The AM Forum

Is there any electronic surplus companies around  MA. or RI,. There  was one a time ago in the Boston area, I think it was called Hefferons or something like that. They would get surplus military and amateur gear, and all sorts of things to do with electronics. There is a great place in Fl. called SKYCRAFT we need place like that here.  BOB KA1DMZ

Other than Fair Radio in Ohio, there's this outfit that has some great-looking boatanchors and a serious price, unfortunately.
Still fun to look over their online catalog.

http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/home.php

Check this out, Iraqi radios are showing up "surplus". (At US taxpayer expense, no doubt)
http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/product.php?productid=1569&cat=75&page=1



Maybe they could bring back Cortlandt Street in NYC?

It was called Eli Hefferons. It was on Webster Ave in Cambridge MASS. The sons took over in the mid 60s and by the 70s they had gotten into computer surplus and moved into the old laundry warehouse on Hampshire st.i dont know if its still around.  Joe

Here's more:

http://home.hetnet.nl/~angrynine/surplus6.htm (http://home.hetnet.nl/~angrynine/surplus6.htm)

Yes they are dealing with computers, The company name is ELI.SYSTEM INC. now 
WWW.ELI.COM

Looking for a place more like SKYCRAFT out of Florida, deals with a lot of parts ect.

a trip to murphy Surplus is like going to Hostraders under 1 roof.

were is murphy surplus

Point your finger here ↓↓
(http://murphyjunk.bizland.com/STORE.JPG) (http://www.murphyjunk.bizland.com/murphys-surplus/index.html)

Murphy's is over here in sunny San Diego, CA.

Real nice guy, little high on his prices for somethings but he usually comes down on the prices if you work him for a while.
I try to visit there once a week to see what he may have gotten new before he puts it on his web page.

Richard

Youse guys are lucky!! We dont have any good surplus places here in baltimore. NADA!! We used to have i place downtown years ago that had some stuff, but not much. I remember buying 2 R-390As from them 20 years ago for $175 each. They were called H&H surplus. They are still in business, but they just carry camping and outdoorsy stuff now.

I remember back around 1981 when I lived down in Carolina Beach Nc.
(I lived down there for around 6mo) There was a huge, really neat surplus place up around Wilmington (Nc.), but I honestly dont remember their name. This place was friggin kool, they had everything from radio stuff to truck parts, to airplane parts!! All military surplus.  This was a really kool place. Does anybody out there remember this place, and whether or not it still exists, and/or what they were called?

                                            The Slab Bacon

I also heard from a local that the scrap yard across the street from Murphy is also a good source of electronics.
I didn't know when I visited them though.
There was also another place up the street that had a lot of parts.

Thats a long way for me to go, will have to keep looking for one in my area 8) 8)

Guess I'm on a post replying jag today.
My favorite radio was Tydings in Pittsburg. That was 90 miles north of my homly QTH in the 50's. Never forget my first purchase, a loopstick, 365pf cap, a real diode and GE's transistor book. I still have the book complete with my botched over schematics with wires penned in where you'd be sure to melt a transistor.

Remember that funny feeling as you left the store with stuff clutched in your fist? Combination of power, regret for spending the whole dollar, couldn't  wait to start building...  the touch, smell and feel of PARTS was overpowering.  Ah, all ruined in a few short years by other driving interests.
Rick

there's still a CAMERARADIO sign in downtown pittsburgh. They were the ham place to be there in the 20's though 40's. One of the black letter over brick jobs, very readable.

I didn't know there was a place across the street, I'll have to check that one out tomorrow.
The other place you were talking about is California Electronics which is two blocks down the street.  They carry alot of surplus resistors, caps, wire and other goody stuff.  I am going to miss being able to just go down the hill to get this kind of stuff when I move out too the bonnies in Oklahoma in two years.

Richard

It is a scrap metal place almost across the street maybe 100 yards away.
I know a guy who got some good Cubic stuff.
Also check out APEX up in San Fernando before you leave.

Yep, it's a kool scene at APEX:

http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/apex.html (http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/apex.html)

It wasn't Olsen Radio, was it?  We used to have Olsen in Buffalo, and I seem to recall that it was part of a chain of surplus stores, with lots of radio stuff.

vH

Herb,
       This place was not just radio stuff, they had everything from truck engines to airplane windows. It was a really kool place. If I knew that they still existed, I might plan a vacation or weekend trip around a trip down there. I would tell the YL that we would be going "shopping" ;D ;D
 
                                            The Slab Bacon

I remember Olsen Radio, right on Main Street in beautiful downtown Buffalo.
At least it was back in the early 80s when I was in college. I only made one trip, by the 80s they were dealing in a lot of Asian plastic radio junk, not much in the way of boatanchors left.

Buffalo has a rich radio heritage, as you know Herb.
There were several radio manufacturers in town, during the golden days of radio, as well as supply stores, just check some old QSTs from the 1930s/40s era.

The best story has to be when one remaining surplus store owner crapped out back in the late 1990s and the city opened up his building as a "free for all".
Really, it was like going into an Army radio depot, old radios and parts still in WW2 packaging, tubes, etc.

You may know the gentleman who I am referring to Herb.
He was an old German guy who had a german Shepherd in his sales area, and his building was located off Genesse Street.
I think perhaps his name was Schultz?
Tom W2KBW recalled going there as a young JN to buy surplus parts.

I'm not quite clear how it happened, but apparently Schultz passed away with no kin to handle the estate, the city found hazmat materials in the building, and the doors were left open for anyone to come and scrounge - although that was kept as a tightly held secret among the radio community.

I made several visits, it was like going back in time 50 years, amazing place, sadly now in the middle of one of Buffalo "economically deprived" neighborhoods - read war zone.
The building was incredible inside, built like a fortress, huge central staircase, I always wondered what it was before Schultz used it for radio.

73 Bruce W1UJR

WOULD THAT BE STRICKLAND'S SURPLUS?

http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=13289920&city=Wilmington&state=NC

Terry,
        The map location looks like about where I remember it being!
After all it was 26 years ago, and I have these bouts with CRS. They had just about anything you could imagine in military surplus. It was a really neat place and i didnt have much mony back then. (maybe that was a good thing) I'm gonna try to contact them just for the hell of it!!        Thanks!!
                                        the Slab Bacon

I know the place you're talking about Bruce.  Schultz was the guy's name.  Tom (KBW) knew the place well, although I don't believe I was ever in there.  The story I got when just a kid was that Schultzie's mother frequently ran the place, along with their big German Shepherd dog.  I'm not sure who was more intimidating--the dog or the mother.  At any rate, one of my friends went in there once when we were still kids and made a purchase.  When he got outside with the item he noticed some sort of flaw on it, and turned right around and went back in to ask for a different one.  The old lady looked at it and said, "You didn't buy that here."  He insisted that he did, but she wouldn't budge an inch.  Apparently there were no receipts given.  And meantime, the dog was growling.  I guess that's why I never went into Schultzie's place.

And yeah, Olsen's used to be sort of interesting too.  I bought a plate transformer for my big homebrew rig there after I zorched the original.  But that one got wiped out in a basement flood while the rig was loaned out to a friend.

I wasn't around Buffalo when they opened up the doors to Schultzie's place.  Must have been a hoot.  I see you're doing a writeup on the 30K-1 for the April ER.  Looking forward to it.

73 OM, de

vH

I'm living in Little River, SC now. Maybe I'll run over there this weekend & check it out. It's about 30 miles from here. Thanks for the heads up. I had no clue. I love old surplus houses.

Terry
W8EJO

Kool, let me know !! It's prolly a good thing (for my marriage) that I'm about 8 hours away. My wife would prolly kill me!! ;)

maryland surplus on brokbridge rd across from the womans jail

lots o neeto junk there

dave

Yeah Derb, 'bout the Pittsburgh stuff.
I just found a 1968 Cameradio catalog in my junque. Way kool. They were still advertising Collins 32s3, 75s3B series, Junkston Rangers, Matchboxes and 6N2's.
Seems like yesterday.
-Rick

 yeah, I hear theres a lota of junk in jail   .... ..    klc