of surface-mount components, for instance -- and it can be hit or miss on whether your local shop(s) have what you need in stock. Very occasionally they can beat other suppliers on price, mainly for more niche/hobbyist things like stripboard in my experience. Although they do seem to have a bunch of SIL DC-DC converters listed for significantly less than anyone else is asking for the same thing, presumably some overstock to shift!That said, I was moderately surprised last month to have popped in and bought everything I needed to build a couple of quick prototypes -- nothing fancy, just some PIC12s and PIC16s, seven-segment displays, 2N7000s, voltage regulators, etc. Since my brother only asked my opinion on the project on the Saturday afternoon in the pub and was going home on the Sunday lunchtime, it was nice to be able to grab all the bits from the local store and put something together quickly. The (significant) additional cost vs. getting the bits from RS or Farnell isn't too bad when you're up against the "need it now, not on Monday" constraint.

author: Kibi
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 20, 2012, 10:51:58 pm
content: Quote from: grumpydoc on April 20, 2012, 03:10:39 pmYe, you do the same as I do then. Wait until you have £50 in your Mouser "cart" then hit buy.I did buy some resistors from Maplin because I needed them quick, but even then, the closest branch (to Manchester) that had them is stock was Warrington.I remember when the semiconductor section of the Maplin catalogue spanned over 100 pages. Now they have condensed it down to about 10 or 15 pages. The rest of the catalogue is filled with consumer tat.