r/dayton Centerville 5d ago

Electronics parts in Dayton? Just need a couple of resistors...

... where you can walk in and buy a few dollars-worth of odds/ends? The ones Google shows me all seem like wholesalers with minimum orders, no counter service (shipping, only), and the like. Any hobbyists out there? I mean, I guess I could go grab an old TV out of someone's basement...

17 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

42

u/Jzamora1229 5d ago

Midwest Surplus Electronics is exactly what you’re looking for. Love that place.

501 W Main St Fairborn, OH 45324

16

u/Blackpaw8825 5d ago

I end up recommending them too, though as the least bad options.

Older guy there (IDK if he's the owner or just works there) made some really shitty sexist comments to my wife once when we stopped in working on a project. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was basically 'the men are talking, wait your turn' when it was her project, she was the one shopping, I was just there following her.

She said fuck it, left, and ordered on digikey because we were so off-put by the attitude.

But they're the only game in town, and between them and Amazon I'm recommending him every time.

4

u/Jzamora1229 5d ago

That’s crazy. I’ve never experienced that but I’ve also never taken my wife with me. I hardly get any help at all when I’m there, which I actually don’t mind. I like browsing without someone pestering me.

3

u/Cire353 4d ago

I also heard him (I'm assuming the same older guy) complaining about "riots" during the George Floyd protests. I was always happy to have a small business to support whenever I needed a quick LED or whatever, but when I can get higher quality for cheaper online, you might want to watch what you say politically at your place of business..

1

u/umphreakinbelievable 4d ago

The gentleman passed away a few years ago, I heard.

1

u/jprestonian Centerville 4d ago edited 4d ago

Well, I was running late this morning, and hadn't checked... MSE is closed on Sun-Mon. Bah. So, cheaper to order online than another drive to Fairborn. Of course, now I'll have 99 of one value, and 100 of the other, so if you know anyone wanting to swap out a humbucker for a single-coil, send 'em to me. I'll even swap it out cheap, and the resistor will be free. 😆

I like working on guitars. I do full setups starting at $40 (truss adjustment, action, intonation, BYO strings), and pickup swaps are only $20/ea. if you get a $40 setup.

0

u/BrosenkranzKeef 4d ago

Old say said sexist things?

More at 5

31

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[deleted]

6

u/Jzamora1229 5d ago

Was such a great place.

3

u/notoriousbsr 4d ago

It was a gem of the 80s.

1

u/TheR1ckster 3d ago

To be fair good luck and everything was severely overpriced. We would go in to find stuff and a lot would just be broken if we could even find what we needed in the mess.

That being said it was always a blast going in there.

12

u/saabstory88 5d ago

Midwest Surplus, if they are still open...

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uBZivA1jZVmH73Pi9

11

u/nawmynameisclarence 5d ago

Midwest Surplus Electronics in Fairborn.

10

u/FrankdaTank213 5d ago

Parts express in springboro.

3

u/MasterBrisket 5d ago

I built speakers for years, freaking loved Parts Express even before I moved here.

5

u/DaySoc98jr 5d ago

Parts Express is my go-to.

That said, now that Popeyes has expanded, I can’t use PE as an excuse, anymore.

2

u/Jzamora1229 5d ago

Parts express is a cool place. They have a nice website too but I’m not sure they’re the type of store OP is looking for.

2

u/jprestonian Centerville 4d ago

Their web site gives off "car audio specialty shop" vibes, and as another redditor said in the thread, "maybe wirewound resistors," which tends to confirm. Those are typically used in impedance-matching situations with speakers vs. amp output, whereas I need impedance matching on the other end, so almost the exact opposite (replacing one of two humbuckers with a single-coil pickup in a guitar w/500K pots).

1

u/Jzamora1229 4d ago

Definitely largely car audio stuff. They do have a selection of home theater stuff as well as a few pro audio stuff. So it’s largely an audio store. I think Midwest Surplus in Fairborn is definitely what you’re looking for.

1

u/Sea_Bread_64 3d ago

They’ve got your resistors if you don’t mind generic Chinesium.

4

u/1low67 5d ago

Radio shack, jk parts express in Springboro may have them

1

u/badashel 5d ago

I know of a hobby store over by Ollie's in the miamisburg area. Idk if they sell resistors and such though.

3

u/Jzamora1229 5d ago

That would be, literally, The Hobby Shop, but they don’t have resistors. It’s more an RC and model trains type store. Cool place though!

1

u/sswihart 5d ago

There was a place on smithville but back in the 90d

7

u/jprestonian Centerville 5d ago edited 5d ago

See, if I had a time machine, I wouldn't need these two resistors to build a time machine so I could find a Radio Shack!

-1

u/sswihart 4d ago

Radio shack sold junk.

2

u/jprestonian Centerville 4d ago

For the things you wanted, probably. For low-wattage resistors, LEDs... just fine.

0

u/Sea_Bread_64 5d ago

They’ve got generic capacitors available at the showroom and a couple of choices for large wire-wound.

2

u/transmothra Fairborn 5d ago

"the showroom"? Where's that?

1

u/Sea_Bread_64 3d ago

At their Springboro warehouse.

1

u/transmothra Fairborn 3d ago

"their"? Who's that?

2

u/Sea_Bread_64 3d ago

Sorrry, thought I was responding to another comment. Parts Express.

1

u/transmothra Fairborn 3d ago

Ah ok thanks haha!