Dick Smith

[Fred Smith]

On 2016-01-06, Jeßus <j@invalid.lan> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 12:17:02 +1000, French <pw_112@gmail.com> wrote:

On 06-January-2016 11:45 AM, Je?us wrote:

Disk's original (?) store was at Red Hill or Rooty Hill (??) my memory
is failing me a bit now. (and you might get the impression I don't live
around Sydney)

Without checking, I think it was Rooty Hill, then not long after he
opened a second store somewhere which escapes me ATM...

Try Gore Hill near St Leonards (Sydney, North Shore). Being from
the Shire, I didn't appreciate just how far it was from North
Sydney, the first time I caught a train there as a teenager...

 

[Phil Allison]

French wrote:

Disk's original (?) store was at Red Hill or Rooty Hill (??) my memory
is failing me a bit now.

** The first DSE business opened in Artarmon in 1968, doing car radio installation & repair. It soon moved to larger premises in St Leonards.

Components were a side line and then became a main line of business, along with kits. DSE competed with a similar business called Kit Sets, which started in Dee Why and then moved to a city location not far from the DSE store in York Street.

He provided many components and kits for projects published by the
Electronics Australia magazine. Several of which I made in those
younger years.

Interesting to see a couple of familiar names from EA days - Jim Rowe
and Leo Simpson still involved in the Silicon Chip magazine.

** Jim Rowe worked for DSE for a time, as Dick's technical manager IIRC, then returned to EA magazine in the late 1980s as managing editor.


..... Phil

 

[Clocky]

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je�us wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.

I think felix is just trolling so he can provide examples himself since
there are a few of them but it depends on how you look at it.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream and
provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers and
technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

 

[Max]

"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote in message
news:df1fa9Fh3buU1@mid.individual.net...

On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will start
opening up?

Like Jaycar?

Different set of products to Dick Smith. I know I said 'electronics' but I
meant what Dick Smith does.

You can buy computers and peripherals from Dick Smith. Earphones, TVs, TV
aerials etc. It's a mix of electricals, computing and electronics and I
think there is a market for it.

 

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 07:53:41 +0800, Clocky <notgonna@happen.com> wrote:

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je?us wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



I think felix is just trolling so he can provide examples himself since
there are a few of them but it depends on how you look at it.

Yeah. I'm sure DS sold *some* questionable items. I mean, their
catalogue was huge by any standards. But on the whole it was mostly
decent stuff, or at least stuff hard to find anywhere else.

There was nothing wrong with their componentry, or their Yaesu gear,
for example.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream and
provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers and
technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

Agreed. There never has been any other kind of business that has come
close to bettering DS in it's heyday.

 

[Petzl]

On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:26:48 +1100, Jeßus <j@invalid.lan> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 07:53:41 +0800, Clocky <notgonna@happen.com> wrote:

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je?us wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



I think felix is just trolling so he can provide examples himself since
there are a few of them but it depends on how you look at it.

Yeah. I'm sure DS sold *some* questionable items. I mean, their
catalogue was huge by any standards. But on the whole it was mostly
decent stuff, or at least stuff hard to find anywhere else.

There was nothing wrong with their componentry, or their Yaesu gear,
for example.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream and
provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers and
technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

Agreed. There never has been any other kind of business that has come
close to bettering DS in it's heyday.

What was better, in Sydney, "behind", Queen Victoria Building, there
were a number of electronic stores close by in York Street, Tandy,
Dave Reid, Dick Smith, I can't remember others JayCar?
Made getting components easier (no Internet then)
--
Petzl

 

[Phil Allison]

felix wrote:

yes, his kits were instructional but expensive for what you got.

** One good thing DSE did during the 70s was to sell PCBs for all their kits, along with any special parts that were needed as separate items.

So I was able to get the PCB and C-core transformer for the "Playmaster Twin 40" in mid 1976 and use them to replace the internals of an existing stereo amplifier to build my own, rather better version.

Along the way, I found fixes for some problems with the published circuit in relation to excessive DC offset at the output and also its variation with the position of the balance pot.

By adding a couple of tantalum caps and Hfe matching some BC639s, the offset went from 500mV worst case to about 20mV. This was important since I was using the amp with a pair of Quad ESLs with an input transformer having only 0.3ohms resistance.


.... Phil

 

[Max]

"Clocky" <notgonna@happen.com> wrote in message
news:568bd90c$0$1516$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com...

On 5/01/2016 4:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

Places like Harvey Norman don't have as many electronic type items than Dick
Smith. And Jaycar doesn't have things like TVs, phones and computers.

Dick Smith was your one stop shop. I think it was great. I was a frequent
customer.

Such as?
There was nothing niche about DSE for at least a decade.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will start
opening up?


None. Jaycar has already filled that niche especially in the last decade
and from the point Woolworths decided to kill off the niche areas that
made the DSE brand famous and a success in the first place.

DSE simply ended up in no-mans land as a retail business.

 

[Max]

"Jeßus" <j@invalid.lan> wrote in message
news:8lso8b5elm7ckee7u8lbgjafr5lgff2ej4@4ax.com...

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 08:24:27 +0800, "Max" <max@val.morgan> wrote:


"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote in message
news:df1fa9Fh3buU1@mid.individual.net...
On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will start
opening up?

Like Jaycar?


Different set of products to Dick Smith. I know I said 'electronics' but
I
meant what Dick Smith does.

You can buy computers and peripherals from Dick Smith. Earphones, TVs, TV
aerials etc. It's a mix of electricals, computing and electronics and I
think there is a market for it.

That must be why DSE's business model was so successful in the long
term?

This is a good article about why Dick Smith has failed recently:
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/the-dick-smith-disaster-explained-in-five-easy-steps/news-story/b95f243d54f423ced869b8ec77838046

A private equity firm played funny buggers with it.

 

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 12:17:02 +1000, French <pw_112@gmail.com> wrote:

On 06-January-2016 11:45 AM, Je?us wrote:
On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:47:50 +1100, Petzl <petzlx@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:26:48 +1100, Jeßus <j@invalid.lan> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 07:53:41 +0800, Clocky <notgonna@happen.com> wrote:

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je?us wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



I think felix is just trolling so he can provide examples himself since
there are a few of them but it depends on how you look at it.

Yeah. I'm sure DS sold *some* questionable items. I mean, their
catalogue was huge by any standards. But on the whole it was mostly
decent stuff, or at least stuff hard to find anywhere else.

There was nothing wrong with their componentry, or their Yaesu gear,
for example.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream and
provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers and
technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

Agreed. There never has been any other kind of business that has come
close to bettering DS in it's heyday.

What was better, in Sydney, "behind", Queen Victoria Building, there
were a number of electronic stores close by in York Street, Tandy,
Dave Reid, Dick Smith, I can't remember others JayCar?
Made getting components easier (no Internet then)

Yes, in Sydney itself. Used to be some unreal shops in the city, going
back 30 or more years ago. And I don't just mean for electronic parts.



Disk's original (?) store was at Red Hill or Rooty Hill (??) my memory
is failing me a bit now. (and you might get the impression I don't live
around Sydney)

Without checking, I think it was Rooty Hill, then not long after he
opened a second store somewhere which escapes me ATM...

He provided many components and kits for projects published by the
Electronics Australia magazine. Several of which I made in those
younger years.

Interesting to see a couple of familiar names from EA days - Jim Rowe
and Leo Simpson still involved in the Silicon Chip magazine.

I suddenly feel quite old

 

[French]

On 06-January-2016 11:45 AM, Je�us wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:47:50 +1100, Petzl <petzlx@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:26:48 +1100, Jeßus <j@invalid.lan> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 07:53:41 +0800, Clocky <notgonna@happen.com> wrote:

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je?us wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



I think felix is just trolling so he can provide examples himself since
there are a few of them but it depends on how you look at it.

Yeah. I'm sure DS sold *some* questionable items. I mean, their
catalogue was huge by any standards. But on the whole it was mostly
decent stuff, or at least stuff hard to find anywhere else.

There was nothing wrong with their componentry, or their Yaesu gear,
for example.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream and
provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers and
technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

Agreed. There never has been any other kind of business that has come
close to bettering DS in it's heyday.

What was better, in Sydney, "behind", Queen Victoria Building, there
were a number of electronic stores close by in York Street, Tandy,
Dave Reid, Dick Smith, I can't remember others JayCar?
Made getting components easier (no Internet then)

Yes, in Sydney itself. Used to be some unreal shops in the city, going
back 30 or more years ago. And I don't just mean for electronic parts.

Disk's original (?) store was at Red Hill or Rooty Hill (??) my memory
is failing me a bit now. (and you might get the impression I don't live
around Sydney)

He provided many components and kits for projects published by the
Electronics Australia magazine. Several of which I made in those
younger years.

Interesting to see a couple of familiar names from EA days - Jim Rowe
and Leo Simpson still involved in the Silicon Chip magazine.

 

[French]

On 05-January-2016 11:37 PM, felix wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:
French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 7:49 PM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will
start
opening up?

**It deserved to fail. I popped in just before Christmas to pick up
four
small items. None were in stock. I walked around to the nearest Big
Ben
computer store and managed to get 3 out of 4 items. The Big Ben
store is
around 30 sq Metres and the DSE store is closer to 300 sq Metres. DSE
has been owned and run by idiots for the last few years.


Woolworths idiots.
Woolworths sold them to an investment group. They then managed to list
it and make a packet on the deal just before puling out and leaving the
business in a mess. At least that was the basics as described on ABC
radio today

I hadn't heard that news.

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

No he got rich by providing a valuable service to hundreds of mail order
customers.

And do people remember that he was instrumental in breaking the DoC's
back when it came to selling and eventually ensuring that the 27MHz CB
became legal ??

 

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 08:24:27 +0800, "Max" <max@val.morgan> wrote:

"Sylvia Else" <sylvia@not.at.this.address> wrote in message
news:df1fa9Fh3buU1@mid.individual.net...
On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will start
opening up?

Like Jaycar?


Different set of products to Dick Smith. I know I said 'electronics' but I
meant what Dick Smith does.

You can buy computers and peripherals from Dick Smith. Earphones, TVs, TV
aerials etc. It's a mix of electricals, computing and electronics and I
think there is a market for it.

That must be why DSE's business model was so successful in the long
term?

 

[Petzl]

On Wed, 06 Jan 2016 15:07:45 +1100, F Murtz <haggisz@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Jeßus wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



Still kicking my self that I did not get a petrol powered pogo stick.

Couldn't you get a voucher for one from Dick?
http://www.smh.com.au/business/dick-smith-accused-of-pumping-up-gift-voucher-sales-20160105-gm0432.html
http://bit.ly/1Jt3OUk
--
Petzl

 

[French]

On 06-January-2016 12:24 PM, Max wrote:

"Jeßus" <j@invalid.lan> wrote in message
news:8lso8b5elm7ckee7u8lbgjafr5lgff2ej4@4ax.com...


This is a good article about why Dick Smith has failed recently:
http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/the-dick-smith-disaster-explained-in-five-easy-steps/news-story/b95f243d54f423ced869b8ec77838046


A private equity firm played funny buggers with it.

Yes and only for the sole purpose of destroying a fine company and
hijacking big $$ for themselves.

The co-lateral damage to employees, families etc will be enormous. But
the hijackers have left the scene & laugh all the way to their swiss
bank accounts.

 

[felix]

On 06-January-2016 10:53 AM, Clocky wrote:

On 6/01/2016 4:51 AM, Je�us wrote:
On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.



I think felix is just trolling

every time I post something someone says that. get over yourselves..

so he can provide examples himself since there are a few of them but
it depends on how you look at it.

I couldn't care less if you believe it or not, but the fact is that
Dicky imported cheap poor quality electronic parts, plugs, connectors,
you name it, from Asia and China. until then the market was supplied
with quality (and more expensive) components mainly from Germany and
Europe, but businesses selling those parts then had to compete with
Dicky, and since they couldn't match his prices, they were forced to buy
and sell the same crap. Radio Parts being a prime example. I recall
trying to use RCA plugs where the plastic was so brittle that they broke
apart in use or assembly, and the metal parts so flimsy that they came
off when you tried to solder them. they were not tinned like the German
products were, and needed to be scraped for the solder to take, and
needed so much heat that they often just melted off the plastic if you
weren't careful.

Dick often sold a cheaper alternative to the popular and mainstream
and provided a gateway for more people to get into radio, computers
and technology that they otherwise would not have had.

The kits gave a lot of people their start in electronics also and for
those reasons and more, most glass-half-full people would look at what
Dick Smith achieved in a more positive light.

yes, his kits were instructional but expensive for what you got.



--
"As long as there is this book [Koran] there will be no peace in the world"
-William Gladstone, four times PM of Great Britain
http://www.siotw.org/

 

[F Murtz]

Jeßus wrote:

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 00:37:02 +1100, felix <me@nothere.biz> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk

Care to cite an example? You seem to have an inexhaustible supply of
absolute crap at your disposal.

Still kicking my self that I did not get a petrol powered pogo stick.

 

[Max]

"Jeßus" <j@invalid.lan> wrote in message
news:2bvo8btd266c3lqp9c2qp60b5hnkgq4rll@4ax.com...

Disk's original (?) store was at Red Hill or Rooty Hill (??) my memory
is failing me a bit now. (and you might get the impression I don't live
around Sydney)

Artarmon, in the north shore:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Smith_(retailer)

 

[French]

On 06-January-2016 12:25 PM, French wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:37 PM, felix wrote:
On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:
French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 7:49 PM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you
knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't
have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will
start
opening up?

**It deserved to fail. I popped in just before Christmas to pick up
four
small items. None were in stock. I walked around to the nearest Big
Ben
computer store and managed to get 3 out of 4 items. The Big Ben
store is
around 30 sq Metres and the DSE store is closer to 300 sq Metres. DSE
has been owned and run by idiots for the last few years.


Woolworths idiots.
Woolworths sold them to an investment group. They then managed to list
it and make a packet on the deal just before puling out and leaving the
business in a mess. At least that was the basics as described on ABC
radio today

I hadn't heard that news.

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk


No he got rich by providing a valuable service to hundreds of mail order
customers.

... make that thousands of mail order customers. Not everyone lives in
Sydney you know.

None of the electronic components I purchased off DSE were crap. They
were good quality at all times.

 

On Wed, 6 Jan 2016 12:25:15 +1000, French <pw_112@gmail.com> wrote:

On 05-January-2016 11:37 PM, felix wrote:
On 05-January-2016 11:36 PM, French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 9:38 PM, DBR wrote:
French wrote:
On 05-January-2016 7:49 PM, Trevor Wilson wrote:
On 5/01/2016 7:16 PM, Max wrote:
It's so sad to see this store go. It was a niche store where you knew
you could pick some items that the big electrical stores didn't have.

What's the bet some small privately owned electronics stores will
start
opening up?

**It deserved to fail. I popped in just before Christmas to pick up
four
small items. None were in stock. I walked around to the nearest Big
Ben
computer store and managed to get 3 out of 4 items. The Big Ben
store is
around 30 sq Metres and the DSE store is closer to 300 sq Metres. DSE
has been owned and run by idiots for the last few years.


Woolworths idiots.
Woolworths sold them to an investment group. They then managed to list
it and make a packet on the deal just before puling out and leaving the
business in a mess. At least that was the basics as described on ABC
radio today

I hadn't heard that news.

The otherwise good name of Dick Smith got totally f*cked over.

good name? he got rich selling poor quality overpriced junk


No he got rich by providing a valuable service to hundreds of mail order
customers.

That's a good point and something I'd forgotten about.

And do people remember that he was instrumental in breaking the DoC's
back when it came to selling and eventually ensuring that the 27MHz CB
became legal ??

I most certainly do.
How times have changed...