Just wondering if anyone knows of any UK brick and mortar electronics shops (think Maplins)
Obviously we used to have maplins and up until recently I had a little shop near me called HE Donnors (Harry sadly passed away this year).
I’ve found this place that seems reasonably cheap for ICs and stripboard called Spiratronics (http://spiratronics.com) that are in Spalding, Lincolnshire but theyre unfortunately online only.
Trying my hardest this year to support more local businesses rather than the big ones like RS Components and Amazon.
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If I recall correctly @lookmumnocomputer is orginally a peterborough lad like myself so he might be able to shine some light if there’s anyone else local to me!
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yep im from Peterborough! lived there all my life till my short stint at uni :D. where about in ptown are you?. zs for electronic shops near you. the only one I remember was in oundle it shut 10 years ago it was awesome I went there to pick up a potentiometer for the first guitar pedal I made to try and sound like Brian may lol. didn’t a[p[reciate how special it was until recently. as for now, now marlin is gone its a bit thin on the ground, Lincoln in there centre there is an amazing shop. but you’d be lucky to get there when its open I never have been lucky enough to, seems he will open whenever and he is pretty old so probably not opening for the foreseeable future! so yes alas. unless you wanna drive over to corby which is sorta down the road for an on the day pick up at RS components (I had done that before!!) then there isn’t passives of luck. ross Lamond lives in Peterborough I don’t know anyone else into this stuff from there
edit not bundle… orton… it sucks even shit in the centre is dead. 5 years ago it was alright, some good junk shops to pick up some interesting shit! now its a bit naff, however I haven’t really snooped around in the last year and a half!
edit again! ooh spiratronics! I wish I knew about that I was in spalding a lot 10 years ago. managed to get my old mini clubman estate there and back daily for about a year!!! and that thing was a right old banger haha. miss that car damn!!!
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I’m in Stanground - used to live in market Deeping till I moved out of the 'rents house…
I 100% agree with you, the music scene here is almost dead too… the only decent venue left is the MET lounge (if you enjoy sticky floors and awful bogs) my punk band used to play there from time to time.
Stamford is good as they have the Voodoo lounge!
Hit me up with a DM if you’re ever around in Peterborough (and pandemic allowing) will have to grab a beverage of some form - only other person i know into this sort of stuff is Shaun Phillips but I doubt he’s on here!
Edit - I emailed spiratronics on the off chance I could pick up an order of 20 stripboards and they weren’t interested in collection, they seem to be an electronic store (think they do a lot of trade via Ebay)
haha. well I’m from next door!!! Yaxley, used to go to stanground on my bike nearly every day for the dirt jumps ha (now under that big ikea building thingy)!!! didnt go school there tho, went over to sawtry, and aah the met lounge the memories! been there far too many times and played there more times than can count haha :D. what was your bands name??? as for shaun! yeah I remember shaun , fudging heck trying to remember his band before the ruined!!! remember going to their first show where they played 3 songs haha. oh the good old days!!!
spiratronics does ring a bell I have ordered from them before I think! that’s a shame. well its about the same distance to corby for pickup from RS components tbh!!! half hour drive for each of em.
id add my parents are still in Yaxley and I go back there every so often, I was gunna go back for Christmas! but it all got a bit sketch so I didnt. but who knows when next!±
also fun bit of trivia. Alex who runs twisted electrons, the one that makes the mega fm the small Sega mega drive synth he also grew up in Yaxley, a few years before me mind! so we never crossed paths.
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It really is a small world! 
As I said! Next time you’re in the area and if you fancy and have some to kill and if we aren’t in a total lockdown. 
send me a PM would be awesome to talk music and stuff!
Also if anyone else wants to recommend local stores around their area, I usually travel a lot for work so would be good to build a repo of shops for kit, they’re becoming scarce!