I moved to the Silicon Valley about 2 years ago, and I've finally whittled my "Honey-Do" list down to the point, where I can get our audio and video installations cleaned up.

I need a decent source for pretty normal CI "supplies". Low voltage old work boxes, smurf tube, in wall rated cables, speaker wire, etc.

I could buy online, but I'll not be buying that much, so the convenience of walking into a brick and mortar store, and being able to get what I want, and being able to see the item so I make the most appropriate choices, are more important than paying the lowest amount. I'm in the Silicon Valley, so San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Mountain View or Palo Alto CA are all fairly close.

I'm a pretty experienced DIYer, so I need someone who will sell to private individuals. I knew exactly where to go in Dallas (I really liked Altex Electronics, good prices and selection, and salespeople who knew how to use what they offered), but just haven't found a good source yet here in the Silicon Valley.

I did some Googling, but It's hard to tell how much of the places I found is electrical as in 110V and home wiring, or aimed at what a CI might need, more centered around low voltage and audio / video.

I'm sure there are some members here, who can point me in the right direction!

Remember, you don't get that many opportunities to tell me where to go! :-)

I believe all of this can be bought at Home Depot, and you won't have to buy 500 or 1000 feet of the wire you need. Network and A/V stuff should be available at Fry's, though Home Depot has a small section of this stuff. I know that there's a Fry's not far from Campbell but I don't know where Campbell is in relation to you.


Really, I've rarely not found electrical supplies at Home Depot. Lowe's also has some, though the items are slightly different. Other hardware chains are worth a shot, too.


Funny!


*You cannot be centered around something because the center is, well, the center, and is not around anything.

Lowe's and Home Depot are OK for high voltage electrical, but they have very limited selection of low voltage electrical. Last time I was there, they had no smurf tube, and didn't have low voltage old work rings/boxes. They also lack things like IR flashers, inwall rated HDMI cables, In wall speakers, and Panel and speaker mounts.

I find Fry's to be OK for consumer electronics, but not much else these days. For things like HDMI cables, they stock brands like Monster, aimed more at selling bulletpoints and snake oil, than a good cable. I couldn't even find an inwall rated HDMI cable last time I looked there.

There are likely some places that cater more to the pros, that are likely located in an industrial area, selling to security installers, cable installers, and CI's. That's what I'd like to find.

There is a Graybar on the militias/San Jose border that I think will sell at full price to end users. The home depot's around here have decent stock of LV boxes and parts.

im pretty close to you can could probably help out with some things when I have the time.

All that said, I personally would probably order online before wasting time driving around trying to find parts. No so much for a price break but for convenience.

my main stops other than B2B suppliers, are Home Depot & fry's.

I used to order power supplies from Jameco. I covered the north bay so I have not actually gone in the store. Sounds like it is close though.

[Link: jameco.com]

I'm in cupertino and have gone to HomeTech on deanza for stuff like that. I heard a rumor they closed shop. Will drive over that way tomorrow and see if anyone's around.

AVAD or custom Plus are my staples now days, both by the airport. Graybar over in San jose too. Central computer in Sunnyvale has a lot of pc/Mac/tablet/phone plus networking items. And Frys. Honestly I've been buying more online lately than anywhere else.

Off topic you should check out Halted in Sunnyvale. They are more of a surplus electronic warehouse but have some hard to find parts and pieces.

I like Arlington for a lot of parts and accessories and they have a Low Voltage section on their site- I would contact them to find out who sells their products in your area.

[Link: aifittings.com]

I would think any electrical supply house would have Smurf tube. Home Depot tends to only carry the smaller sizes- look in the aisle with the small electrical parts- this is usually closer to the top of the racks and most of what I have seen is from Carlon.

Thanks for the tips guys!