Tandy is Back - Internet Only!

[Yorkie]

I well remember Tandy opening in Grimsby, where we lived in 1973. I'd just collected a new car - a Vauxhall Viva in metallic gold. I was induced to go to Tandy's, in a shopping precinct in town as they were offering free torches - a long one which took about five D cells. I duly got my free torch, bought a few bits and bobs, and was quite impressed with some of the kits and bits they sold. Went back to my car and someone in the car park must have reversed into it and bashed the drivers' door and rear passenger door in. I was not best pleased. Back then, metallic paint was a fairly new innovation, and despite the repairers having two attempts, they never did quite get the colour to match. I only kept it two years, by which time the trade in value was just 30% of the new price.

The best buy I had from Tandy was an FET Analogue Multimeter, which I bought in 1975. I'd recently completed the Radio Amateurs Exam course, during which I learned of the serious limitations and misleading results on meters such as the AVO8 with low input impedances of just 20,000 OPV. Tandy had an offer on for this multimeter. It had been £25.00 but was on offer for £10.00 - actually a sizeable sum back in 1975 (equal to £85.00 today), but was the same price as the AVO Multiminor, with all the usual limitations of AVOs on the low Voltage ranges. In contrast to AVOs, this FET meter had an input impedance of 10 Meg Ohm per volt. (On the 1,000V range, it's 32 Meg Ohms/Volt). The ranges are excellent - on the resistance ranges the scale is expanded, so that on the 0-1k range, centre scale is 10 Ohms, and 100 Ohms is 80% of scale, and for the rest of the scale, you just go up to the 10K scale and read that from the first 80% of the scale. Voltage is up to 1000V DC/AC and the AC frequency response from 45Hz - 1kHz is 1% accuracy up to 30V. AC/DC current up to 10Amps. Useful ranges too - 1V, 3V, 10V, 30V, 100V, 300 - 100V. Decibels -20 - +62 in five ranges.

I haven't used it much - I mostly use a digital meter, but it's excellent for peaking up RF circuits, alignment etc, when it's better to see the needle rise and fall rather than numerals in a digital meter ramping up and down. Only when I read about Tandy starting up again yesterday did it remind me that I hadn’t checked the batteries in this Micronta jobby, so I removed the back with trepidation, hoping they hadn’t leaked. Luckily, they hadn’t and in fact the battery test on the meter said ‘Battery OK’. I still replaced them – their expiry date was 1992, 20 years ago!

All in all, a very nice bit of kit. Thanks Tandy.

Interesting to read the comments on Tandy UK's website:

Quote:

Recently there has been a strong resurgence of interest in hobby electronics and general hobby construction. With the Internet making it easier than ever for people to find interesting projects and to collaborate with others who share the same interests. With the maker scene expanding and the number of open community development tools growing daily it the possibilities are almost endless.

Our products range from simple components like resistors and LEDs to ready-to-build kits and development boards. We search out and select the most useful components you may need, making it easier for you to create awesome projects at affordable prices. We follow carefully the latest developments in electronics and technology and are continually adding to our range so we can bring you the items you want.

End quote.

Let's hope it's a success - I'm still mourning the passing of Electrovalue, Bonex and Cirkit. Further back, Home Radio and Electroniques.