Al Lasher’s Electronics

If you’re looking for that esoteric or ancient component for your circuitry project this is the place. Al Lasher’s is like mecca for the Mills College electronic music dept. It’s really great to be able to go into a store and get this stuff instead of futzing with mouser and digikey’s terrible websites.

The church of al lasher. Ruling for electronics supplies for repair or diy projects. Mom an pop shop

Great little hobby and project store. They have very helpful if you got any questions. I always seem to get intimidated by the clutter and all the stuff around. But the staff seems to always help me find everything I need. They always seem to have all weird little things I need too.
Great business that has your project needs last minute.

After searching several local retailers, I went there looking for an obscure battery for an old polaroid camera. Not only did they have a few in stock, but the nice lady at the counter suggested an upgraded substitute lithium battery and showed me an easy work-​around modification. It worked! I highly recommend this business. Next time I won’t waste time looking elsewhere.

Found everything that I wanted. Good price! They have tools, components, everything that you need to wherever you want to fix. They are helpful and gave me tips on how to repair the circuit board. I’m sure that if I want something about electronics repair, this will the first place that I will visit.

This is a great place, the owner was helpful even though it cost a dollar for my replacement lamp part – and he was really patient looking for the right obscure fitting adapter for a philips living color LED light.

I’ve just discovered the rich treasure trove that is Al Lasher’s. How great that a store like this remains in Berkeley! There’s a ton of useful and interesting things here; its semi-​chaotic nature just adds to the charm. Service was friendly and helpful. A much more satisfying experience than shipping in components via eBay!

If you’re trying to look for those hard to find electrical stuff, they got it here! This place has bailed me out countless times where I couldn’t find it at Home Depot or Radio Shack. You walk in here and describe what you’re looking for and the staff somehow know what you want. This last time I was talking to myself about a power transformer and she overheard me and made a suggestion of which transformer works and the reason why; I was surprised and how knowledgeable she was with the electronics. You’re not going to find this type of service (and knowledge) at Radio Shack for sure.

Came here for a switch– said they’d be open until two– well, they weren’t. Now buying said switch online. If anyone is curious why people shop online instead of patronizing local business, this is it.

Al Lasher’s Electronics is a community resource to be treasured! I had a tech support call with my ISP and they suggested I needed a new router/​modem (it’s only about 3 years old). They also suggested I could rent one from them for $ 13/​mo. Turns out I just needed a new transformer/​power supply (1x fee about $ 20). You do the math! I’m happy I went to Al’s! Knowledgeable staff with an amazing selection of stuff to keep your electronic stuff working!

I’ve dropped in here several times since moving to Berkeley in the mid 90s. Spent a pleasant time today chatting with Ellen and Melissa behind the counter on a slow Saturday morning. I needed a couple of items. One was a simple headphone jack converter for $ 1.50 (down the street at Radio Shack, their item was $ 8.50– really??). Talked about my business, their business, Gaelic football (Melissa plays). As a musician, I’ve always been interested in learning basic electronics so I could do some DIY projects. Besides giving me some online resources, Melissa pointed me to a beginners book they had in stock. I was happy to pay full retail price for it.
I’m always pleased to find Mom and Pop alternatives to the big corporate chains, doing it the way it’s supposed to be done. Bravo Al Lasher’s. I look forward to dropping in frequently as I learn my way around a soldering iron.

It’s always fantastic to see an independent, mom-​and-​pop type place like this thriving. The person who helped me (perhaps Al?) was nice enough, but I feel that I should give everyone a word of advice: don’t go in there without knowing your stuff. If you have a general idea of what you want but are electronic– illiterate like myself, you stand the chance of feeling like you are the most annoying person that’s walked into the store all week. Just know your stuff and realize that it’s not the type of place where beginners can learn the basics.

On a recent visit, I bought a television antenna. They described it as superior, they were right. Much better quality than my older one. Not in a box, just a bare antenna with simple instructions.
I was helped by a woman, by the way. Very knowledgeable. Another customer mentioned being put off by the dude up front. If you are willing to try Al Lasher’s again, try the woman up front.

I’m sure my father shopped here. Back in the day, he would have found most of what he needed at Radio Shack, but this place, it looked like his workbench.
But I digress.
I have taken on a maker group at a school, and needed tools for our next round of projects. We are getting into wires and LEDs and soldering. Skills in which I’m interested, but have no knowledge. Melanie, the daughter who grew up in Al Lasher’s and knows everything, was very helpful in finding what I needed, explaining how to use it, and was professional and human and didn’t talk to me like a moron. I had a shopping list, and then she’d give suggestions (how much wire to have on hand, which wire stripper to buy).
Mel didn’t speak slowly or use small words, but she was clear and gave me a few lessons and very usable explanations. I bought what I needed to make some robots and some light up animals and went home. I also picked up a Make: Electronics book — they carry a lot of Make books and SparkFun kits/​products.
Now that I’ve put my foot in the water, I’ll be back. I want to upgrade my wire strippers.

I’ve had many good experiences here and have been there many times, but there is one thing: They get horribly defensive if you ask for something they don’t have. Thus the various two star reviews and accusations of rudeness.
This was one actual discussion:
«Do you have X?»
«Let me check. Um. I’d have to order it.»
«Sure. Do I pay in advance?»
«It will take a long time to come in.»
«That’s OK. I can wait.»
«Look. I can’t get it. It’s not available anymore.»
«Oh.»
It’s OK to not stock everything. It’s OK if a part isn’t made any more. It doesn’t make you a lesser person.

Radio Shack might as well be called CellPhone Shack or Bullshit Shack as far as I’m concerned — the days of them being knowledgeable and helpful are gone a decade over.
Al Lasher’s on the other hand, is still, and as it ever was — a helpful and resourceful place to shop when working on an electronics project.
I recently just rewired my 1971 International Scout, top to bottom.
Every snag I had — the folks at Al Lasher’s had the info and the supplies I needed.
Right down to rewiring my gauges — using the original connecting blocks — they had the pins I needed and the tool to remove and replace them. They also explained to me how to set up relays, so now my lights are brighter and my fan pushes twice the air through the radiator.
I visited 5 different hardware stores and auto parts stores that were closer before heading over to Al Lasher’s and they all shrugged their shoulders at this project time and again.
Thank you to everyone at Al Lasher’s for taking the time — thinking outside the pre-​packaged box — and being an honest to goodness Mom and Pop shop that remains passionate about their company’s focus.
I couldn’t have done it without you — and that’s the truth.

I came into the store only having a rough idea of what I needed,
but with help from Bob and Melissa — I was able to find exactly what I needed!
They are awesome, friendly and knowledgable!
I love this store, and I’m so happy to have an electronics supply store in Berkeley!

It’s like RadioShack, except with actual selection and counter help with brains.
They’ve got TV Antennas, fuses, connectors, rechargeable batteries, voltmeters, neon, LED glow lights, vacuum tubes, CCTV and alarm systems, solder and electronics supplies. This is where to go to trick out a Burning Man sculpture, or to fix anything really old. Pick up some Eneloop batters and never buy an alkaline again. Fix up your TV antenna and drop Comcast like a hot rock. Or get the exact match for that bulging capacitor in that power supply you’re fixing.
Watch out for your parking meter though: the fines are high. Prices at Lasher’s however are remarkably reasonable.

I came in for a specialized cable and purchased it within five min. The store was quite helpful and provided me with additional information on how to install it.
Another associate visited here, received superb advice on purchasing thermal grease and other items.
If you ever want to repair your device, they will have everything to guide you along.
In summary, these people are the professional’s professionals.

I came by looking for an obscure fuse. Service was knowledgeable, friendly, and fast! The store had an array for electronic parts and they seem to be around since 1960’s.
Difficult parking, might be a little hard to find, but definitely a gem!
*Accepts debit card at minimum of $ 5.