Great place to get all of the parts I need. It's a frequent stop and a Silicon Valley institution.

Many many years spent here. I use to go to all these 'other' places, including my favorite (Halted Electronics) but Halted shut down (I am closer to this) and now another place has opened in San Jose... not impressed with what they displayed online. Now I am back, making hobby experiments for the kids and I am troubled with how few places there are - BUT the silver lining for me is...Anchor. God how many years have they saved my bacon??? read more

Anchor Electronics are fantastic - I only discovered this place after over a decade in the South Bay, and I'm kicking myself! The place is one of the cleanest, most organized electronics stores I think I've ever seen, and the staff here are knowledgable and genuinely care about what you're working on and what you need. It's worth just going here to hang out and browse the cool stuff! Components are well-labeled and pretty good value, too. Funny enough, they have a section on SMT and surface-mount prototyping, and that's pretty unusual in a walk-in store. Alicia and the whole team at Anchor really go above and beyond the call of duty! They're awesome read more

I'm a San Jose native and I remember my visits to Quement Electronics when it still existed. Fast forward to today when I'm swapping out two 12V outlets on my new Ranger in favor or USB sockets and I'm looking for a way to not cut into the harness. I came up with a way to take the connectors off the old 12V outlets and modify them but then I needed a way to seal up the inside where the connections were made. I did a bunch of internet searches looking for info on potting compounds. I'm amazed that despite the vast amounts of info available at the click of a mouse that it's often very hard to find good, reliable information. I was longing for the day when I could walk into Quement or even Radio Shack and get some sage advice from an expert. Luckily, during my search I found what I thought was a good product so I looked for a local vendor and was pointed at Anchor Electronics. I decided to come in this last weekend and was greeted by Orville. From his bio on their web page, he's not just an EE from SJSU he also used to work at Quement! I was not disappointed. Orville looked at the connectors I made and offered some very sage advice. Thanks to his advice I was able to seal up my connectors and install the sockets. The result is great and I now know where to go when I need electronics. Yes, I paid $2 more for the potting compound (than I would have from Amazon) but I think I easily got more than $2 in advice helping me finish my project. If you like going to places where the folks who work their know their stuff, this is one such place. read more

Came here for emergency parts when ordering online just wasn't quick enough. It's a small store and the staff are friendly and quickly come to check what help you need. It being my first time in the store, I was giving the grand tour by a friendly employee (actually seemed like manager/owner). I like the friendly service. They have a great deal of SMT and Thruhole parts in stock. I came because I needed to build last minute cables for a PCB. Found everything I needed in the store. Way better selection here versus Frys. No returns accepted here. That's my only gripe read more

These days those who spend their extra time @ Frys are casually classified as nerds / geeks. But you're not a real nerd or geek unless you have tried DIY radio / tube amplifier / solar toys projects. Supercharging your PC to overrev the clock for gaming is NOT a nerd project, sorry, Fry's has a very poor collection of real useful electronics parts, and the staff there are best classified as.... oh nevermind. Enter Anchor electronics... where you can find almost ANY IC, capactor, connector, fuse, plugs, breadboards, you name it. Best of all, the people there are are knowledgeable and friendly, and AMAZINGLY enough that place is neat and clean! read more

Because HSC is so near by, I usually stop by there first before coming to Anchor. The order may change in the future. By comparison, Anchor is so *clean*. Esp. as said coming from Halted, I feel all grimey after entering the store. Staff is friendly, selection nice, everything so neatly labeled and... just a wonderful experience. Anchor definitely has the upper hand over HSC on resistor selection, especially 1% tolerance ones. Often times I don't need say 1K, I *need* 1.1.K, and Anchor is there to deliver. Love the McDonald's entrance sign at the door. read more

I had the best customer service in this store. The gentleman spent twenty minutes explaining how to connect my backup camera. I can't thank him enough. I was flabbergasted by his generous giving of his time to help me. Do not pass up the chance to get your electronic parts at this store. John L. read more

A huge selection of electronics parts that you won't find walking down the aisle at Fry's. Open on Saturday's for a short amount of time too. Helpful staff. This place was a lifesaver when I had to buy some parts last minute. Oh, and the parts are nice and cheap too. Less than a dollar for many IC's and packs of resistors. Cons are that walking into the store feels like you just got sent back into the 1970's by Skynet. Still, I keep coming back here when I need to dig up some parts for my latest EE project, so that says something, doesn't it? read more

CLEAN!!! A staff that knows their stuff (including the obscure surplus leftovers from yesteryear) and seem to really enjoy helping you with what you need. Good pricing, and most of those parts are in plastic bags, not just big, dusty bins. If you don't see what you need in the bags on the racks, it will probably be waiting in the Great Wall O'Drawers behind the counter, or in the warehouse in back. The bottom line: If you need electronic parts, this is the place to come. read more

Very cool store. Very well organized. Bags are labelled and check this: the floor is carpeted LOL Good find! read more

Good selection of connectors for audio cables. I needed an XLR connector and a 1/4" phone jack for a musical instrument application. They also have a good selection of multi-conductor cable, so you can build your own guitar or microphone cables and adapters, in any length you want, at reasonable cost. read more

I've been going to Anchor for many years and the technical knowledge and parts selection has always been great. Even when I don't need something for a project, I stop by to see what's new. I ask Orville "what's new" and usually find something I didn't need but bought it anyway. Great selection and great people. read more

If you don't want to wait for your online purchases to arrive, this is your store. Reasonable pricing, friendly, helpful, knowledgeable staff, organized, clean store. read more

Wow wow wow, this is an electronics hobbyist's dream. The place is immaculate, very organized, and the staff is quite helpful. I almost think this is one of the best-kept secrets in the tech retail world. Bonus that it's less than 2mi from my house and open early so I can pick up parts on my commute to work. read more

This place is great and has a lot of useful electronics items. The staff are very friendly, helpful, and welcoming. I will definitely come back instead of ordering stuff online. read more

One of the last Electronics stores left in the South Bay and excellent selection of components and supplies for hobbyist electronic builders. Used them through college to get the parts I needed quickly at a fair price. Would recommend always checking their online part list first to item out exactly what you need. read more

I good place to buy electronic components and tools. They have a no return policy unless defective and I am Ok with that. I know of people who had been told no when they tried to return items. A few years ago I returned a potentiometer that had the wrong resistance and they went out of their way to check whether labeling was incorrect and I am ok with that too. However while I was at the store last week I noticed something that surprised me. A middle aged guy walked in and wanted to exchange an item that he had erroneously purchased and the sales person obliged without even mentioning a word about their return policy. As a customer I don't wanted to be treated differently than anyone else. I am subtracting one star due to this. read more

The ultimate "boutique" electronics store. Electronics supplies and components galore. Check out the price list on their web site: http://anchor-electronics.com/price-list.pdf Not everything they carry is on the list--they have hand tools and soldering stations and PCBs too. This ain't Fry's: you won't find washing machines or TVs. But if your main work--or hobby--is done on a workbench with a soldering iron in your hand, this is the place for you. Great crew. They aren't engineers, but whatever you need they can tell you if they have it or a good replacement. You probably know HSC/Halted in Sunnyvale; I consider Anchor to be the other half of my local electronics supply source. read more

These people are the best. Our company laser had been down for two weeks waiting on a specialty cable. I went there and Orville spent 15 minutes sourcing the parts to make the cable, explained all the issues around arcing etc. and it all cost me just six bucks! he saved us THOUSANDS in lost time. read more

You can find some amazing deals here. Found a switch I liked and bought their entire stock for $0.50 each, tried to buy some more on Digikey but they cost $12.00 each there! read more

Anchor is wonderful. It's small, but looks are deceptive: They have a comprehensive inventory, clean and well-organized, with individual parts in their own little price-marked ziploc bags; the ladies who own and run the place are meticulous. Very easy to find things there. The place was a labor of love by the founder (see story below or on their new web site), and though he's gone, that spirit continues -- you feel it when you walk in the door. Make sure to stop by the little glass case of John's mementos by the exit door -- I hope when I'm gone someone cares enough to do something like that for me, let alone keep my business going. The poster below who mentions "grouchy" ladies may have either been being difficult himself, or misunderstood a dry joke -- there are some sharp wits behind that counter. Over the years I've been going there, I've found them to be good friends. I think folks are conditioned to expect "customer service" when walking into a store; at Anchor, I just think "family" instead. Most of the chips and standardized discrete components are behind the counter. Before you go over there, grab a copy of their PDF price list/catalog from http://www.anchor-electronics.com/weblist.pdf -- that price list is pretty complete and accurate. If I'm putting together a large project I'll go ahead and kill some trees and print the whole thing, mark up the pages that have parts I want, recycle the rest, and then when I walk in, just hand them those pages. That makes things real easy. I've pretty much stopped going to Fry's. HSC could be this good, if they wanted to; not sure what's gone wrong over there. read more

Anchor Electronics is a place I recommend for colleagues to go that need to get parts right away. Their inventory is very organized and the staff is helpful. It would be great if they had more hobbyist components and longer hours on the weekend, but overall they are a great resource to have in the area. read more

The Bay Area has progressed from the hotbed of semiconductor to software companies. In all these transitions, what has disappeared are stores that cater to the knowledgeable engineer (electronics geek, DIYer). These stores have all gone online. At one time there were at least 10-15 such stores all over the Bay Area--names like Anchor, Frys (original), Jameco, JDR, Quement, Radio Shack (yesteryear), etc. Anchor is the last standing brick and mortar all around electronics components and parts stores, catering to the prototyper and hobbyist, whether at the basic level of or into microcontrollers. I recently rediscovered this store (after 10 years) when looking around for some basic semiconductor parts. This store has a lot of items that caters to the DIYer, and there is the ever present gentleman who greets and helps you find what you want. If he doesn't have the part or tool, he suggests ways you could craft one in your garage! All in all a gem of a store, and I hope they stay in business. The round up of such Bay Area stores is this and HSC. JDR primarily does online. read more

I am a hobbyist amp/speaker builder and anchor electronics has been able to provide me with everything I need to build some cool electronics projects. The staff are very knowledgeable and have been able to answer any questions I've had. Thank you anchor electronics. read more

Very Organized and impressive products. Nifty displays. I recommend this to anyone who wants to find detail electronic parts.

For a computer/electronics hobbyist/HAM this place is an oasis for finding many of the small electronic parts I need for my projects. Anchor even took my suggestions recently and started to carry several single board computers. For example, Arduino compatibles several of which I have used in prototyping my Wifi enabled weather station. In addition they have also expanded their sensor offerings to include the BME280 (temp, humidity, pressure) and the BME680 (temp, humidity, pressure, and VOC) which will work very nicely with Arduino or the Raspberry Pi. The staff is always friendly and Orville is very good at helping me evaluate and find what I need. Thank you Anchor Electronics! read more

Everything you need to do a quick prototype. Parts, materials and tools. Not Digikey or Mouser, but they are here and have all the basics. Arduino and Raspbery Pi stuff is showing up and lots of parts that are hard to find on the shelf anymore. A great local resource for the electronics engineer or hobbyist read more

Cool local electronics store, when you need some parts fast or just for a small project, also check out halted and jameco!

This place is great. All of those hard to find chemicals and parts that I have to order online are right here in this store. People who work here are very knowledgeable and helpful, unlike most other electronics stores. read more

Very clean store and everything is well organized. Friendly and helpful staff. The only complaint I have is the components are a bit expensive compared to other places I've been (maybe $1 for something that would be 35 - 50 cents elsewhere . Not outrageous, but if you need a lot of components it could add up. This is a retail store with everything bagged up and labeled, not a warehouse full of surplus parts in bins. All of the small things like resistors, caps, ICs, etc are behind the counter so you need to know exactly what you want. If you just want to get random stuff to have on hand for future projects, it might not the best place since the browsing is limited. read more

This place is SUPER handy if you need anything thing electronics wise. Components, solder, tools etc. It's been a life save for our business! read more

Great staff, very friendly and helpful. Awesome, well organized selection of electronic components. perfect for getting what you need to finish any electronics project!!! read more

Well, I haven't been in yet (that's why the four stars, not five), but they were fantastically helpful on the phone - polite, helpful, suggested alternatives. Superb customer service! Am now looking forward to visiting them in person. read more

Anchor Electronics provides a wide variety of electronics components. Unlike other suppliers, their components are well organized in clean convenient, reasonably priced packages. They do have great technical support, and are fast and effecient at filling orders. They have a wide variety of both through hole, and surface mount components. Anchor is my go to supplier for Electronics Components. read more

This is one of the more interesting places to shop for electronic parts and tools. Anchor is one of the most enduring "surplus shops" in the South Bay, having survived for many decades when so many others have closed their doors. There are so many reasons for this: the knowledgeable staff, the quality of the parts, the organization of the store, the print catalog that is always available at the counter, the pricing, the variety, and so much more. Anyone who designs or tinkers with electronic circuits will find at Anchor a treasure trove of parts and tools, from the most up-to-date, to the most arcane. The variety of useful prototyping resources at Anchor is what keeps me coming back. read more

I call this place "my favorite store in the world." I am an electronics, robotics, and vintage computer hobbyist, and Anchor Electronics has just about anything I might need for a project. This includes hard to find ICs and transistors, plus an amazing selection of discrete components. The store is clean, everything is well organized, and it's easy to find what you need. The staff also offers helpful advice, and their prices are great! Next time you need electronic components, head over to Anchor. read more

Nice store. Well presented product with very helpful people. Definitely worth a visit.

I've been coming to Anchor for years and have always found the staff friendly, knowledgeable and eager to assist. I have received valuable advice on projects from their in-store tech specialist. The showroom is far and away the most organized and convenient location for electronics parts in the Bay Area. The prices are great too! read more

I am lucky a store like this exists. Its a very hard business to be in. I don't buy surplus because of problems with corrosion because parts sit around, so I buy here where I can get new parts. The prices are good and I can save money over Digikey. read more