Author Topic: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide  (Read 8536 times)

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Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #50 on: February 28, 2021, 12:53:19 pm »
I had WordPerfect and Borland QuattroPro, too.  Once, I successfully converted a WordPerfect document into MS Word, but was never able to replicate it.

I was conversant with QuattroPro, but I supported Lotus. Till I didn't anymore (one of the last), and became an MS Office guru. I still get calls for Excel and Access. Even though I threw Office away years ago for Ooo. I just don't need office apps all that much anymore.


Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #51 on: February 28, 2021, 12:56:12 pm »
No SHit! that is cool.  They made the best aerosol pot cleaner back in the day.  It would clean and lubricate the contacts.  Can't remember the name of it now.  But I need some to clean up my Marantz 2270.

Edit:

They have it!   This is great.

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-control-contact-cleaner-and-lubricant

I could use some of that.  Back on the Test Floor we called that TIC spray.  "Technician In a Can."
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
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BassWrangler

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #52 on: February 28, 2021, 01:02:16 pm »
No SHit! that is cool.  They made the best aerosol pot cleaner back in the day.  It would clean and lubricate the contacts.  Can't remember the name of it now.  But I need some to clean up my Marantz 2270.

Edit:

They have it!   This is great.

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-control-contact-cleaner-and-lubricant

Best stuff for that is DeOxit. They have a spray and brush on version, and make a cleaner/lube and a lube/preservative. One of my former hobbies was fixing and restoring old electronics test gear, and I've use a ton of that stuff. Works great on guitar pots and pickup switches too.

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #53 on: February 28, 2021, 01:11:14 pm »
Best stuff for that is DeOxit. They have a spray and brush on version, and make a cleaner/lube and a lube/preservative. One of my former hobbies was fixing and restoring old electronics test gear, and I've use a ton of that stuff. Works great on guitar pots and pickup switches too.
@BassWrangler  Thanks
I'll look into that.  The RS site said thier brand was OOS. 
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Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #54 on: February 28, 2021, 01:19:31 pm »
Best stuff for that is DeOxit. They have a spray and brush on version, and make a cleaner/lube and a lube/preservative. One of my former hobbies was fixing and restoring old electronics test gear, and I've use a ton of that stuff. Works great on guitar pots and pickup switches too.

I ordered me some of that DeOxit.  I have a all-house sound system with pots in every room, and an older stereo to drive it that has dirty contacts all over the front panel.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #55 on: February 28, 2021, 01:41:14 pm »
That was one of them places my ability to abide by the law kinda hit a gray area. I had 100 amp bi-linear running out of the pickup till maybe 10 years ago, and over 600 watts out of my base...Till uncle charlie came to town, of course.  :whistle:

Probably just as well... Buying my neighbors TV filters was getting to be expensive.

That reminds me of a shipmate I had. He ran 2kw in his car. And his home rig was a 600w ham rig paralleled up to 10kw. He's just fire up more tubes if he was getting walked on. He had equipment seized by the FCC and he'd build more. He prided himself of being an active member of the Illegal Radio Operators of America.

BassWrangler

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #56 on: February 28, 2021, 02:06:54 pm »
That reminds me of a shipmate I had. He ran 2kw in his car. And his home rig was a 600w ham rig paralleled up to 10kw. He's just fire up more tubes if he was getting walked on. He had equipment seized by the FCC and he'd build more. He prided himself of being an active member of the Illegal Radio Operators of America.

I've got a great story, from a former coworker, related to the TRS-80 and radio.

My friend had just gotten one of the new personal computers. I think it was a TRS-80, or similar model. Now this was Back in the days when personal computers were very new, and so the only option for permanent storage was cassette tape. So this guy had written his first program, and at the end of the evening he wrote it out to tape.

This guy had a neighbor that was big into CB radio and had a big fixed installation antenna and a fairly powerful transmitter.

The next day, he wanted to work on his program some more, so he went to load it from tape. This wasn't working, and he got really frustrated that all his work was lost. He was curious if anything had made it into tape at all, so he popped the cassette into an audio cassette deck and pressed "play". Out over the speakers came "breaker breaker, come on back" (or something similar). Apparently the neighbor had been transmitting when my friend was saving his program, and there was enough interference to completely overwhelm the signal from the computer.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2021, 02:08:23 pm by BassWrangler »

Offline Hoodat

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #57 on: February 28, 2021, 03:31:55 pm »
The heart of the TRS-80

« Last Edit: February 28, 2021, 03:44:03 pm by Hoodat »
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.     -Dwight Eisenhower-

"The [U.S.] Constitution is a limitation on the government, not on private individuals ... it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government ... it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizen's protection against the government."     -Ayn Rand-

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #58 on: February 28, 2021, 03:50:17 pm »
I never had the TRS-80. My first machine was the SYM-1 a 6502 machine that also stored to cassette. My next machine was a used 386.

Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #59 on: February 28, 2021, 03:55:37 pm »
The heart of the TRS-80



I believe the Z80 was a child of the 8080, by Motorola?
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
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Online Wingnut

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #60 on: February 28, 2021, 03:57:30 pm »
I believe the Z80 was a child of the 8080, by Motorola?

Ah shit.  It's about to get all geek in here now!....LOL    999yawn 999yawn
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Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #61 on: February 28, 2021, 03:58:43 pm »
Ah shit.  It's about to get all geek in here now!....LOL    999yawn 999yawn

Hey, it led me to a can of good TIC.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #62 on: February 28, 2021, 03:59:51 pm »
The Zilog Z80 was based on the Intel 8080. My first programming class was assembly of the 8080.

Online bigheadfred

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #63 on: February 28, 2021, 04:02:02 pm »
The Zilog Z80 was based on the Intel 8080. My first programming class was assembly of the 8080.

 My first programming class was the first grade.  :whistle:
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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #64 on: February 28, 2021, 04:04:48 pm »
My first programming class was the first grade.  :whistle:

I see what you did there. 

More true today than back when you were a pup.
You don’t become cooler with age but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way to actually be cool.

Online bigheadfred

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #65 on: February 28, 2021, 04:08:52 pm »
I see what you did there. 

More true today than back when you were a pup.

I don't know.

There was a cold war back then.

There is a cold war now.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #66 on: February 28, 2021, 06:11:52 pm »
That reminds me of a shipmate I had. He ran 2kw in his car. And his home rig was a 600w ham rig paralleled up to 10kw. He's just fire up more tubes if he was getting walked on. He had equipment seized by the FCC and he'd build more. He prided himself of being an active member of the Illegal Radio Operators of America.

I never could get that kind of torque out of my pickup.. I regularly burned down antennas as it was... Wound up with twin ugly sticks, plane mounted on the corners of the hood...

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #67 on: February 28, 2021, 06:21:50 pm »
I never had the TRS-80. My first machine was the SYM-1 a 6502 machine that also stored to cassette. My next machine was a used 386.

Mine was an Apple][+. I worked at Eckerds until I had enough to buy one. My parents chipped in for a small Sony TV that was its monitor. Wish I had kept it. Those also ran in the 6502.

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #68 on: February 28, 2021, 06:23:39 pm »
I believe the Z80 was a child of the 8080, by Motorola?

Right on the child of 8080, but 8080 was from Intel. Z80 was from Zilog.
« Last Edit: February 28, 2021, 06:24:44 pm by BassWrangler »

Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #69 on: February 28, 2021, 06:27:55 pm »
Mine was an Apple][+. I worked at Eckerds until I had enough to buy one. My parents chipped in for a small Sony TV that was its monitor. Wish I had kept it. Those also ran in the 6502.

My first was a busted Radio Shack 386sx... I had to learn everything before I could fix it. For many months I would turn it on, a bunch of stuff would spit on by, and ended it up on a blinking cursor that would do nothing.

Turned out to be a pie recipe in the AUTOEXEC.BAT ... It mostly just errored every line, but it actually choked on something.

Once I figured out DOS, and how to write a standard Autoexec.bat and Config.sys, there I was, with my first free computer.

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #70 on: February 28, 2021, 06:30:51 pm »
My first was a busted Radio Shack 386sx... I had to learn everything before I could fix it. For many months I would turn it on, a bunch of stuff would spit on by, and ended it up on a blinking cursor that would do nothing.

Turned out to be a pie recipe in the AUTOEXEC.BAT ... It mostly just errored every line, but it actually choked on something.

Once I figured out DOS, and how to write a standard Autoexec.bat and Config.sys, there I was, with my first free computer.

OH man, that is hilarious. I thought you were going to say "turned out to be a bad RAM chip" or "turned out to be a bad power supply". But then I read "pie recipe in the AUTOEXEC.BAT" and nearly spit out my coffee.

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #71 on: February 28, 2021, 06:35:12 pm »
Mine was an Apple][+. I worked at Eckerds until I had enough to buy one. My parents chipped in for a small Sony TV that was its monitor. Wish I had kept it. Those also ran in the 6502.

I still have my SYM-1. Its been a whole lotta years since I've fired it up though.


Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #72 on: February 28, 2021, 06:37:22 pm »
OH man, that is hilarious. I thought you were going to say "turned out to be a bad RAM chip" or "turned out to be a bad power supply". But then I read "pie recipe in the AUTOEXEC.BAT" and nearly spit out my coffee.

True story...  :laugh:

... And where I got my affinity for software.  happy77

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #73 on: February 28, 2021, 06:42:05 pm »
I still have my SYM-1. Its been a whole lotta years since I've fired it up though.



Wow! I had never heard of that one. Had to look it up. Cool!

Offline DB

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #74 on: February 28, 2021, 08:21:41 pm »
I believe the Z80 was a child of the 8080, by Motorola?

The Z80 had an extended enhanced instruction set based on the 8080 instruction set. It was created by Zilog and was their first product. The first CPU I ever used was a Z80 with all the connections wire wrapped on perf board. That was back in around 1979 I believe. I still have it... I used it to make a touch tone speed dialer where you could press the # sign and two digits on any touch tone phone in your home to speed dial a stored number... I wrote the code in machine language on grid paper... I didn't have access to a computer or an assembler at that time... So I have fond memories of the Z80...

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #75 on: February 28, 2021, 08:52:11 pm »
The Z80 had an extended enhanced instruction set based on the 8080 instruction set. It was created by Zilog and was their first product. The first CPU I ever used was a Z80 with all the connections wire wrapped on perf board. That was back in around 1979 I believe. I still have it... I used it to make a touch tone speed dialer where you could press the # sign and two digits on any touch tone phone in your home to speed dial a stored number... I wrote the code in machine language on grid paper... I didn't have access to a computer or an assembler at that time... So I have fond memories of the Z80...

OH, good heavens, wire wrap. The first real product I ever created was an electronic device to read the plastic cards used in Malcom Ving mechanical locks. I wire wrapped the prototype. You would connect one wire, and another one would break. I vowed "never again".

But that's a cool project you describe there. My first job out of college was doing telephony hardware and software.  I personally have zero fond memories of any of the Intel ISA chips. But in that first post-college job I did a lot of assembly, mostly DSP, but some CISC stuff too. For CISC chips I have worked with Motorola 680x0, 6502, and 6809 chips. For DSP I worked with the Motorola 56K, and the Analog Devices 2101/2105. Really loved the 2101 in particular.

Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #76 on: March 01, 2021, 09:05:46 am »
The Z80 had an extended enhanced instruction set based on the 8080 instruction set. It was created by Zilog and was their first product. The first CPU I ever used was a Z80 with all the connections wire wrapped on perf board. That was back in around 1979 I believe. I still have it... I used it to make a touch tone speed dialer where you could press the # sign and two digits on any touch tone phone in your home to speed dial a stored number... I wrote the code in machine language on grid paper... I didn't have access to a computer or an assembler at that time... So I have fond memories of the Z80...

I did machine language back in tech school...1981.
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Offline thackney

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #77 on: March 01, 2021, 09:07:56 am »
I did machine language back in tech school...1981.

Mid 80s for me.  One class was enough to know that was NOT the route for me.  Worse advice my advisor ever gave me and taught me to ignore her.
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Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #78 on: March 01, 2021, 09:42:26 am »
I did machine language back in tech school...1981.

I always kicked myself for not learning ASM. So elegant, efficient, and light weight. Always admired them little 64k firecrackers that can still probably do more than most modern stuff.

Online corbe

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #79 on: March 01, 2021, 11:48:22 am »
   Thanks for the great memories my fellow Briefers.
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Offline Hoodat

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #80 on: March 01, 2021, 12:06:39 pm »
I did machine language back in tech school...1981.

I always equated machine language with the noise on the cassette.  Never knew there was an interface to write it.  There was a physics teacher at my high school (nicknamed Moon Mullins) who dabbled in all of that.  He created some sort of space game (TRS-80) on what seemed to be an endless 3-dimensional matrix where all the special characters stood for an object in the game.  When I finally made it to high school, I was so looking forward to taking his class my senior year.  But at the end of my junior year, he got laid off due to budget cuts, and Physics was turned over to an 8th-grade Earth Science teacher who had more seniority.

$&%#!@ teachers unions.
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.     -Dwight Eisenhower-

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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #81 on: March 01, 2021, 02:14:23 pm »
I had picked up my SYM-1 the summer of 81 for the first offering of a Micro Programming course, that fall, using the SYM that everyone had to buy. There wasn't much literature on it. It was based on the MOS Commodore KIM-1( the first single-board computer). I found the Wumpus game in a KIM-1 book and was able to hack it to get it to run on the SYM.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2021, 02:22:02 pm by Elderberry »

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #82 on: March 01, 2021, 02:20:53 pm »
I had picked up my SYM-1 the summer of 82 for the first offering of a Micro Programming course, that fall, using the SYM that everyone had to buy. There wasn't much literature on it. It was based on the MOS Commodore KIM-1( the first single-board computer). I found the Wumpus game in a KIM-1 book and was able to hack it to get it to run on the SYM.

Ah, Wumpus! That brings back some memories.

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #83 on: March 01, 2021, 02:26:05 pm »
I always equated machine language with the noise on the cassette.  Never knew there was an interface to write it.  There was a physics teacher at my high school (nicknamed Moon Mullins) who dabbled in all of that.  He created some sort of space game (TRS-80) on what seemed to be an endless 3-dimensional matrix where all the special characters stood for an object in the game.  When I finally made it to high school, I was so looking forward to taking his class my senior year.  But at the end of my junior year, he got laid off due to budget cuts, and Physics was turned over to an 8th-grade Earth Science teacher who had more seniority.

$&%#!@ teachers unions.

That would suck. In college I took awesome elective on the topic of Science Fiction. The class was taught by Bud Foote, who in addition to being a full professor was a published, although lesser-known, sci-fi author. The course was taught at a local bar, and consisted of reading assignments which you would then discuss over beers at the bar. Half-way through the class, the college lawyers decided this was a bad idea, and the class was cancelled. We all got an "A" in the class, but it sucked because this was one class everyone looked forward to.


Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #84 on: March 01, 2021, 02:28:55 pm »
I always equated machine language with the noise on the cassette.  Never knew there was an interface to write it.  There was a physics teacher at my high school (nicknamed Moon Mullins) who dabbled in all of that.  He created some sort of space game (TRS-80) on what seemed to be an endless 3-dimensional matrix where all the special characters stood for an object in the game.  When I finally made it to high school, I was so looking forward to taking his class my senior year.  But at the end of my junior year, he got laid off due to budget cuts, and Physics was turned over to an 8th-grade Earth Science teacher who had more seniority.

$&%#!@ teachers unions.

When I was in High Screwl they eliminated Advanced Chemistry right before I qualified to take it, after a year I took both Physics and Chemistry for that reason.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
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Online corbe

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #85 on: March 01, 2021, 02:44:03 pm »
When I was in High Screwl they eliminated Advanced Chemistry right before I qualified to take it, after a year I took both Physics and Chemistry for that reason.

   They figured yall would make LSD.  888high58888
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #86 on: March 01, 2021, 02:59:37 pm »
My last semester of Jr. High the Chem teacher left and a biology teacher taught the class. She didn't have a clue. Daily discussion was " who wants to show their homework on the board. No labs at all. Now my college Organic Chem lab was Righteous! It was scheduled as a six hour lab once a week and I don't think I ever got finished under 4-1/2 hrs.

Offline PeteS in CA

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #87 on: March 01, 2021, 02:59:49 pm »
...
Some good brands are Seasonic, Corsair, EVGA. There are others, but those are three of the most popular, reputable brands.

In OEM computers, e.g. HP, Dell, etc. Delta Products (a former employer, BTW), Lite On, and AcBel are good brands.

I've even had "Top of the Line" power supplies fail right out of the box. But I had no problem getting a replacement. It only cost me time and frustration.

What is really frustrating is when you replace a bad power supply with another brand new also bad power supply. American named companies with Chinese made products.

Computer power supply companies are mostly or all Asian. And their manufacturing is done in Asia. Delta does some medium volume production in Thailand.

I do remember, from the late 80s, a Korean power supply company with an English name that probably had a different cultural connotation in Korean than it did in English, "Torch". :silly:
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If, as anti-Covid-vaxxers claim, https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/robert-f-kennedy-jr-said-the-covid-19-vaccine-is-the-deadliest-vaccine-ever-made-thats-not-true/ , https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2021/11/23/covid-shots-are-the-deadliest-vaccines-in-medical-history/ , The Vaccine is deadly, where in the US have Pfizer and Moderna hidden the millions of bodies of those who died of "vaccine injury"?

Millions now living should have died. Anti-Covid-Vaxxer ghouls hardest hit.

Offline Cyber Liberty

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #88 on: March 01, 2021, 03:09:46 pm »
   They figured yall would make LSD.  888high58888

Good point.  We had one guy distilling silver from old photography negatives, one who distilled apples until he got something 175 Proof, while I worked on contact explosives.  I tarnished the crap out of my white gold class ring with Chlorine that way....

I was more likely to cook up DMT than LSD, anyway......
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
Castillo del Cyber Autonomous Zone ~~~~~>                          :dontfeed:

Offline PeteS in CA

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #89 on: March 01, 2021, 03:16:37 pm »
The Zilog Z80 was based on the Intel 8080. ...

Mot's uPs were the 6800 (8-bit) and 68000 (16- and 32- bit) series. The Deciduous Fruit Computer Company used to use 68000 series uPs in Macs. The original F-18 panel display used Am2900 family bit-slice processor ICs. I'm an analog guy and worked on the HUD.

Zilog's Z80 was 8-bit. They had a 16-bit Z8000 but it didn't take off. IIRC, RCA had an 8-bit uP that didn't get much market share, the 6500.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2021, 03:22:33 pm by PeteS in CA »
I am not and never have been a leftist.

If, as anti-Covid-vaxxers claim, https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/robert-f-kennedy-jr-said-the-covid-19-vaccine-is-the-deadliest-vaccine-ever-made-thats-not-true/ , https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2021/11/23/covid-shots-are-the-deadliest-vaccines-in-medical-history/ , The Vaccine is deadly, where in the US have Pfizer and Moderna hidden the millions of bodies of those who died of "vaccine injury"?

Millions now living should have died. Anti-Covid-Vaxxer ghouls hardest hit.

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #90 on: March 01, 2021, 03:26:18 pm »
When my son was in Nuke school, he picked up a 74 vette and shortly after he had a supposedly good mechanic put a crate engine in it for him.  My son noticed a vibration driving it and just then he got his orders for a sub homeported in Guam. I stored his vette for him and I discovered that the mechanic had used the orig flexplate and harmonic  balancer from an internally balanced 454 for the externally balanced 454 crate engine. The torque conv. only has 3 bolts that tie it to the replaced flexplate so I wanted to use new bolts. I can't tell you how many auto parts and speed shops I went to and all of them only sold Chinese bolts. That was back when Counterfeit Chinese bolts was all over the news. I ended up ordering US Made bolts from McMaster-Carr. A box of 50 gr8 US bolts was cheaper than the 3 plastic bagged Chinese bolts sold by the autoparts stores.

Offline PeteS in CA

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #91 on: March 01, 2021, 03:29:18 pm »
Back in the early-mid 70s Honeywell used to have a surplus components warehouse/store in west Phoenix. All kinds of stuff from precision resistors to semis and more. Great for electronics students and hobbyists!

Some companies who do manufacturing in China treat their employees well ... some not so much. The latter have the kind of employee turn-over and quality you would expect from that kind of environment.
« Last Edit: March 01, 2021, 03:34:20 pm by PeteS in CA »
I am not and never have been a leftist.

If, as anti-Covid-vaxxers claim, https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2021/robert-f-kennedy-jr-said-the-covid-19-vaccine-is-the-deadliest-vaccine-ever-made-thats-not-true/ , https://gospelnewsnetwork.org/2021/11/23/covid-shots-are-the-deadliest-vaccines-in-medical-history/ , The Vaccine is deadly, where in the US have Pfizer and Moderna hidden the millions of bodies of those who died of "vaccine injury"?

Millions now living should have died. Anti-Covid-Vaxxer ghouls hardest hit.

Online roamer_1

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #92 on: March 01, 2021, 03:45:56 pm »
   They figured yall would make LSD.  888high58888

I got kicked out of high school chemistry.

(Redneck + chemicals)= Guess why... You'll be right.

Offline DB

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #93 on: March 01, 2021, 06:12:03 pm »
   They figured yall would make LSD.  888high58888

I made nitro-glycerin in my chemistry class...

Offline DB

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #94 on: March 01, 2021, 06:20:11 pm »
Mot's uPs were the 6800 (8-bit) and 68000 (16- and 32- bit) series. The Deciduous Fruit Computer Company used to use 68000 series uPs in Macs. The original F-18 panel display used Am2900 family bit-slice processor ICs. I'm an analog guy and worked on the HUD.

Zilog's Z80 was 8-bit. They had a 16-bit Z8000 but it didn't take off. IIRC, RCA had an 8-bit uP that didn't get much market share, the 6500.

The RCA 1802... I had forgotten about that one. I wrote some code in assembly for those at one time... If I remember correctly it used a register file where any of the math/logic operations could be applied directly to any register in the register file instead of the traditional single accumulator where everything had to be move in and out of it to operate on data. The register file was 16 registers deep I think.

Offline DB

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #95 on: March 01, 2021, 06:26:48 pm »
I was conversant with QuattroPro, but I supported Lotus. Till I didn't anymore (one of the last), and became an MS Office guru. I still get calls for Excel and Access. Even though I threw Office away years ago for Ooo. I just don't need office apps all that much anymore.

Anyone remember XyWrite?

BassWrangler

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #96 on: March 01, 2021, 06:32:12 pm »
When my son was in Nuke school, he picked up a 74 vette and shortly after he had a supposedly good mechanic put a crate engine in it for him.  My son noticed a vibration driving it and just then he got his orders for a sub homeported in Guam. I stored his vette for him and I discovered that the mechanic had used the orig flexplate and harmonic  balancer from an internally balanced 454 for the externally balanced 454 crate engine. The torque conv. only has 3 bolts that tie it to the replaced flexplate so I wanted to use new bolts. I can't tell you how many auto parts and speed shops I went to and all of them only sold Chinese bolts. That was back when Counterfeit Chinese bolts was all over the news. I ended up ordering US Made bolts from McMaster-Carr. A box of 50 gr8 US bolts was cheaper than the 3 plastic bagged Chinese bolts sold by the autoparts stores.

Yeah, and that Chinese steel is often surplus metal with all kinds of contaminants in it - total crap. That's why the premium knife makers that make knives in China (via companies like We Knives) supply their own steel from outside China. China has awesome CNC machining, PCB fab, and assembly, but you have to be VERY careful to make sure counterfeit components don't slip into your supply chain and that good components don't vanish from your supply chain (i.e. theft), as well as make sure that corners don't get cut in the manufacturing. Basically you have a technically very advanced society with the ethics of 1970s era Soviets.




BassWrangler

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #97 on: March 01, 2021, 06:33:34 pm »
Anyone remember XyWrite?

I do rember Quatro Pro, but don't think I ever used XYWrite. I do remember a program named "WordStar" (IIRC, that was the name).

Also, one of my favorite programs of all times - Micrografx Designer.

Offline DB

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #98 on: March 01, 2021, 06:34:29 pm »
OH, good heavens, wire wrap. The first real product I ever created was an electronic device to read the plastic cards used in Malcom Ving mechanical locks. I wire wrapped the prototype. You would connect one wire, and another one would break. I vowed "never again".

But that's a cool project you describe there. My first job out of college was doing telephony hardware and software.  I personally have zero fond memories of any of the Intel ISA chips. But in that first post-college job I did a lot of assembly, mostly DSP, but some CISC stuff too. For CISC chips I have worked with Motorola 680x0, 6502, and 6809 chips. For DSP I worked with the Motorola 56K, and the Analog Devices 2101/2105. Really loved the 2101 in particular.

My DSP experience is limited to TI 54 series parts and the TI assembler. Used them for fast acquisition in satellite demodulators where the other logic was done in FPGA. Now I do everything in the FPGA.

BassWrangler

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Re: Fry’s Electronics permanently closes all stores nationwide
« Reply #99 on: March 01, 2021, 06:36:08 pm »
In OEM computers, e.g. HP, Dell, etc. Delta Products (a former employer, BTW), Lite On, and AcBel are good brands.

Computer power supply companies are mostly or all Asian. And their manufacturing is done in Asia. Delta does some medium volume production in Thailand.

I do remember, from the late 80s, a Korean power supply company with an English name that probably had a different cultural connotation in Korean than it did in English, "Torch". :silly:

You forgot Meanwell. I've designed a few 3d-printable cases for Meanwell power supplies. They are very popular with the 3D printing community.