No local source for small parts
I’m fortunate to live in a city where cable TV is a given (at a cost). Not because cable is great, but rather because antennas are so last generation.
I’m basing that conclusion on my visit to what used to be known as Radio Shack. They changed corporate letterhead a couple of years ago, while keeping the same mall spots and poorly informed staff. Now, we’re into the time of little inventory.
Used to be, someone with an inventive mind could have changed the world with the help of the local Shack. A little bit of everything hung on a wall hook; you just had to know what you were looking for. If that proved difficult, there were books containing schematic diagrams (I can see my children looking bemused – What’s that word?). Now. if it isn’t related to a cell phone or GPS, there’s not much left to see.
I was seeking some standard antenna connectors. BNC, SMA, N. Alphabet soup to the rest of the world. I found nothing. No coaxial cable, no “temporarily out of stock” cards. For a store that used to have Radio as part of the name, it’s sad.
What to do? Well, there’s still online orders from a number of dealers. The minimum order threshold is steep, but when the alternative involves constructing your own machine shop for starters, be accepting of your limited fortune.
I’m checking out various satellite tracking packages (hopeful is my middle name) and there’s a lot of hardware that has been set free to roam the airless frontier. I can’t listen to any of them, until I get some new toys, but my “soft” skills will be ready.
