All,

I know this sounds like a troll, but it is not, I assure you. I am at
a point where I may be forced to consider a career change. My wife
wants to teach at a reservation for the next several years, and as I do
not see very many days left in my 20 odd-year career as a software
designer, I am very much tempted to take her up on this.

Since I have a had an abiding interest in building amateur gear from
parts, and since I hear a lot of complaints on this group about certain
retail chains not being responsive to amateurs, I thought I should do a
little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

I know that I can't be all things to all people, and I also know from
Idiots Guide to Starting a Business that retail sales can be a tough
row to hoe.

My few advantages are that I would (hopefully) thoroughly know my
product, that I would be organized where a lot of scrap shops aren't,
that I would listen to what the customer wants, and that I wouldn't be
going into this simply for sentimental reasons but hopefully to make a
small profit to supplement my wife's earnings

So, what is the perfect homebrewer store for you all?

1) Lots of discretes at low prices?
2) Transceiver and other kits sold at slight markup?
3) Parts kits and boards for successful homebrew designs found on the
net?
4) A depot to drop off and buy antique gear and test equipment?
5) Home-made precision such as crystal filters, diode mixers, amplifier
modules?

Anything I haven't thought of?

Thanks,

The Eternal Squire

wrote in message
oups.com...
All,

I know this sounds like a troll, but it is not, I assure you. I am at
a point where I may be forced to consider a career change. My wife
wants to teach at a reservation for the next several years, and as I do
not see very many days left in my 20 odd-year career as a software
designer, I am very much tempted to take her up on this.

Since I have a had an abiding interest in building amateur gear from
parts, and since I hear a lot of complaints on this group about certain
retail chains not being responsive to amateurs, I thought I should do a
little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

Have you considered military/industry surplus/salvage along the lines of
Fair Radio Sales in Ohio or Skycraft Parts in Florida? I can't speak for
Fair but Skycraft turns in a very handsome profit six days a week year after
year and they are always crowded with patrons from kids building a crystal
set to aerospace engineers. There are breaks for a salvage operation as
well. Maybe it would be worth you while to visit them.

DRMS (Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service)
http://www.drms.dla.mil/

Ok.... you asked for it... lol
New hams and lots of us OT's have been frustrated at the hodge podge
arrangement of radios and accessories. Why the new person always asks
is what should I buy..... The ad's and tech info on the products need to
have a "boiled" down list of what it takes to make it all work. i.e.
examples
of radio antenna match need? Power supply? key? mic? Amp? Vertical ?
Slope?
dipole? random wire. Play radio only at home or in car too. Poor lids.
:-( and the whole
works for recommended uses like DX or contest or just rag chew.
Maybe several "typical STATION set ups for a few ranges of total cost"
Even for an OT you just cant tell from the ad's what it's going to cost in
the end
or what it will do or not do very well.

Hope your career lasts a while... seeing all the sw jobs going over seas
just
like the mfg jobs have. Hope they plan to sell the products over seas...
no one here will have a job/money to buy it.

Load Accumulator what? Which mag core ? tube! Reset!!!!
Sure ain't C or what ever else has come along in the last 10 years
since I got to retire and play with my toys. LOL

A straight key is the one for the ignition huh?

Good luck 73 K4TWO

A good Elmer list of hams who can show off their stations
and be able to "guide" a new person into the hobby without
going broke and with enough knowledge that what ever the
Elmer is showing has taken a good while to accumulate.
What ever station you build... its never right forever so it is a
life time job of rebuilding the new station for the new
and varied aspects of ham radio. Even the ARRL
handbook is an accumulation of many folks efforts.
Ham Radio is just TOO big to be a master of all
the hobby. (although some declare that they are LOL)

I didn't have an Elmer so many years back as a
novice, I was pizzzed off for 2 years before I learned
that DX didn't live in my novice band.

P.S. Make it all free, won't last long but be big hit.

You do plan on a web site eh? I have bought most of
my recent "ham stuff" on ebay or other places on the web.
By the time I spend gas and time shopping or going to
hamfests, I can have the same items shipped the next day.
Just won four 50mhz crystal mobile rigs for $6 costs more
to ship them than the purchase fee from ebay auction. But
look out 6m here I come. Tune Tweek Diddle Diddle smoke.
I need a big garage.

Need good pictures / prices and web site to sell these days.
Most commercial places are too cheap (price fixing?) to put
prices in mag' advert's and web advert's some dont even
put an email address up due to spam and customers that
are unhappy.

Yeah, I got my rag chew award a long time back lol

A copy of an email I sent to the ARRL recently below:

ALL the files and adverts I see in QST or on the web can drowned and
overwhelm a new ham.
What is ALWAYS missing is "what this radio needs to work is.... AC line...
DC power supply... Antenna match... Types of Antennas a user might connect.
Sheeez get some of the basics out to the "New Hams" they want to sell
these things too.
Let them know about how much MORE it is going to cost than the listed price
of the current unit under test.
How about a Key or Speaker or Mic, need a rotor?.... Come on lets get the
newbies a chance to spend his few dollars with out getting
a box and then wish for Christmas to come so he/she can connect it up and
really get on the air.
Go look at the advert's and "reviews" as though you were NEW to the hobby
and about to invest some hard earned money.
While most of the tech info can be impressive, it is fluff to a newbie.
Just tell me how it worked and what needed to make it usable.
How much were all those "options they said were available?" Money for what
filter? What warrantee??? It is the price of a car is it 5 years too?
Thanks.... Hope this message gets to where it will do some good.
Might even put some "shop and compare tables" out for them.
I been around a long time and was getting ready to upgrade from my GTX757II
to a "last good radio" for my retired years and wading through
all the poo has just about put me off buying another radio. I did apply
for a new 4 land call for retired call... I hope Vanity call. Can get a
little vain when that's all that is left. hihi
I just spent 2 days rebuilding the optical dial that froze up in my 757 so I
better move on before it gets arthritis again.
Now WHAT to buy?? eh


wrote in message
oups.com...
All,

I know this sounds like a troll, but it is not, I assure you. I am at
a point where I may be forced to consider a career change. My wife
wants to teach at a reservation for the next several years, and as I do
not see very many days left in my 20 odd-year career as a software
designer, I am very much tempted to take her up on this.

Since I have a had an abiding interest in building amateur gear from
parts, and since I hear a lot of complaints on this group about certain
retail chains not being responsive to amateurs, I thought I should do a
little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

I know that I can't be all things to all people, and I also know from
Idiots Guide to Starting a Business that retail sales can be a tough
row to hoe.

My few advantages are that I would (hopefully) thoroughly know my
product, that I would be organized where a lot of scrap shops aren't,
that I would listen to what the customer wants, and that I wouldn't be
going into this simply for sentimental reasons but hopefully to make a
small profit to supplement my wife's earnings

So, what is the perfect homebrewer store for you all?

1) Lots of discretes at low prices?
2) Transceiver and other kits sold at slight markup?
3) Parts kits and boards for successful homebrew designs found on the
net?
4) A depot to drop off and buy antique gear and test equipment?
5) Home-made precision such as crystal filters, diode mixers, amplifier
modules?

Anything I haven't thought of?

Thanks,

The Eternal Squire

) writes:
All,

I know this sounds like a troll, but it is not, I assure you. I am at
a point where I may be forced to consider a career change. My wife
wants to teach at a reservation for the next several years, and as I do
not see very many days left in my 20 odd-year career as a software
designer, I am very much tempted to take her up on this.

Since I have a had an abiding interest in building amateur gear from
parts, and since I hear a lot of complaints on this group about certain
retail chains not being responsive to amateurs,

You do realize that for some reason people like to gripe about Radio
Shack. They have contempt for the place, while all the while expecting
it to deal with them.

Radio Shack hasn't been a main place to buy parts since a few years after
Tandy bought it in the sixties. Selection was/is limited and prices high.
They were a great place to get something quick, because a store would likely
be nearby, and a place to get them in the off hours.

But just because people like to gripe about Radio Shack doesn't mean
a thing about the state of buying parts generally. Note they are griping
at one store, not talking about other places.

There are plenty of places to buy parts. Sadly they may not be in a cluster
downtown in your city, which was the case decades ago. But they still
exist. Some places have risen up to deal with specialty items, filling
a void that is missing. Amidon is a classic example, starting at a time
when toroids were virtually unknown, and being the standard for buying
the cores in small quantities (be it the hobbyist or the prototyper).

So you really need to not be looking at the griping at Radio Shack,
or Radio Shack itself, but at what exists today and whether it
can fill the market, or if there are gaps that need filling.

Michael VE2BVW

My opinion, the easist way to profit is by unique product development
and marketing, or in the service sector. I just can't see making a living
in amateur radio retail... the competition is stiff and the profit margins
are small.

You are a software developer? I suggest you use your talents to develop
something in the amateur software area. Can't off hand suggest more
specifically, but digital radio, digital voice, and even video are areas
one might look into. Then there are the other peripheral products like
logging, QSL, maps, world time and geographical info, radio control,
propagation info, antenna measurement, etc, and a whole lot more I can't
even think of at the moment.. Good luck.

Ed K7AAT

Don't forget the 3-feet cardboard box filled with junk.

Ah, yes, I remember those well from hamfests.

I wonder, should I be the equivalent of FTD and offer to ship
3 foot cardboard boxes of unsorted electronics in lieu of flowers
for the YL or YM who really wants to say 88's to that special
ham in thier life??

It would save on cataloging

Keep those suggestions coming, please!

wrote in message
oups.com...

little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

Of course, market guidance is a good thing, but keep in mind that this
newsgroup is probably far from representative.

So, what is the perfect homebrewer store for you all?

DigiKey, with some RF parts added.

1) Lots of discretes at low prices?

There are lots of places to get discretes. This is no longer the problem it
used to be. The problem is getting them at a local store. RS used to fill
that bill, and there used to be a number of local electronics retailers.
But to tap that market, you need to be everywhere. In a market large enough
to justify that sort of presence, there are already competitors.

2) Transceiver and other kits sold at slight markup?

What can you offer that AES and the like can't? Unfortunately, I think a
lot of stores suffer from spending time helping folks understand the
products, only to have the customer go get it at Texas Towers for five bucks
less. Hams are cheap. If you are going to sell transceivers you gotta be
near the lowest price. Now maybe a wide range of kits might be a market
with little competition.

3) Parts kits and boards for successful homebrew designs found on the
net?

There are a lot more homebrew possibilities out there than there are kits,
but that is a pretty low margin market. Still, I wonder if something simple
like providing parts kits for FAR Circuits boards might not be a
possibility. Provide a needed service and keep your costs down by
leveraging someone else's board mill.

4) A depot to drop off and buy antique gear and test equipment?

Again, you need to be everywhere. If your wife plans on working on a
reservation, it sounds like the place you will be might be a pretty small
market.

5) Home-made precision such as crystal filters, diode mixers, amplifier
modules?

Filters might work. Mixers, amps etc are already available from
Minicircuits. But filters for common homebrew IFs might be a market.

Anything I haven't thought of?

One thing that occurs to me is that almost any project nowadays involves a
microcontroller of some type, typically a PIC or AVR. Even though
programmers are trivial to build, the need for a programmed micro is a show
stopper for a lot of potential builders. That might make an interesting
niche.

Take a look at the successful guys.

DigiKey has almost a half million SKUs. Although they are shy on RF parts,
for almost anything else you want they are gonna have it. They have a
fabulous search facility on their website and the best customer service on
the planet. Their prices might not be the best, but they make up for it by
being terribly easy to deal with.

AES is an expert at lightening your wallet. Their prices are pretty low,
when you call them you will talk to someone who knows what it is you want.
And the next day the rig shows up on your doorstep. Simple, painless, and
close to the lowest price.

Ever call International Crystal for a crystal? Their prices may be high,
but they will make sure you get exactly what you need. If you have a
commercial radio, no matter how obscure, they know what kind of crystal it
takes. Doing something weird? Tell them about your circuit. They are
dedicated to getting you what you need.

If you are going to be out in the boondocks, like it sounds, then you need
something you can do online. The good news is that is relatively cheap.
The bad news is that now you are competing with an entire planet full of
competitors, so you need to come up with something really unique.

...

Sage advice!

"If you are going to be out in the boondocks, like it sounds, then you
need
something you can do online."

Not totally boondocks. The place where my wife will be working can be
seen from the Interstate. All along the Interstate for bunches and
bunches of miles can be seen places where one can get souveniers and
inexpensive Native jewelery and other handicrafts. Along roads in all
directions for hundreds of miles are signs leading to these various
places.

I have been tempted to try some type of Doctor Demento theme type
technological curiosity shop stocked with ham kits, gear, and license
guides, as well Jacob's Ladders, black light lamps, crystal sets, and
introductory science stuff for the pre-teens... it might fit right in
with the rest of the tourist trap area but I'm really uncertain I want
to completely take my chances on it.

"The good news is that is relatively cheap. The bad news is that now
you are competing with an entire planet full of
competitors, so you need to come up with something really unique."

Ah, yes, the perils of globalization, which caused what I do best to be
offshored in the first place. This is kidding: now its a contest
between one expensive genius versus a planetfull of poorly paid
geniuses working for a multinational. The latter will win every time.

At least I won't be too bored reversing roles with my wife for the next
couple years:

While I wait for my ham customers to drive in, I could do software
and/or hardware R&D.

The IF idea sounds definitely good.

More ideas, anyone?

wrote in message
oups.com...
All,

I know this sounds like a troll, but it is not, I assure you. I am at
a point where I may be forced to consider a career change. My wife
wants to teach at a reservation for the next several years, and as I do
not see very many days left in my 20 odd-year career as a software
designer, I am very much tempted to take her up on this.

Since I have a had an abiding interest in building amateur gear from
parts, and since I hear a lot of complaints on this group about certain
retail chains not being responsive to amateurs, I thought I should do a
little bit of "market research" and ask my potential customers what
they might want to see from my store if I should start one.

I was reading the responses to your post when a thought prompted me to add
another comment. The electronics market for the amateur in Japan is
exceedingly more developed that what it is here in the US. Every now and
then I hear of interesting amateur equipment, electronics devices and parts
that, for some reason, are not available in the US---I sure would like to
have one of those Sony automobile receivers with short-wave. Heaven knows
what they have for the computer hobbyist. Possibly, an import operation of
sort can fill the void---an interesting niche.

For the life of me I can't remember what part of Tokyo the famous
electronics district is in.

Maybe I shouldn't have posted this---the idea sounds good to me too.