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Ryan writes -
I've been meaning to share this place with Makers for quite a while now. Mendelson's Liquidation Outlet in Dayton, OH is a Maker's paradise. The website doesn't do it justice but if you're within a 100 mile radius, it'd be worth the trip. The second floor (it may be the third) is loaded with electronic gadgets and gizmos. Every time I go there it makes me want to quit my job and study microelectronics full time. It's literally tens of thousands of square feet of everything from capacitors, resistors, LEDs, PCBs, displays, alarms, buzzers, tubes, mics, speakers . . . the list goes on an on. My in laws, who live nearby, say the place is relocating soon so my guess is that even better deals are to be had. The next time my wife and I are visiting, I'll try to remember to take my camera and share the beauty that is Mendelson's with other Makers.
MECI - Liquidation Outlet - Link.
Back in the early 90's when I lived in Cincinnati, I worked for a company that did a lot of R&D on ElectroChemical Machining (ECM) processes and they had a project where they were to create a gigantic switching pulse power supply for the Air Force. Because the budget was *really* tight they had to use SCR's(silicon controlled rectifiers) and capacitors that they bought from Mendelsons. I've never been to the facility, but their selection is legendary in the area. The size of the power supply was *huge* and we arrayed approximately 500 capacitors that were about 4" in diameter and about 6" tall into the huge electrical box mounted on aluminum rails. The fact they they had all of the capacitors lying around is a testament to the "pack ratiness" of this place. Highly recommended.
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Back in the early 90's when I lived in Cincinnati, I worked for a company that did a lot of R&D on ElectroChemical Machining (ECM) processes and they had a project where they were to create a gigantic switching pulse power supply for the Air Force. Because the budget was *really* tight they had to use SCR's(silicon controlled rectifiers) and capacitors that they bought from Mendelsons. I've never been to the facility, but their selection is legendary in the area. The size of the power supply was *huge* and we arrayed approximately 500 capacitors that were about 4" in diameter and about 6" tall into the huge electrical box mounted on aluminum rails. The fact they they had all of the capacitors lying around is a testament to the "pack ratiness" of this place. Highly recommended.
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Ahhh, Mendelson.
Only place in the free world where you can browse literally acres of...stuff.
(1) A fully functional hair salon (in grotesque 1950 chrome and yellow vinyl) complete with sinks and hairdryers and barber chairs (eight of them), across the aisle from a large industrial kitchen dishwasher.
(2) fully functional extremely LARGE electric motors (10-20 HP) plus switches, breakers and cabinets of every size imaginable.
(3) an electronic salvage area the size of a Walmart.
(if it aint here, they didn't make any of them.)
Recently found an unopened container (4 oz) of heavy zinc oxide/silicone thermal conduction paste for $4.
My favorite piece of technical "junk" came from there.
It was listed in the print catalog I used to get: it's a heatsink for a pentium 2 (small, square and finned) but it's special not for what it is, but who actually made it:
EG&G.
Yes, the same black ops people who now operate Area 51.
'scuse me while I put my tinfoil hat back on.
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Ahhh, Mendelson.
Only place in the free world where you can browse literally acres of...stuff.
(1) A fully functional hair salon (in grotesque 1950 chrome and yellow vinyl) complete with sinks and hairdryers and barber chairs (eight of them), across the aisle from a large industrial kitchen dishwasher.
(2) fully functional extremely LARGE electric motors (10-20 HP) plus switches, breakers and cabinets of every size imaginable.
(3) an electronic salvage area the size of a small Walmart.
(if it aint here, they didn't make any of them.)
Recently found an unopened container (4 oz) of heavy zinc oxide/silicone thermal conduction paste for $4.
My favorite piece of technical "junk" came from there.
It was listed in the print catalog I used to get: it's a heatsink for a pentium 2 (small, square and finned) but it's special not for what it is, but who actually made it:
EG&G.
Yes, the same black ops people who now operate Area 51.
'scuse me while I put my tinfoil hat back on.
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Man I guess you beat me to it. Mendelson's literally has everthing from an individual transistor to a complete printing press.
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Do they have a place like this around Toronto, Ontario? Active Surplus sucks compared to this :(
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MENDELSON'S IS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS. Sandy M. has decided to retire and sell the building/land as its worth more for development than what he's making on all the junk. So, prices are reduced now and will continue to get lower. There's no set date of closure but its anticipated they'll be gone by year's end.
(Most of this is from a source at Parts Express, a merchant leasing space on Mendelson's first floor.)
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My understanding is they're going to close pretty soon and sell off their inventory a floor at a time. Given the scale of the operation, that's going to be a pretty serious commitment for the buyer. It's sad to see them go. I'm in Columbus and haven't made it there often enough; mostly because I was doing the same thing they were for a decade or so! (And trust me, emptying a warehouse that's full of electronic junk kinda sucks after a while!)
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Based on an article in the local paper, and a conversation I had with Sandy's daughter, who handles the internet buy-outs, Mendelson's will live on at another location. Although they did not have a new location picked out at the time of my conversation, their plans are to move to a smaller facility, with a larger focus on internet sales, although the "surplus" side will continue, albeit at a diminished level.
In the meantime, everything is at least 20% off, so if you live anywhere close, take this opportunity to stock up!
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