What about Melbourne ?

[Phil Allison]

** Hi all,

RE all the Sydney based nostalgia:

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

Tucked away in a side street but had heaps of stuff on two or three levels.

Cluey staff and damn near everything you could want, IIRC.

I was a regular visitor there between 1963 and 1969 - got the train to
Princes Bridge station followed by a nice walk of about a mile.

Bought myself a 16 watt Adcola iron, a 20kohms/volt " University"
multi-meter and a Ferguson 15 watt " ultra-linear" valve output tranny and
a Plessey C8MX speaker there - among many other items.



....... Phil

 

[Mr.T]

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

Was it McGrath's? That name has a long association with the book shop for
me.
That shop in Little Lonsdale, next to the shot tower, went with the
construction of Dimaru/Melbourne Central.
What about E.D&E in Lonsdale street?

MrT.

 

[Pete]

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

A capacitor company in Bell Street Preston (the name escapes me) brought
them out, and for a very short time after the city store closed, you
could still buy components from a side street entry to the Bell Street
building.

I seem to recall that towards the end, McGrath's moved from the
downstairs place on the north side of Little Lonsdale to the other side
of the road, to a double shop-front with large glass windows and doors.

What about E.D&E in Lonsdale street?

Not sure where they went. As I recall, they excelled at supplying
printed circuit boards for EA projects

What was that company at the top end of Elizabeth street, between
Latrobe and Little Lonsdale, on the west side of the road. Sold mostly
surplus stuff, owned by a guy called Jack, I think. Eventually turned
into an electronics supplier (name eludes me again!) around the corner
in Latrobe street, between Elizabeth and Queen, also with an office in
Springvale Road Mulgrave. The Mulgrave office eventually shut down, and
the Latrobe street one turned more towards computers.

I also vaguely remember surplus supplier in Richmond, kind of behind (to
the east of) North Richmond station. And a "Silicon Valley" store in
Bridge Road Richmond, opposite and near the Town Hall, followed by the
first Tandy store in the same road. With the Dick Smith store down the
river end of Bridge Road, I think that Bridge Road would probably have
to have been Melbourne's "silicon alley".

For a real memory stretch, who recalls Radio Parts, up a flight of
stairs in Elizabeth street, near the corner of Burke, diagonally
opposite the GPO?

Peter

 

[John G]

What was that company at the top end of Elizabeth street, between
Latrobe and Little Lonsdale, on the west side of the road. Sold
mostly surplus stuff, owned by a guy called Jack, I think. Eventually
turned into an electronics supplier (name eludes me again!) around the
corner in Latrobe street, between Elizabeth and Queen, also with an
office in Springvale Road Mulgrave. The Mulgrave office eventually
shut down, and the Latrobe street one turned more towards computers.

Waltham Dan the Disposal Man ?..

 

[L.A.T.]

** Hi all,

RE all the Sydney based nostalgia:

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

Tucked away in a side street but had heaps of stuff on two or three
levels.

Cluey staff and damn near everything you could want, IIRC.

I was a regular visitor there between 1963 and 1969 - got the train to
Princes Bridge station followed by a nice walk of about a mile.

Bought myself a 16 watt Adcola iron, a 20kohms/volt " University"
multi-meter and a Ferguson 15 watt " ultra-linear" valve output tranny
and a Plessey C8MX speaker there - among many other items.



...... Phil



The lady whois now my wife used to call it "the nut-loaf place."

Remember the galvanised bread-tins that the components were in?
And about two times out of three you could even park.

 

[Pete]

Cluey staff and damn near everything you could want, IIRC.

I remember how I was always impressed about how easily they could
calculate the 27.5% sales tax in their heads for any amount

Although one of them did eventually spoil the trick for me by explaining
that it was just 25% (ie a quarter) and then 10% of that again...

Peter

 

[rowan194]

My memories (and physical being) don't go back quite as far, but I do
remember All Electronic Components at the east end of Lonsdale Street,
spread over 2 or 3 shopfronts. I wanted to buy about 200 LEDs and they
gave me a sizeable discount without asking, even though they had to
count them out by hand! Does anyone know when they closed?

I also remember sneaking out to Dick Smith's in Latrobe Street in the
mid 1980s when my mum dragged me along to her ballet rehearsals every
weekend. When she decided to be nice and get me a little something
from that very same shop the guy there said "hey buddy, you're back!"
and then as I said "what?" he replied, "yeah, you come in here all the
time!"

Somehow I got away with that one. :->

 

[Lionel]

** Hi all,

RE all the Sydney based nostalgia:

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

You betcha! I've got lots of fond memories of the place.

Tucked away in a side street but had heaps of stuff on two or three levels.

That's right. IIRC, they had this weird little stairway to the upper
level, with a railing you could look over to the ground floor.

Cluey staff and damn near everything you could want, IIRC.

Including all sorts of cool surplus/junk/scrap that was a godsend for
poverty-stricken wannabe electronics students, which is what I was at
the time. :^)

Again, IIRC, there was also some other mob that sold surplus junk
within a healthy walk of McGraths too, maybe on Swanston or Elizabeth
St, around Lonsdale? Does anyone else have any idea who I might be
thinking of?

I was a regular visitor there between 1963 and 1969 - got the train to
Princes Bridge station followed by a nice walk of about a mile.

Bought myself a 16 watt Adcola iron, a 20kohms/volt " University"
multi-meter and a Ferguson 15 watt " ultra-linear" valve output tranny and
a Plessey C8MX speaker there - among many other items.

The last thing I remember buying from McGraths was some bits for
making PCBs: Etchant, rosin, & a single-sided sheet bakelite PCB.

 

[Lionel]

A capacitor company in Bell Street Preston (the name escapes me) brought
them out, and for a very short time after the city store closed, you
could still buy components from a side street entry to the Bell Street
building.

I seem to recall that towards the end, McGrath's moved from the
downstairs place on the north side of Little Lonsdale to the other side
of the road, to a double shop-front with large glass windows and doors.


Not sure where they went. As I recall, they excelled at supplying
printed circuit boards for EA projects

What was that company at the top end of Elizabeth street, between
Latrobe and Little Lonsdale, on the west side of the road. Sold mostly
surplus stuff, owned by a guy called Jack, I think.

That sounds like "Ellistronics", on LaTrobe St, about 1/2 a block west
of Elizabeth St. It's now a PC shop called, IIRC, "Tecs".

Eventually turned
into an electronics supplier (name eludes me again!) around the corner
in Latrobe street, between Elizabeth and Queen, also with an office in
Springvale Road Mulgrave.

Didn't know any of that.

The Mulgrave office eventually shut down, and
the Latrobe street one turned more towards computers.
"Tecs"?

I also vaguely remember surplus supplier in Richmond, kind of behind (to
the east of) North Richmond station. And a "Silicon Valley" store in
Bridge Road Richmond, opposite and near the Town Hall, followed by the
first Tandy store in the same road. With the Dick Smith store down the
river end of Bridge Road, I think that Bridge Road would probably have
to have been Melbourne's "silicon alley".

Yeah, that's about right. I remember it being a major adventure for me
at the time (10 years old, maybe?) to make the expedition out to
Trciky Dicky's et al, on Bridge Rd.

For a real memory stretch, who recalls Radio Parts, up a flight of
stairs in Elizabeth street, near the corner of Burke, diagonally
opposite the GPO?

Yep. :^)
You know they're still going strong, in a big shopfront at the North
end of Spencer St?
<Rummages through Google>
<http://www.radioparts.com.au/>

 

[Lionel]

My memories (and physical being) don't go back quite as far, but I do
remember All Electronic Components at the east end of Lonsdale Street,
spread over 2 or 3 shopfronts.

*YES!* - That's one of the ones I was trying to remember. :^)

I wanted to buy about 200 LEDs and they
gave me a sizeable discount without asking, even though they had to
count them out by hand! Does anyone know when they closed?

No, unfortunately. That's /way/ too long ago for my memory to be very
reliable.

I also remember sneaking out to Dick Smith's in Latrobe Street

LaTrobe St? - Weren't they in Bourke St, or maybe Hardware Lane?
Or am I forgetting another branch?

 

[Phil Allison]

"Lionel"
"Phil Allison"

You betcha! I've got lots of fond memories of the place.


That's right. IIRC, they had this weird little stairway to the upper
level, with a railing you could look over to the ground floor.

** There was a basement level you could look down on as you came in the
door.

I think they were turning it into a stereo sound lounge, last time I saw the
place - selling germanium transistor amps by " Peak" and the like.

I also remember visiting the basement level at " Homecrafts" in Swanston
Street - bought an Eveready 6 volt lantern battery in about 1963 for my
first home brew, two transistor AM radio - damn thing turned out to be
flat !!!



........ Phil

 

[Pete]

What was that company at the top end of Elizabeth street, between

That sounds like "Ellistronics", on LaTrobe St, about 1/2 a block west
of Elizabeth St.

That was it! The guy who ran it was Jock Ellis.

It's now a PC shop called, IIRC, "Tecs".

Not sure whether there's a connection between Ellistronics and Tecs,
although I do think Tecs was originally "The Electronics Component
Shop", rather than "The Electronics and Computer Shop" as it is now.

Yep. :^)
You know they're still going strong, in a big shopfront at the North
end of Spencer St?

Yeah, buy stuff from them all the time, usually from the Malvern store.
They're quite close to where I work.

I believe the Spencer street store burned down (or nearly so) quite a
few years ago now. They rebuilt, obviously

Peter

 

[Pete]

An amazing collection of kits & magazines from long-gone shops (eg Rod
Irving), valves and other bits.

There's another one we forgot - Rod Irving's, in High Street Northcote.
Rod opened another shop near where Rockby's is now in Clayton before
disappearing.

Peter

 

[Bob Parker]

There's another one we forgot - Rod Irving's, in High Street Northcote.
Rod opened another shop near where Rockby's is now in Clayton before
disappearing.

Peter

How could I forget Rod Irving's? They sold cheap EA ESR meter kits
with no microcontroller, containing a note telling the purchaser to get
it from the author, who knew nothing about it until he copped a whole
lot of abuse from irate constructors.
I think Rockby may have moved into the RIE building in Renver Rd
when RIE (deservedly IMHO) went out of business.

 

[Phil Allison]

"Bob Parker"

How could I forget Rod Irving's? They sold cheap EA ESR meter kits with no
microcontroller, containing a note telling the purchaser to get it from
the author, who knew nothing about it until he copped a whole lot of abuse
from irate constructors.

** Err - that would be your kind self - Bob ?

BTW:

Rod was up to all kinds of mischief - including selling counterfeit
Motorola MJ15003/4 power transistors he bought from Jock Ellis - then
sold them to Jaycar and others like myself.

I have an irate letter from his lawyer here somewhere, with a veiled threat
about my daring to return 100 fake devices with the false markings removed.

I have the "nice" reply letter I sent to that same arsehole lawyer too !!!

Mike Sheridan liked to wax lyrical about Rod Irving - " a really evil
little shit " - was his favourite description, IIRC.



....... Phil

 

[Two Bob]

Who remembers " McGrath's " in Little Lonsdale Street ??

In another life when I lived in Melbourne, it used to be the only place to
go to get most components.

 

[Two Bob]

My memories (and physical being) don't go back quite as far, but I do

remember All Electronic Components at the east end of Lonsdale Street,
spread over 2 or 3 shopfronts. I wanted to buy about 200 LEDs and they
gave me a sizeable discount without asking, even though they had to
count them out by hand! Does anyone know when they closed?

I also remember sneaking out to Dick Smith's in Latrobe Street in the
mid 1980s when my mum dragged me along to her ballet rehearsals every

In the mid 70s you couldnt get a park out the front for all the bikes on Sat
mornings.

 

[Bob Parker]

"Bob Parker"


** Err - that would be your kind self - Bob ?

Yep. I gave my side of the story in a letter to the Editor (Jim
Rowe) which was published in EA. I didn't mention the company's name,
but everyone knew who it was. It took a lot of the pressure off me when
people realized that I had nothing to do with this con.
Some time after that, RIE started to mention "Microcontroller not
included" in the kit advertising. Nice of them, wasn't it?
It wasn't a real lot later that RIE announced various store closures
then imploded. My prayers were answered!

BTW:

Rod was up to all kinds of mischief - including selling counterfeit
Motorola MJ15003/4 power transistors he bought from Jock Ellis - then
sold them to Jaycar and others like myself.

I have an irate letter from his lawyer here somewhere, with a veiled threat
about my daring to return 100 fake devices with the false markings removed.

I have the "nice" reply letter I sent to that same arsehole lawyer too !!!

Mike Sheridan liked to wax lyrical about Rod Irving - " a really evil
little shit " - was his favourite description, IIRC.

I always thought Mike was a good judge of character!


Bob

 

[Lionel]

That was it! The guy who ran it was Jock Ellis.

Jock! - That's right.

Not sure whether there's a connection between Ellistronics and Tecs,
although I do think Tecs was originally "The Electronics Component
Shop", rather than "The Electronics and Computer Shop" as it is now.

That sounds right for the acronym. Boy, that brings back memories. :^)

When I was about 14 or so, I got an after-school job at a PC shop
(OSI superboards, Commodore PETs, etc, in those days) that was a block
or two up the hill from Ellistronics. The biggest seller at the shop I
worked at was the OSI Superboard, (6502/2MHz, 4KB RAM) which was a
really nifty single-board computer that was very popular with
university EE & Computing students, & also with hobbyists. The
Superboard was a very spartan beast - just a big PCB with rubber feet
& a keyboard consisting of (real!) keyswitches soldered right onto the
main PCB. No PSU, raw, B&W composite video output (32 x 32 chars, 8x8
pixel chars), RCA cables for your cassette deck, RAM expansion was
catered for with 8 cheap sockets for another 8x 2114 RAM chips.
Any time someone ordered one with the FULL 8KB of RAM, I'd duck out
to Ellistronics to buy a bunch of 2114s, plug 'em in & run a memory
checker to burn them in. (Memory check in BIOS? - What's a BIOS?)
After seeing how much regulated 5VDC/5A PSUs cost, & how hard they
were to get, I realised that it was a good opportunity to make a
little cash, & designed a basic, rugged little PSU to suit them, which
we could sell for something like 1/3rd the price of anything else we
could find. I didn't make very much profit on them, but it was a very
proud feeling to see people buying something I'd designed & built
myself.
I also built & sold RF modulators for the Superboards, but they were
just a EA or ETI kit, so not as much fun as the PSUs. At the time I
left the place to get a real job, I'd designed a programmable
character generator for the Superboard, & had gotten about halfway
through a hand-wired prototype.

(Radio Parts)

I believe the Spencer street store burned down (or nearly so) quite a
few years ago now.

Huh - I had no idea.

They rebuilt, obviously

They must have - I go past them regularly. ;^)

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[Mr.T]

I also remember visiting the basement level at " Homecrafts" in Swanston
Street - bought an Eveready 6 volt lantern battery in about 1963 for my
first home brew, two transistor AM radio - damn thing turned out to be
flat !!!

Yes, "Neveready" hasn't changed much over the years

MrT.