Maplin Electronics

[thirdcrank]

I'm rather sad to see that Maplin Electronics has gone into administration.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/li ... iness-live

Others will be much more affected than I am but it's always been a good source of electrical bits and pieces. On a personal note, one of my first (possibly my first) post on the old CTC forum was to mention that they sold gel cells which - once upon a time - were used in Cateye Daylights.

And I've just come in from sweeping the results of the Beast from the East from my car windscreen with one of their telescopic windscreen cleaning gismos, bought in one of their frequent clearance sales a few years ago and unused until this morning.

[Psamathe]

I stopped using them several years ago as I was finding their product rather sub-standard and annoying (and range limited). Components were OK but rather limited range but finished product was poor quality and rather expensive/over-priced (for items I purchased).

Ian

[PH]

My sympathies with those folk likely to lose their jobs, both here and the toy chain in the news.
Maplins used to be the real geek store, electricals and computer parts, at one time it was the only place I could find such things, now there's Ebay!
It had tried to change in the last decade, but I was never really sure what to, it resembles one of those market stalls where big and shiny fill the front and anything useful in an ever decreasing enclave at the back.
On a selfish note, I have some money on one of their cards (About £40 I think) I'll have to get down while they're still open and hope they're still being honoured. I've had it for a couple of years, I've been in several times but never found anything I needed.

[CliveyT]

There's one 100m or so for work that I use regularly but only for little stuff (couple of metres of wire to hook up a dynamo, connectors etc), the stuff where postage would cost more than the actual item. Anything else I would get online. I suspect my purchases cost more in staff time/wages than they actually make in profit. I shall be sorry to see it go.

[iandriver]

finished product was poor quality and rather expensive/over-priced (for items I purchased).

Ian

Same here. Used to be my go to store, last few years became a don't bother walk in store.

Never ceases to amaze me how many of these big chains seem to loose the plot when it comes to what people want to buy.
I get the same thing with M&S. Go in for a blue pair of work trousers, usually out of stock. If you want pink or purple, fine, but something popular, no chance. Endless stock that no-one really wants.

[kwackers]

I loved Maplin's.

Bought my first oscilloscope from them back in the late 70's(?). A Calscope badged Scopex 4D10 iirc, crippled my finances for months.
Used to spend hours browsing the catalogue and always wanted to make the 5600 synth. Made lots of their kits including weather satellite receivers and dozens of assorted others.
Great for common components and other stuff that wasn't worth sending away for (or when time was short).

It's been on the way down for years though. Less and less stuff I wanted to buy, reduced ranges, expensive components and none of the really interesting stuff I couldn't afford but got me in there in the first place.

[661-Pete]

My nearest is (was) in Brighton but I did use to pop in for odd stuff, like many others here. My last was a pair of coax power connectors to replace corroded ones connecting my front lamp set to the battery. Small stuff, but hard to find anywhere else.

I suppose I'll have to go online in future. RS? Farnell? Do either have a retail counter for small orders? I used them a lot to order stuff for work, but I'm not at work any more.

One thing I recall about Maplins - last time I was there they had a selection of battery-powered drones in the window. Not of interest to me, but these devices have gained a reputation for being used improperly or even criminally - e.g. interfering with air traffic, or smuggling stuff into prisons. Perhaps Maplin were pulled up for selling these devices, and got hurt in consequence?

[PH]

I suppose I'll have to go online in future. RS? Farnell? Do either have a retail counter for small orders? I used them a lot to order stuff for work, but I'm not at work any more.

Ebay is my first port of call for such small items. Someone working from home sticking stuff in an envelope with a stamp on it is probably a more sustainable business model than a company with a warehouse and staff, certainly more so than with a retail premises and all the costs that involves.

[mjr]

One thing I recall about Maplins - last time I was there they had a selection of battery-powered drones in the window. Not of interest to me, but these devices have gained a reputation for being used improperly or even criminally - e.g. interfering with air traffic, or smuggling stuff into prisons. Perhaps Maplin were pulled up for selling these devices, and got hurt in consequence?

As I understand it, it's much more simple than that: they were suffering already with slower customer spending and more expensive imports, and then their credit insurance was withdrawn which meant suppliers were much less willing to risk stocking them (because they might not get paid if the company collapses). It was in limbo while takeover talks were going on, but those talks ended without agreement and the administrators appointed.

[kwackers]

Perhaps Maplin were pulled up for selling these devices, and got hurt in consequence?

Nah.
Drones are the latest 'thing' but they're mostly not true drones since you actually have to fly them. Think radio controlled planes and helicopters and they're just more of the same.

True drones (which you can buy but Maplin don't sell) will let you set up way points and then take off fly to the waypoints, do something and return.

Judging by the number of posts on the local Facebook page the woods between my house and the park is full of them - all stuck in the trees...

[Cyril Haearn]

Who knows, Maplin might be resurrected, RS would be the alternative

There used to be a huge chain of cheap looking blue drugstores, mostly in Germany, called Schlecker, it had so many branches, some in places with no food store
Schlecker was in every 'Hauptstrasse', now it has disappeared completely

A couple of more expensive looking drugstores have taken over (dm + rossmann), they are expanding..

It's the economy stupid! Interesting to observe how empires rise and fall

[Mick F]

It's been on the way down for years though. Less and less stuff I wanted to buy, reduced ranges, expensive components and none of the really interesting stuff I couldn't afford but got me in there in the first place.

My sentiments entirely.

[CliveyT]

Perhaps Maplin were pulled up for selling these devices, and got hurt in consequence?

Nah.
Drones are the latest 'thing' but they're mostly not true drones since you actually have to fly them. Think radio controlled planes and helicopters and they're just more of the same.

True drones (which you can buy but Maplin don't sell) will let you set up way points and then take off fly to the waypoints, do something and return.

Judging by the number of posts on the local Facebook page the woods between my house and the park is full of them - all stuck in the trees...

(all perfectly legel as long as I include the link https://xkcd.com/1846/)

[thirdcrank]

I get the impression that drones are considerably cheaper than helicopters for appropriate purposes. Here's a result for Lincolnshire Police:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-li ... e-43201554

Some years ago somebody bought me a rather dinky - at the time - Cateye LED rear light. Common as muck, these days, but once the height of progress. My well-wisher didn't check the batteries and part of the dinkiness was achieved by using AAAA batteries. Just checked online and that size now seems to be more widely available but in those days, Maplin was the only place I could buy them over the counter.

[Psamathe]

Drone pilot furious after ‘uninsured’ passenger jet crashes into him
A London-based drone enthusiast is to sue Heathrow airport for flying a passenger jet right through his toy.

Simon Williams, 35, said the drone was his pride and joy, and the best eight-hundred pounds he’d ever spent, until a British Airways Airbus A320 flew directly through it, reducing it to worthless garbage.

He told us, “I was just flying my drone like I always do, not filming anything I shouldn’t or looking in bedroom windows or anything, just normal drone stuff, you know.

“Then all of a sudden this airliner arrives out of nowhere and flies right into me. No indication, it didn’t try to avoid me and I’m pretty sure it was going way too fast.

“It didn’t even stop afterwards to swap insurance details. It’s pilots like that the give the rest of us sky users a bad reputation.”
.....

Ian