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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
Scott Schultz (N0IU)
on
October 26, 2009
View comments about this article!
Click this link and take a trip down memory lane!
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalog_directory.html
Enjoy!
Scott NĜIU
This article has expired. No more comments may be added.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by AI2IA on October 26, 2009
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Radio Shack sold and sells what they think the majority of customes want.
They came a long way baby to get to where they got to today.
Scary, isn't it?
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KD8LWP on October 26, 2009
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It is sad they lost their way over the years. It used to be a good place to get electronics, once. But now the quality is very lacking. And the staff are annoying. They should change the slogan to "You got questions? We'll try to sell you a cell phone."
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N6BOB on October 26, 2009
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Thanks for the memories... fun to remember the old High Fidelity gear and radios from my childhood. The electronics stores with parts are just about gone. We had a parts store, not Radio Shack, with-in 3 miles of here but now must drive 50 miles to get parts like power poles. Ordering on line or by phone works well but shipping is costly.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KB7QOA on October 26, 2009
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Over the last week I've officially given up on 'The Shack'. I needed some RG-58, and all they sell now are overpriced pre-assembled jumpers with ends already attached. Not only do I not want to pay the overhead to have somebody in some sweatshop in China crimp them on for me, I would just have to cut at least one off anyway to avoid drilling a 1" hole to pass it through.
Then I needed a panel mount SO-239 to replace a connector with bad threading on my tuner. Priced it at Radio Shack, and decided to walk out. Picked one up a my local electronics store, A-Gem Supply, for literally 1/3 the price. And some may say it better be gold plated for the premium price, but that is the kicker, the cheaper one was gold plated where the one from "The Shack" was not.
While we as hams may not be the most profitable demographic out there, we certainly gave them quite a bit of business over the years. If I wasn't in there buying something myself, I was pointing others over there for all sorts of radio and TV related items. Now when somebody asks, I send them to one of about 4 different stores, because I know if on the odd chance Radio Shack has it, they will find a cheaper and higher quality item from someone else.
Radio Shack seems to have been trying to re-invent itself over the last 10+ years, and each time they remove more and more of the core that set them apart from other consumer electronics stores like BestBuy. And each time, it appears their short term profitability improves, but long term declines. It used to be that there was at least one ham that worked at almost every store, and they were knowledgeable about the store's entire product line. You could send somebody to them and know they would walk out with the right product for what they needed, from a new CB radio to the right TV antenna for their rural home. Now you're lucky if the same person behind the cash register is still working there 3 months later, let alone they know anything about the products beyond the description on the outside of the box.
Maybe it is pure coincidence, but in my local area the Radio Shack stores moved several times to larger and larger locations during the period when they actually dealt with radio products. Since they've quit carrying those "specialty" items, they've been constantly moving to smaller and smaller venues. To me it seems that it should be obvious that changing the focus of the company has hurt it, not made it better.
RIP "Radio Shack". You will be missed.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by K7AAT on October 26, 2009
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Boy, I miss those old days.... reminds me of the Lafayette and Allied Radio catalogs I also dearly miss.
Ed K7AAT
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KR4WM on October 26, 2009
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On a lark, I looked at my birth year catalog. I nearly cried! All the GREAT stuff in there! Hammarlund, Hallicrafters, Johnson-Viking, etc. I think the reason they don't sell cool stuff like they used to is that people just don't want to build things any more. The name of the game is "instant gratification". No waiting a month while you put something together any more! (Except for maybe an Elecraft, which I built about three years ago.) Whoever designed the website did a really fantastic job, and I like how you can leaf through the pages. Just like being there! Dagnabit! Young whippersnappers! Had to go and screw up Radio Shack!!! I'm going to go turn on my Hammarlund 180 and see what's on...
73, -KR4WM
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KC0VJX on October 27, 2009
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I seem to remember reading that Tandy Leather was a "penny stock" at one time in the 1950's - early 1960's. A $100.00 (A lot of money then) investment in Tandy Leather when they purchased Radio Shack in 1963 turned into a million dollars plus by 1980.
But there were great "Radio Shack" stores depending on the owner-manager and his levels of appreciation. Some were superb parts stores and others were 'merchandise stores' alone.
Those days are long gone. Great memories and interesting catalogs from a day when US electronics/parts manufacturing was dominant. I still remember when "Made in Japan" products (pre-Sony) were held in very low esteem and quality. Today we have "Rat Shack" and the monster Asia/Pacific Rim electronics-manufacturing behemoth.
God Bless Ten-Tec and Elecraft, etc.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W5FAE on October 27, 2009
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I was fortunate to grow up in Boston, home of Radio Shack. As a young boy(1955), my dad gave me a Superex one transistor radio kit to build. The RCA CK722 that came with the kit was defective. My dad took me to "Radio Shack" in downtown Boston to find a replacement. We found a barrel of them in the middle of the floor. We bought a "handful" for a buck and brought them home to test. We found several "good" ones and we were off and running. This was my first experience with "The Shack".
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by K1MMI on October 27, 2009
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I remember about 50 years ago visiting a Radio Shack in Boston, Massachusetts. The store was very, very large in comparison to a Radio Shack store in 2009.
The store was loaded with the latest brand new Ham Receivers and Transmitters and there was a large assortment of used gear.
The Ham Radio Section was so large in comparision to visiting a local Ham Radio Outlet store in 2009.
These days Radio Shack has very little stuff for the Radio Experimenter but in recent months Radio Shack has come thru for me. Fets, Solder Tips for my Solder Gun, silicon grease, 15 pin VGA connectors to build an adapter, RFI chokes, a cable TV amplifier, so I'm still finding Radio Shack to be a useful store at times. It sure beats mail ordering $5 in parts and paying $10 in shipping. But if I am building something then mail order is the only way to go.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KG4GDK on October 27, 2009
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Unfortunately, this "niche" trend they are on may be the death of them yet. Not only have they abandoned radio, but they are lousy at computers, TV and other consumer electronics. At their current rate of digression, they will all turn into one person phone kiosks in run down malls, and the other kiosks will kill them. Oh, did I forget to mention Walmart and their world retail domination plan - yes, they actually have a plan to put all of these poor performers out of business - RIP Radio Shack, Best Buy, Toy's-R-Us, and many other one time major players.
73
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N1WBD on October 27, 2009
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Well we're lucky here!! There is a Independently owned Radio Shack (franchise)in New London,NH it like the way Radio Shack used to be!! You need parts they got em... How many remember their Lifetime Warranty Tubes?? Well they still have some!! I always go there when I need a part or a can of tuner cleaner etc. Just like the old days.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KA3NRX on October 27, 2009
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Outstanding! That 1980 catalog was the one that got me hooked and hell bent on making a Shortwave Radio purchase. I really wanted that DX-160 table top radio (and the DX-300), but had to settle for the portable DX-60. (I was 15, didn't have the big $$$, and my parents weren't going to pay for it! Earned the $$$ cutting the grass). Great memories. Not like now. Welcome to Cell Phone Shack! How may I help you?
Vince P
KA3NRX
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Now called the ' SHACK '
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by G3SEA on October 27, 2009
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I think the recent name change to ' SHACK ' sums it up ;)
It's an inevitable changing marketplace. If they had stuck with Ham Radio they would have gone under long ago.
As it is they may well be a takeover target.
KH6/G3SEA
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N1DVJ on October 27, 2009
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I spent 9 years with Tandy, and I have to say I consider the 'glory years' of Radio Shack to be the late 70's and into the 80's.
Yeah, it was the CB boom in the late 70's, but that died soon after the 99 to 40 channel fiasco. Then there was computers. Computers were probably what wrecked Radio Shack more than anything else. They got hooked on the money and couldn't handle the downturns.
But through that time Radio Shack also carried some HAM gear. HTX202 and HTX204 HTs. HTX212 was the start of 3 name branded 2M mobiles. There were even 2 different 10M rigs.
And how many people knew you could go into Radio Shack and at the 'book stand' you could actually order an Alinco Dual-Band for your car? HF transceivers, or other HAM gear? They sold a number of antennas, but I don't remember the brands. Towards the end they tried selling some under the brand name of TechAmerica. I still have one of those base antennas on my house, and so does a friend.
Oh the stories I could tell about the incompetance at Tandy. There was a whole 'notes' group named 'One for the Money' dedicated to assinine things that went on in the company. Unfortunately, somehow the link for that got out through uucp and there was hell to pay. For a while...
And the humor. How many people know Tandy LOST a Model 16 before it was announced? It was so secret most of the company didn't even know about it, but it ended up in Lancaster PA... Or the fact that way back in 1980 a computer game got out that mentioned stuff that was still 4 or 5 years away? (The game was called 'Tower II', and was quite a hit with employees that got their hands on it!)
Or the time the guys that did the 'video' set up a VCR with a timer to play a Marilyn Chambers video into the company security video system late one night from the directors office... Allegedly the security people didn't come up to investigate until AFTER the tape ended...
Then there was the really bad stuff. Like a director level individual who took a program a potential hire submitted with his resume and sent it out to the factory for use. After turning down the individual. Only catch was the factory ran into a problem when new stuff came down the line, and looked inside the program and found out who the author was and contacted him for help. People got fired for that! (But I see the director involved is still in the high tech industry... )
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W8KQE on October 27, 2009
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Thanks for that link and the memories! I remember as a teenager in the 70's in Jersey, the sheer thrill of going to RS when the print catalog came out, and drooling over all the cool stuff in there. I probably spent 90% of my busboy and landscaping income on RS stuff. We had like 6 RS stores within a 5 mile radius as well. Also loved the Lafayette catalogs and stores.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W2NLS on October 27, 2009
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You know, they have announced that they are officially taking the word "Radio" out of their store and corporate name. Now they will be known as "The Shack." Yes, it does sound like a BBQ joint but if you can't get ribs there you can't get SO-239's either.
Back in the day when I worked for various electronic magazines the Radio Shack people in Texas were almost all hans. Now, they all use cellphones.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by WA6GUZ on October 27, 2009
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I rarely go into a Radio Shack these days, but I had to go get some connector boots for an antenna I was putting up for my neighbors to receive DTV. I went into the store and there were two young girls working there. I asked them for coax connector boots. They looked at each other and obviously had no clue what I was talking about. I describe it to them, still nothing. I just left and went across town to another Radio Shack. There were two young guys there. I asked them the same question and they showed me where they were. I told them I was at the other Radio Shack and the two "idiot Bimbos" working there had no clue what I was talking about. These two guys busted out laughing. I asked them what was so funny and they told me that it was their fiancee's working at the other store. I just paid and left with a semi RED face.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N0BOF on October 28, 2009
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I called our local "shack" and asked if they had a serial to USB cable and if so, how much. He checked and said yeah we have one in stock, it's $38.50.
I laughed and said how much? He repeated $38.50
Within 10 minutes I bought one on Ebay for .99 cents plus $2.00 shipping. Got it 3 days later and it works great. I think we'll soon have another empty space in the local strip mall.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W0UHU on October 28, 2009
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You can get at least one ham radio book at Walmart:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4938349
Photography nuts who still use slide film have discovered that you can take obscure types of film to Walmart and they will send it to a custom lab for processing--for less than if you send it directly to the lab. Because of volume deals, Walmart is a good way for a small volume supplier to get in front of tons of customers.
I bet if a dozen people sent mail to Walmart asking to buy an FT-450, they would start carrying them....Yaesu or iCom or Tentec would fall all over themselves to get onto the Walmart shelves...
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W5JDH on October 28, 2009
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It's kind of ironic. I went to the local store recently and looked for a breadboard to do some prototyping. The Manager looked at me and said "We're moving away from those computer things." As I walked out of the store I reminded her that it still said "RADIO Shack" above the door. Less than a week later the company announced the change in their name to just "the Shack".
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by AB0RE on October 28, 2009
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I miss the good ol' catalogs, too. I'd flip through the catalog frequently and often end up buying stuff from Radio Shack I didn't even know before-hand they had carried. It was a great marketing tool.
I wish they'd at least carry a bare-bones ham radio line-up (2M & DB Handies, 2M mobile, basic antennas, etc). Even if they just had some stuff available from Radio Shack Unlimited (Online) it'd be a start.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W2COP on October 28, 2009
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Speaking of stock, RS stock shot up 16% in one day yesterday. Sad to say, it was because investors had no other place to put their money, as the market crashes. Take a listen to this very interesting podcast http://archives.warpradio.com/wysl/files/allaboutmoney/20091028.mp3 .
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Makes me want to call in sick!
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by VE3TMT on October 29, 2009
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Amazing link, had fun looking through some of the old catalogs. Funny how I remember all the old covers. Looked up 1964, my birth year but long before I was a ham..71' Tri-Ex crank up tower $143.00 and a 10-transistor radio that actually had 10 transistors!
Unfortunately "The Shack" has had to do what they can to stay afloat. We only notice it because of the history between hams and Radio Shack. Too bad, but looking at it for the shareholders view, it's better than Chapter 11.
Now back to the catalogs!!
Max
VE3TMT
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by KQ9J on October 29, 2009
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Wow, that was fun! Checked out the 1976 catalog from when I graduated from high school. I don't know what ever happened to my TRC-52 CB or the FM converter but I had them in my '76 Chevy Vega! Bought lots of the other stuff in there, too. Those were the days!
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N1DVJ on October 29, 2009
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The TRC-52 was pretty popular. And a decent rig besides. When the 40-channel came along, there was a brief period where a 99-channel expansion was proposed, until someone pointed out the 455Khz IF interference issue... Anyway, RS had stopped production of the TRC-52, but 40-channel was still a way down the road. So they quickly came out with the TRC-152, which was the proposed 40-channel TRC-452 but with a 23-channel knob on it. It was a uPD458 based set. It also lacked the filtering on the mic, audio, and power leads, since it was just a 23-channel. That was a pretty good radio. Very sensitive, very clean and loud audio when adjusted right (turning RF down to just over 3W made the trapezoid VERY full and no tail, which means loud and clean), and an ANL that was better than most rigs Noise Blanker. And since it was introduced into the 'downturn' of 23-channel days, it was almost ALWAYS on sale for less than $100.
I know of a number of people who just ordered the 40-channel knob and associated parts and put them in their TRC-152 and had a 40-channel radio... Every now and then one of the radios was 'critical' with tuning when you went 40-channel, and in those cases you just replaced the VCO with the one from the 40-channel radio, which had more gain and it was fine. The UHIC-004 I seem to recall.
Not that "I" would have ever have converted my radio, of course...
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W8AAZ on October 29, 2009
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Ever since the store opened in my area I grew up in, in 1971, I have been in and out of that store from alot but frankly in the past 5+ years there is just nothing much to go in there for. When I was a kid I would ride my bike the few miles to get there. Now that I got money, they got nuthin for it! Not much to differentiate them from any other big consumer electronics retailer except they have less stuff but at least a few unique items that they do not sell for general consumers. Without the couple of decent surplus electronics old establishments in the local region, the hobby would be a total loss. Lets face it, our world is changing, and electronics(not computers) as a hobby is sorta dissipating. Sort of like the people we wondered about when the 20th century started and changed their world. Why couldn't they adapt to this stuff we knew all about, we wondered. And I am not even ready to tackle surface mount stuff in any meaningful way. Sorta like not being able to make the leap from tubes to solid state? Ha ha we said when old timers balked at it.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by WA1UFO on October 30, 2009
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Back in the 70s and early 80s we had a Radio Shack Store here in Conway,NH and it was great! It was owned by a friend of mine and radio was the main focus. Back in the early 90s Ron sold the store back to the corporation and he retired to Florida. It quickly went to HELL in a hand bag. I went in one day and asked a clerk where the coax jumpers were. She didn't know what I was talking about! Now it's all shack and no radios-a damned shame if you ask me. 73s de Hans--WA1UFO
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by STEVER on October 30, 2009
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I quess I lost interest in Radio Shack when they started to ask for phone numbers when you purchased an item..I guess that was 20 years ago..
I told them that I had no phone, and got the same look as if I asked them a question
"You have questions?", we'll give you a dumb stare and ask if you want to buy a cellphone!
I do remember calling their main office when I was 10 years old and had a problem with their 23 channel walkie talkie...Called them collect, no problems . Most helpful...
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by W6IEZKEN on November 1, 2009
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Don't give up completely on Radio Shack; I discovered that not all stores are giving up on Radio parts and antennas.The store on Watt ave. in Sacramento Ca. still carries radio parts and they have a well informed staff.The manager said it is up to the local manager what he wants to carry.The other Radio Shack stores are as you say, useless to ham radio operators.
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by N5YPJ on November 1, 2009
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R.I.P. Radio Shack.You got a young boy going in electronics - sure wish you could be around now, we could still have a blast!
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When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by K6LO on November 2, 2009
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That is a really cool site, and also a little depressing. The Down-Under equivalent was a place called Dick Smith - they had some stores here in the U.S. for awhile. Neat place. I think they have gone the same path too. Lafayette, Olson, they are gone. Hands on do it yourself has largely given way to walls of cheap, ignorant, blister packs. maybe I am just becoming an old f*rt. At forty-five? Nah. Can't be.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by LEEH on November 4, 2009
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In the late 50's, early 60's. I used to hang around in the Ham area of Allied Radio in Chicago. As I remember, the ham area alone was alot larger than most of the Radio Shack stores today.
Olsen Radio or Lafayette was about a block away (can't remember which one) but Allied was the best display.
Radio Shlock never held a candle to any of them.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by WS4E on November 5, 2009
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I went to the local radio shack yesterday in search of a SO-to-SO connector, and they have totally gotten rid of ALL OF what little CB/Scanner/Ham radio stuff they had...it's all gone.
Nothing but cell phones, tv remotes, and other stuff that I don't understand why someone would go to RS to get other than Walmart.
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RE: When Radio Shack was Radio Shack!
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by WS4E on November 5, 2009
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I went to the local radio shack yesterday in search of a SO-to-SO connector, and they have totally gotten rid of ALL OF what little CB/Scanner/Ham radio stuff they had...it's all gone.
Nothing but cell phones, tv remotes, and other stuff that I don't understand why someone would go to RS to get other than Walmart.
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