# Any alternative to Maplins



## Arnold9801 (7 Jun 2018)

It's typical.....now I coukd really do with Maplins, they've gone!

Does anyone know of where else I could get a replacement transformer for a small wax melted?

The device states U: 12v dc P:20w

The next thing is the pin size at the back of the device that the transformer has to plug into. it's slightly larger than those on mobile phones. 


Any help would be appreciated.

Regards


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## Bale (7 Jun 2018)

You could try https://www.rapidonline.com/ . They have a far larger range than Maplin ever had. Cheaper too. They are quick to respond and their website is easier to navigate than some other electronics suppliers.

Pete


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## Sideways (7 Jun 2018)

12v 20W isn't very big. Another option is a computer type power supply (electronic rather than a real "transformer"). You should find generic Chinese made power supplies readily available. They will be intended to power a range of electronic equipment including flat panel displays. ebay is your friend. They will have a "DC power jack" type plug in one of the common sizes, you'll have to change or adapt it to whatever you need (an extra couple of pounds at most).


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## MJP (7 Jun 2018)

But be aware that "generic Chinese made power supplies" (switched mode ones) are [email protected], with no mains filtering and minimal physical mains/output isolation. I'd go for a "proper transformer" analogue power supply any day. 
If you really do want to buy a switched mode PSU, try to find a NOS one on ebay which was originally intended to be used with some well-known brand - you often see ones intended for Panasonic, for example. then you've got an even chance of it having been reasonably well made.


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## ScaredyCat (7 Jun 2018)

This any good for what you want? https://linitx.com/product/linitx-powercool-20w-universal-ac-adaptor-adjustable-voltage-5v9v12v/14342




.


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## Sheffield Tony (7 Jun 2018)

More professional online options:

http://uk.farnell.com/
https://uk.rs-online.com/

They might not be good for private customers rather than business. 

CPC is the more consumer-y / cheaper sidekick of Farnell, and will sell to anyone with a credit card.

http://cpc.farnell.com/

Rapid are fine too. But there's noone with shops like Maplin. Probably for good reason - if you are into tech stuff, why would you go into a shop ?


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## Brandlin (7 Jun 2018)

The maplin catalogue used to be the place to go back in the day when mail order was predominantly what they did. The bricks and mortar stores were their demise because they stopped selling components and started just selling the same pre-packaged solutions you could get anywhere else. They actually thought people would pay a premium for an HDMI cable or a powersupply from a bricks and mortar store over what they could get 25% less from amazon. Terrible business modeland the demise of a once very very good company.

I second the suggestiosn of Farnell and Rs components - both will seel to you with just a credit card - been a user of both for years... also cpc are good and at the cheaper end of the three.

If you really want to talk to a human being in a shopI find CEF very good - but then I live within 5 minutes of a branch.

https://www.cef.co.uk/

Technically they are trade not retail but i set up an account with just my postcode and they sell over the counter to me for cash or debit card without any issues.


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## chiokli (7 Jun 2018)

Rapid Online are one of my favourite suppliers for their sheer range of products and free delivery over £30. Most stuff arrive next day or the day after in a neatly packaged box if they have it in immediate stock; other stock will take a 3-5 days.

RS Components are another cracking supplier with a catalogue the size of an encyclopaedia collection. They have free next day delivery as standard. I've ordered stuff at 20:00 and it's appeared the next morning.

You say the connection at the back is slightly larger than a mobile phone charger, do you mean slightly larger than a micro USB port, in which case is it a mini-USB port? Or do you mean something like this:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/plug-in- ... y/7262842/


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## Arnold9801 (8 Jun 2018)

Chilli....yes it's a pin connection. I haven't measured it precisely but it looks about 2.4 4mm in diameter.


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## Eric The Viking (8 Jun 2018)

Brandlin":1r4l7xfo said:


> Terrible business model and the demise of a once very very good company.



They were a bit "wild estuary" back in the day though 

The catalogue used to be printed on what looked like newspaper or thick loo paper and their stock was always slightly cheaper and nastier than RS or Farnell. I'm talking back in the 1970s though. That said, their toroidal transformers were excellent value (I built a lot of their MOSFET kits).

I think the failed business model was really the decision to sell sparkly tat to the masses (OK, I grant the shops were probably a bad idea, too), rather than stick to cheap electronic components by mail order, which they were pretty good at.

I sort-of regret never having built the Maplin Organ or one of their audio mixer kits, although those were not exactly stellar performers. I don't miss the more recent shops that kept only six of each 0.5W resistor value and wouldn't sell me leaded solder.

To the original questioner, Farnell/CPC probably has everything you might need.

Years ago, RS Components (nee "Radiospares") was so popular that the BBC's own internal equipment catalogue was printed in _exactly_ the same layout (so engineers wouldn't get confused). They used to be excellent for small orders - not cheap but totally dependable in quality and delivery times. Now they favour the industrial market, and I find their online system slow and awkward. 

My dad was a staunch RS / Farnell customer for many decades, but in the last 15 years moved over to Rapid, but he understood exactly what he was buying, whereas I usually have to fiddle about comparing things to get what I need.

One of my earliest memories (from the early 1960s) was being taken to the Radiospares London trade counter and literally sitting up on the counter whilst dad's order was fulfilled. I was probably aged three or four. Happy days.

It's deeply ironic that Maplin's demise coincides with the "final" decision on Heathrow's third runway. After all that...

E.


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## Eric The Viking (8 Jun 2018)

Quick thought to the original poster: 

Those power connectors (with visible pins in the socket on the thing being powered) are a right pain. There are about four or five different sizes in common use and they are not interchangeable, especially the ones with a thicker middle pin (to carry more current).

Use some vernier calipers to check carefully which one you have This Wikipedia article will show you how annoying the whole thing is, but it does at least have a table of measurements. 

Hope it's helpful. 

E.


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## Sheffield Tony (8 Jun 2018)

Am I imagining it,or did Maplin have their own electronics magazine that you could by in better newsagents ? I grew up on Everyday Electronics (started reading it at 12!) and Hobby Electronics, then ETI.


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## Eric The Viking (8 Jun 2018)

Sheffield Tony":hbz5a4ma said:


> Am I imagining it,or did Maplin have their own electronics magazine that you could by in better newsagents ? I grew up on Everyday Electronics (started reading it at 12!) and Hobby Electronics, then ETI.



I'm sure they at least had a newsletter - I'm fairly certain they serialized things like building projects, a bit like PW and EE did. I have a vague memory of something in Smiths - but as a teenager I lived out in the sticks, so getting to Smiths was unusual.


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