Question:
I will be in Melbourne for the next two weeks and wonder is there any
electronic bits places like Oatley/rockby in Vic. ?
Does Waltham Trading Co. still exsist in Sydney? In
the late 50's & early 60's they were in Adelaide, bought all those
6AC7's & 6H6's for my 1959 R&TV television from there, it was a case
of here one day & gone the next, pity really. Does anyone remember
fossicking in L. Cann & sons?
Answer:
funny you should mention Cann's, just this evening I was
going through my junk box of old relays. I was looking for
the old common post office/PMG style and remembering
that I could have had them by the bucket load at Cann's
in the mid 1960's. I went to Norwood boys technical high
school and sometimes my similar minded school chums
and I would dissappear from some boring sports carnaval
and spend a pleasant afternoon fossicking through the
junk at that shop. It was great. The yard was full of electrical
cabinets in various states of degradation. As a boy I learnt
a lot from that place. No electronic junk there today.
I believe the only electronic junk shop left in Adelaide is
Robbies near Pt. Adelaide. Robbie is in his nineties now.
Opens up at 4.30am to 5pm on Tuesdays and then
4.30 am on Saturday, aiming to close at 11am.
Two days only. I suppose one can do what one likes
at that age. When he goes there will nothing for the
electronic hobbyist to fossick through in Adelaide.
There is no Waltham Trading company in Sydney today.
I remember the one in Rundle street that you know. There
was always good stuff from the rocket range at Woomera.
Used to be a place in Ashfield or near there called Ace Radio
but that has gone. There is some really old electronic junk
at scrap yard in Bulli south of Sydney. Cavion is the name
but the junk is really old. The fellow that used to look after
the electrical junk has passed on so the stock is not tidy and
replenished like it used to be. They did have the old OTC
MF radio transmitters for morse code on 500 KHz. They
were under cover for months and I was hoping that some
group would rescue them but they have now been ratted.
They do get some navy junk occasionally. A year or so ago
I saw a brand new never been used 1970's era radar display.
When I opened it up that nice new smell was still there. I did
not have the heart to be the first scavenger to hoe into it.
Apart from the Wyong field day and the Wireless Institute
trash and treasures and the odd bit of kerb side shopping
there is not much around for us electronics scavengers.
