It'll be interesting to see these displays as they get populated. Perhaps those of you who happen to be near one of the initial Stocking Stores, could snap a couple pics for all of use to see? I think there's a couple here in the Sacramento area that I'll visit in a week or two - I'll try and check it out too.
-Matt
Went to snap a shot of the pegboard today at a RS store 8 miles from me. I checked to see if they had a 3-Axis Gyro in stock, and they did. Drove down and looked all over the store for the display. None to be found. I asked if the Gyros were in stock, ( yea, they are in a box in the back).
After purchasing the Gyro and getting home, I check the stock of all the other items at the store, (I was only interested in the Gyro today), and they only had 3 items in stock.
They said they were behind a little bit on the reset.
I bet cell phone sales took much of that time away from them.
My local store that's on the list is very slow getting every thing in. I went back tonight and they still haven't put anything out yet. The salesman was kind enough to go in the back and bring out some of everything they've gotten in so far. The only Parallax products he had yet beside the Ping))) was the LCD and the Gyroscope. I bought one of each and some of the MakerSHED items that will be going into the same new DIY section.
The salesman said they would wait for all of the items to come in before redoing the display so there are no gaps or empty places.
Hopefully this will be a bit more coordinated than phx area Fry's. Here you can buy the schmartboard qfn prop board, and guess which 40 pin version of the prop chip? Yep, no quad pkg devices to be found. The schmart (correctly) is where the solder/wrap/buildit parts live. The prop stuff ping, quick start, BOE and other kit stuff is in with the legos arduinos and other science related kits. That is where the 40 pin chip lives. But no chips for the schmartboard. I went w/ the GG usb platform.
Right now the shipments are dribbling in. Our store has had the prop board 0'd out two weeks in a row. We went to reset the "kits and cleaners" section, but not enough product available to make the rework worth while. The only thing we have gotten besids the basic stamp homework board is PIR and Ping. No servos, no joysticks no cpu or gyro or compass. When more product gets in, I will try and sort out the difference between a "core store" and a Tech store as far as Parallax stocking is concerned.
The only thing I have seen so far at the Radio Shack stores are a couple PING modules. Hopefully the rest will start showing up soon.
However, I had to go to the Micro Center at 14 Mile in Madison Heights to pickup a new fan for my PC. While I was there I went to the section where the SparkFun product were hanging and saw that they now have a bunch of the Parallax items in stock. Hanging on the pegs were: Analog Joystick, Gyro, BASIC Stamp board, Accelerometer. They also had some BoeBots and S2 robots on the shelf. I'm not sure if they have any more on the way but at least some of it is up for sale now...
@RobotWorkshop
I just returned from the Troy Commons store, they have a few more items.
I purchased a 2x16 Serial LCD, they still have one more.
They have a couple of ping modules a gyro.
They seem to be setting up a DIY section in the corner which will be a mix of
Parallax and Make Kits.
One of the Make kits for $35 you get an Adrinio, a protoboard and some parts to
experiment with. As I stated in a previous post it makes the $40 RS cost of a
QuickStart board not a good choice for a beginner starting out. Maybe the RS
web has an error and that is not the price.
The other Parallax stuff is priced resonable.
The salesman I talked to is big on Robotics. Ray is his name if I remeber right.
He is new and we had a good discussion on Parallax.
The other sales people I talked to over the last several weeks were good people
it was just that did not know Parallax , but they were very interested in having it and
the DIY stuff in the store.
Maybe next week I can stop by that store during lunch time and see what else shows up. I agree that at $40 the QuickStart may not be as popular as the Adrunio started pack. An appropriate price would have been $29.95 which is only $4.95 more than on the Parallax site and a little less than the Adruino. I don't mind paying a few dollars more for the convenience of getting it locally quick when I need to but a $15 dollar premium is just too much. I hope they make an adjustment on that and the price drops.
I'm liking the new packaging. I remember seeing the PING sensors stuffed away in one of those gray parts bins in a boring white bag and thought it didnt really do the product justice.
I'm liking the new packaging. I remember seeing the PING sensors stuffed away in one of those gray parts bins in a boring white bag and thought it didnt really do the product justice.
Hello!
So far that's all I am seeing. I've used first the Memsic based gizmo and then the PING to explain what the whole business is about. The first one I checked with was the one in Astoria with the blockhead of a manager who's got no clear idea that he's in a store that sells huge quantities of DIY stuff and then cells and finally computers and even a few HDTV units. It seemed they are aware of the decision, but nothing has arrived, despite the fact that the kludge of a website insists otherwise.
The second was one in Elmhurst who has a boob of a clerk who's manager wasn't at that meeting obviously, and thought that when they would arrive they would also be going into that drawer. The third was one in Forest Hills which is where that blockhead came from. In this case that store was largely clueless and did not even know what they were, despite my efforts to use the two surviving things from the drawer as teaching examples.
Ken, I do know of your efforts earlier, but can you contact your contacts at the RS home offices and have them start reminding the stores in the NYC area about this arriving line?
I mean I described the string of events from the Maker Faire onward to describe the whole business, in the first two stores, and didn't in the third.
So far when it comes to buying more Parallax supplies I won't be buying anything from an RS outfit until they wake up to the fact.
Hello!
So far that's all I am seeing. I've used first the Memsic based gizmo and then the PING to explain what the whole business is about. The first one I checked with was the one in Astoria with the blockhead of a manager who's got no clear idea that he's in a store that sells huge quantities of DIY stuff and then cells and finally computers and even a few HDTV units. It seemed they are aware of the decision, but nothing has arrived, despite the fact that the kludge of a website insists otherwise.
The second was one in Elmhurst who has a boob of a clerk who's manager wasn't at that meeting obviously, and thought that when they would arrive they would also be going into that drawer. The third was one in Forest Hills which is where that blockhead came from. In this case that store was largely clueless and did not even know what they were, despite my efforts to use the two surviving things from the drawer as teaching examples.
Ken, I do know of your efforts earlier, but can you contact your contacts at the RS home offices and have them start reminding the stores in the NYC area about this arriving line?
I mean I described the string of events from the Maker Faire onward to describe the whole business, in the first two stores, and didn't in the third.
So far when it comes to buying more Parallax supplies I won't be buying anything from an RS outfit until they wake up to the fact.
Are you stores on the initial list that Matt posted?
Not all RS store are getting the product. Some of the stores that you visited may be franchises and not company owned stores, and may opt to not but the product. And only a percentage of company stores are getting the initial product.
Yea, I was really surprised the other day when I went to my local RS. They had a couple items only but I am hoping they get more. The Ping Sensors were priced the SAME as Parallax, which for RS shocked me as their markup is about 500 % on most items!!!
Are you stores on the initial list that Matt posted?
Not all RS store are getting the product. Some of the stores that you visited may be franchises and not company owned stores, and may opt to not but the product. And only a percentage of company stores are getting the initial product.
Double check the list that Matt put out.
.
Hello!
I wouldn't know. I can't find it, at the moment. But I am fairly certain that these stores are indeed company stores. I can say with certainty that the boob of a manager who I complained about his complete lack of realty perception in a certain area, (and to the district office!) did depart from that store for a few weeks. I was surprised when he landed at that Astoria store.
Actually I did find a listing. There are a few NY stores on it. One in Manhattan is a good possibility. But that does not explain why that Astoria store did indeed have them listed but not actually there. I do know that the majority of stores in NYC are indeed a company one.
Made it out to the Crystal Lake store, 8 miles from the braino labs.
2 Basic stamp boards, and 2 Quickstart boards; 2 Ping sensors in the drawers, and at least one Education kit locked in the back store room.
The biggest surprise was the kid working there. He knew something about micro controllers! Quite a step in the right direction, if only my local store could follow.....
The world turns slowly, but sometimes you can almost see it move.
Well, the only one near me was the Terre Haute store. I was going to check, but the one in my town has the items!! I think they noticed the store here sells WAY more parts (thanks to me). We have about 4 items so far on the shelves.
Made it out to the Crystal Lake store, 8 miles from the braino labs.
2 Basic stamp boards, and 2 Quickstart boards; 2 Ping sensors in the drawers, and at least one Education kit locked in the back store room.
The biggest surprise was the kid working there. He knew something about micro controllers! Quite a step in the right direction, if only my local store could follow.....
The world turns slowly, but sometimes you can almost see it move.
I went to the closest RS to me and they didn't have anything from parallax. The person working there never heard of them and there wasn't a spot on the shelf for anything parallax related. The other stores in the area I've went to have the old stuff like "what's a microcontroller, etc. Nothing more then they've had for years. Still slim pickings though.
The person working there never heard of them and there wasn't a spot on the shelf for anything parallax related.
Hi 4x5n-
Yep, it's gonna be "hit and miss" I'm afraid. Way, way back in the *gasp* - 70's - it was the same way. There are regular salesmen, and then there's the occasional geek that gets it.
Don't be discouraged - we're in the beginning stages of a resurgence in DIY-ing circuits - it'll take a while, but in the meantime it'll be fun for you and us to be leading the way :-)
Post #42 in this thread is the list of initial locations.
-Matt
Hello!
My edit includes that I did indeed find it. I looked at it, of course. And as it happens the interesting thing is that of the locations list for NY, only one is reasonably close to me. That's the one for Manhattan. However I've not been there yet.
I am still appalled at the fact that the majority of other locations, (no not the ones listed) either aren't aware of what Parallax sells, or worse not even aware of what's actually inside that cabinet, and who makes the two selected items.
And I am still annoyed that their website still resembles something made by a group of high school students attending a class on that subject, and worse relies on the annoyance of Flash to cover most mistakes. (Or cause them.) Ideally they should start all over again and present a properly created one that takes everything into account.
I am still appalled at the fact that the majority of other locations, (no not the ones listed) either aren't aware of what Parallax sells, or worse not even aware of what's actually inside that cabinet, and who makes the two selected items.
[/QUOTE]
That surprises you ?
We are talking Radio Shack phone selling personnel. Most have no idea what Diodes are in the bin. Or what they are.
Looking at the list I see alot of Texas stores. The closest one for me is Austin. I asked the clerk in the Round Rock store anyway just for fun because I was in there for something else and he told me to go check Fry's. That seems to be the standard answer to shuffle me out the door at that store. Which I find strange because if you would think if the person is asking for DIY components, they would know about Fry's.
And I am still annoyed that their website still resembles something made by a group of high school students attending a class on that subject, and worse relies on the annoyance of Flash to cover most mistakes. (Or cause them.) Ideally they should start all over again and present a properly created one that takes everything into account.
You can always use the Parallax link for all the Parallax products that Radio Shack sells:
Hi 4x5n-
Yep, it's gonna be "hit and miss" I'm afraid. Way, way back in the *gasp* - 70's - it was the same way. There are regular salesmen, and then there's the occasional geek that gets it.
Don't be discouraged - we're in the beginning stages of a resurgence in DIY-ing circuits - it'll take a while, but in the meantime it'll be fun for you and us to be leading the way :-)
-Matt
On the positive side I noticed that the local Microcenter has 5-6 products from Parallax (2 weeks ago they had nothing but arduino stuff) and the Fry's in the area has even more Parallax stuff then before. Since I'm rarely in much of a hurry I can wait for web orders placed directly with Parallax and others. :-)
Hey 4x-
Where is your Microcenter located? I wasn't aware that we had shipped out anything substantial, but the people "up in the front office" tend to want to keep me in the dark about most goings-on here anyway. Probably for good reason.
-Matt
Hey 4x-
Where is your Microcenter located? I wasn't aware that we had shipped out anything substantial, but the people "up in the front office" tend to want to keep me in the dark about most goings-on here anyway. Probably for good reason.
-Matt
The Microcenter I was at this evening is in Westmont Il. They didn't have a whole lot but there was already a lot of Arduino kit and parts and my guess is that Microcenter didn't want to duplicate the Aruino stuff. No Propeller parts, etc but there were a couple of Basic stamp kits and boards though.
@Matt: The RS is just over 1 block from my workplace. Right now I have 1 Material control device, 7 Data Collections devices, 4 RFID Door Locks, and 2 Display Boards. All running with Propellers and a few other Parallax parts, but I get my general stuff at my local RS. They tend to go through alot of project boxes, buttons, LEDs, connectors, capacitors, and resistors.
Went to a "nearby" Frys yesterday and noted they had increased their Parallax parts selection. New things were the Stamp BOE, joystick and 2x16 LCD module. They also increased their stock of robot kits.
I came home with the LCD module.
The Microcenter I was at this evening is in Westmont Il. They didn't have a whole lot but there was already a lot of Arduino kit and parts and my guess is that Microcenter didn't want to duplicate the Aruino stuff. No Propeller parts, etc but there were a couple of Basic stamp kits and boards though.
Struggled with getting the usb "homework board" from MicroCenter when I was there last night and decided today to go back and get one! I just wish that it had a barrel plug so I don't have connect one to a 9V battery connector myself. :-) My first experience with Parallax was with the boe bot and the basic stamp board that came with it. Had a lot of fun with it but using it for other things while attached to the boe bot frame is clumsy.
Comments
Went to snap a shot of the pegboard today at a RS store 8 miles from me. I checked to see if they had a 3-Axis Gyro in stock, and they did. Drove down and looked all over the store for the display. None to be found. I asked if the Gyros were in stock, ( yea, they are in a box in the back).
After purchasing the Gyro and getting home, I check the stock of all the other items at the store, (I was only interested in the Gyro today), and they only had 3 items in stock.
They said they were behind a little bit on the reset.
I bet cell phone sales took much of that time away from them.
Jim
The salesman said they would wait for all of the items to come in before redoing the display so there are no gaps or empty places.
Paul
Frank
Jim
Good times coming!
Amanda
However, I had to go to the Micro Center at 14 Mile in Madison Heights to pickup a new fan for my PC. While I was there I went to the section where the SparkFun product were hanging and saw that they now have a bunch of the Parallax items in stock. Hanging on the pegs were: Analog Joystick, Gyro, BASIC Stamp board, Accelerometer. They also had some BoeBots and S2 robots on the shelf. I'm not sure if they have any more on the way but at least some of it is up for sale now...
Robert
I just returned from the Troy Commons store, they have a few more items.
I purchased a 2x16 Serial LCD, they still have one more.
They have a couple of ping modules a gyro.
They seem to be setting up a DIY section in the corner which will be a mix of
Parallax and Make Kits.
One of the Make kits for $35 you get an Adrinio, a protoboard and some parts to
experiment with. As I stated in a previous post it makes the $40 RS cost of a
QuickStart board not a good choice for a beginner starting out. Maybe the RS
web has an error and that is not the price.
The other Parallax stuff is priced resonable.
The salesman I talked to is big on Robotics. Ray is his name if I remeber right.
He is new and we had a good discussion on Parallax.
The other sales people I talked to over the last several weeks were good people
it was just that did not know Parallax , but they were very interested in having it and
the DIY stuff in the store.
Tom
Maybe next week I can stop by that store during lunch time and see what else shows up. I agree that at $40 the QuickStart may not be as popular as the Adrunio started pack. An appropriate price would have been $29.95 which is only $4.95 more than on the Parallax site and a little less than the Adruino. I don't mind paying a few dollars more for the convenience of getting it locally quick when I need to but a $15 dollar premium is just too much. I hope they make an adjustment on that and the price drops.
Robert
Hello!
So far that's all I am seeing. I've used first the Memsic based gizmo and then the PING to explain what the whole business is about. The first one I checked with was the one in Astoria with the blockhead of a manager who's got no clear idea that he's in a store that sells huge quantities of DIY stuff and then cells and finally computers and even a few HDTV units. It seemed they are aware of the decision, but nothing has arrived, despite the fact that the kludge of a website insists otherwise.
The second was one in Elmhurst who has a boob of a clerk who's manager wasn't at that meeting obviously, and thought that when they would arrive they would also be going into that drawer. The third was one in Forest Hills which is where that blockhead came from. In this case that store was largely clueless and did not even know what they were, despite my efforts to use the two surviving things from the drawer as teaching examples.
Ken, I do know of your efforts earlier, but can you contact your contacts at the RS home offices and have them start reminding the stores in the NYC area about this arriving line?
I mean I described the string of events from the Maker Faire onward to describe the whole business, in the first two stores, and didn't in the third.
So far when it comes to buying more Parallax supplies I won't be buying anything from an RS outfit until they wake up to the fact.
Are you stores on the initial list that Matt posted?
Not all RS store are getting the product. Some of the stores that you visited may be franchises and not company owned stores, and may opt to not but the product. And only a percentage of company stores are getting the initial product.
Double check the list that Matt put out.
.
Hello!
I wouldn't know. I can't find it, at the moment. But I am fairly certain that these stores are indeed company stores. I can say with certainty that the boob of a manager who I complained about his complete lack of realty perception in a certain area, (and to the district office!) did depart from that store for a few weeks. I was surprised when he landed at that Astoria store.
Actually I did find a listing. There are a few NY stores on it. One in Manhattan is a good possibility. But that does not explain why that Astoria store did indeed have them listed but not actually there. I do know that the majority of stores in NYC are indeed a company one.
2 Basic stamp boards, and 2 Quickstart boards; 2 Ping sensors in the drawers, and at least one Education kit locked in the back store room.
The biggest surprise was the kid working there. He knew something about micro controllers! Quite a step in the right direction, if only my local store could follow.....
The world turns slowly, but sometimes you can almost see it move.
-Matt
I went to the closest RS to me and they didn't have anything from parallax. The person working there never heard of them and there wasn't a spot on the shelf for anything parallax related. The other stores in the area I've went to have the old stuff like "what's a microcontroller, etc. Nothing more then they've had for years. Still slim pickings though.
Hi 4x5n-
Yep, it's gonna be "hit and miss" I'm afraid. Way, way back in the *gasp* - 70's - it was the same way. There are regular salesmen, and then there's the occasional geek that gets it.
Don't be discouraged - we're in the beginning stages of a resurgence in DIY-ing circuits - it'll take a while, but in the meantime it'll be fun for you and us to be leading the way :-)
-Matt
WTG CG101! :-)
-Matt
Hello!
My edit includes that I did indeed find it. I looked at it, of course. And as it happens the interesting thing is that of the locations list for NY, only one is reasonably close to me. That's the one for Manhattan. However I've not been there yet.
I am still appalled at the fact that the majority of other locations, (no not the ones listed) either aren't aware of what Parallax sells, or worse not even aware of what's actually inside that cabinet, and who makes the two selected items.
And I am still annoyed that their website still resembles something made by a group of high school students attending a class on that subject, and worse relies on the annoyance of Flash to cover most mistakes. (Or cause them.) Ideally they should start all over again and present a properly created one that takes everything into account.
I am still appalled at the fact that the majority of other locations, (no not the ones listed) either aren't aware of what Parallax sells, or worse not even aware of what's actually inside that cabinet, and who makes the two selected items.
[/QUOTE]
That surprises you ?
We are talking Radio Shack phone selling personnel. Most have no idea what Diodes are in the bin. Or what they are.
You can always use the Parallax link for all the Parallax products that Radio Shack sells:
http://www.parallax.com/RS
On the positive side I noticed that the local Microcenter has 5-6 products from Parallax (2 weeks ago they had nothing but arduino stuff) and the Fry's in the area has even more Parallax stuff then before. Since I'm rarely in much of a hurry I can wait for web orders placed directly with Parallax and others. :-)
Where is your Microcenter located? I wasn't aware that we had shipped out anything substantial, but the people "up in the front office" tend to want to keep me in the dark about most goings-on here anyway. Probably for good reason.
-Matt
The Microcenter I was at this evening is in Westmont Il. They didn't have a whole lot but there was already a lot of Arduino kit and parts and my guess is that Microcenter didn't want to duplicate the Aruino stuff. No Propeller parts, etc but there were a couple of Basic stamp kits and boards though.
I came home with the LCD module.
Amanda
Struggled with getting the usb "homework board" from MicroCenter when I was there last night and decided today to go back and get one! I just wish that it had a barrel plug so I don't have connect one to a 9V battery connector myself. :-) My first experience with Parallax was with the boe bot and the basic stamp board that came with it. Had a lot of fun with it but using it for other things while attached to the boe bot frame is clumsy.