URS Electronics — Local services in Portland

This is an incredible store that has all the electronics stuff you could need, excellent for hobbyist and pro alike! If you miss Radio Shack, this place is for you. Really a rare breed these days, always have everything I need. At least they did when I was unemployed, which is why:

I have to give 4 stars, because their hours are incompatible with real life- If you work a normal job, good luck ever going there- they're only open weekdays within work hours so unless you have a day off, you can't shop there. This is a bummer, if they were open even a few hours Saturday morning, or one day a week til like 630, I'd make the journey there and happily give them my money. Unfortunately, there's been about 5 projects so far in the past few months where I just had to buy all my stuff online since I wasn't able to get away from work to go there and shop- over 200$ worth of business I'd gladly give them if they were open to take it. If you don't work 9-5,...

Not exactly for Makers. All the Arduinos and accessories were more expensive but they did have an OK selection. They were very confused when I asked if they had any supplies for audio amplifiers and just showed me the small section with individual circuits and said "some of these are called amplifiers". I asked about assembled relay switching boards and shown a dozen circuits, all rated 12V or more none 5V or less. Another customer came in and said he was given something that was 1.25 not the .125 he asked for, they handled it well and swiftly. I prefer other stores, like Surplus Gizmos, where they'll show me what I asked for, walk me right to it, provide an alternative, compare and contrast based on my description of a project, and show me other items they have in stock I might not have considered. URS is closer though, I'll just have to have a shopping list with allowable ranges since their stock was small...

What a gem. Needed some resistors for a (very small) project and found this place after a google search. This place is great, has everything and then some. Was able to get all the little electronic parts I needed and also some other tools I've been meaning to get but haven't gotten around. Owner Mark was working the front desk and was super helpful, which was particularly appreciated because I'm in a little over my head. This will be my go to spot for anything electrical related going forward. ...