Members Pro Sound Guy Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 I used to love going there back in the 70's and 80's then the decline started.I have not been in a Radio Shack for many years and stopped in to pick upa can of electronics cleaner and was very surprised how "un" Radio Shackit had really become. 90 years in America http://www.wsj.com/articles/radioshack-to-launch-first-wave-of-store-closing-sales-1423257675 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDMachiavelli Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 It's time for them to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 Think how far away they moved from their original business focus. Obviously the "radio shack" was a shack filled with a tube transmitter, a workbench to keep it going and the many various tools & test gear to keep it tweaked for optimal performance (an ongoing project with all of those tubes :-). The original intent of the company was to provide for DIY and tinkerers (both hobbies have diminished to a minuscule proportion of the population). They've never really done well at anything since then. IMHO they were at their peak when they were owned by Allied and went down hill since Tandy took over the reigns. I won't miss them (at least not the latest version). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cappttenron Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 They are basically a phone store now and I think Sprint is buying a bunch of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 I also fondly remember them in the 70's, things were so much more different then. Ultimately, they stopped being relevent and have more or less been fading away for the last 20 years. Ultimately, places like Fry's and then the internet was their ultimate downfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members trevcda Posted February 7, 2015 Members Share Posted February 7, 2015 Radio Shack should have transformed into what Fry's has become, rather than the phone and cheap RC car store they are. Late 70's/early 80's Radio Shack, Heath Kit and Skil Lab were all very instrumental in bringing me to where I am now. The Radio Shacks of my youth employed some pretty smart people that could actually answer a component level question. Today? I went in last week to see if they had a relay I was out of stock on and the girl behind the counter said, "Relay? Like the race?" Wow... Just wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted February 8, 2015 Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 My teenage years being in the 80's, I have fond Radio Shack memories. I smile when I think back to the days of riding my bike to the shack to get a headphone adapter or some rca patch cable to wire up my latest audio frankenstein project. That said, I can count on my fingers, the number of times I've been to Radio shack since 1993. I'm not sure there was any saving them no matter what they tried to become. Frankly I'm amazed they've lasted this long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted February 8, 2015 Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 I also have fond memories. In the late 70's and early 80's I used to get lots of things there for walkie-talkies. I have gotten supplies for quick prototype work over the last few years; however, mostly we use DigiKey which can deliver almost anything an engineer can dream up and have it on your desk tomorrow. I don't really do much "tinkering" with design work at home (I spend most of my "free" time working on my PA, and guitar). I think that very very few people tinker at home these days. Few know how, and few of them have the desire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted February 8, 2015 Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 Yes they are closing some 2100 store but it says some 1700 will remain open and they are restructuring so Radio Shack is not going the way or the DODO. Maybe they will make them into Mini Best Buy type stores which would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted February 8, 2015 Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 Anybody here remember the Lafayette stores? Heathkit stores? R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted February 8, 2015 Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 Yes, and Eico, Dynaco, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pro Sound Guy Posted February 8, 2015 Author Members Share Posted February 8, 2015 Dynaco tube amps are still in demand and in use with audiophiles and classic horn loaded gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dennis a Posted February 9, 2015 Members Share Posted February 9, 2015 Anybody here remember the Lafayette stores? Heathkit stores? R.I.P. I don't remember visiting a Heathkit store but I owned a Heathkit DX20 transmitter in the 60's. I didn't assemble it....I bought it used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soulx Posted February 9, 2015 Members Share Posted February 9, 2015 As far as I am concerned, they really haven't been usable as a tech/electronic store within my lifetime, and I'm firmly into middle age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted February 10, 2015 Members Share Posted February 10, 2015 It is funny . . . RadioShack Take away the R and the hack and you have AdioS - Good Bye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DanCostello Posted February 10, 2015 Members Share Posted February 10, 2015 The original intent of the company was to provide for DIY and tinkerers (both hobbies have diminished to a minuscule proportion of the population). I don't think it's diminished that much; it's just taken different forms. Maybe people don't build circuits as much, but several businesses have done well selling computer components, programming is becoming a more widely held skill, and the maker movement is growing. IME, tinkering and DIY is more alive today than it's been in a while; Radio Shack could have capitalized on that, but instead they decided to cell phones and crappy electronics that no one ever wanted. I walked into one this weekend to check out the clearance sale and the only thing I was remotely interested in were the overpriced novelty power strips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted February 10, 2015 Members Share Posted February 10, 2015 I don't think it's diminished that much; it's just taken different forms. Maybe people don't build circuits as much, but several businesses have done well selling computer components, programming is becoming a more widely held skill, and the maker movement is growing. IME, tinkering and DIY is more alive today than it's been in a while; Radio Shack could have capitalized on that, but instead they decided to cell phones and crappy electronics that no one ever wanted. I walked into one this weekend to check out the clearance sale and the only thing I was remotely interested in were the overpriced novelty power strips. Yep, I think not becoming a DIY computer store was a bad move. They started putting too many stores into shopping malls and then tried to cater to that crowd, it seems. But how many people need to stop at Radio Shack in between trips to Macys and Wet Seal? And virtually all those small mall-centric chains are gone or struggling these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dookietwo Posted February 10, 2015 Members Share Posted February 10, 2015 I built a Heath Kit GR-81 shortwave receiver , a pair of Dynaco A25 speakers ,Aa-121 tube power amp and a preamp tuner section that for the life of me I can't remember. All but the shortwave is gone now. Wish I had kept them. Those days are long gone. Its sad in a way.Doug [h=1][/h] [h=1][/h] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted February 13, 2015 Members Share Posted February 13, 2015 My first electronics kit was an Eico amp; it briefly caught fire and belched smoke when first turned on. Took it to the tech where I'd bought it. He repaired it and, on the receipt wrote 'please let me know if you ever build another kit and I'll arrange to be out of town'. A bit to ambitious a project for a 14 year old. since then built several Dynaco kits, a Hafler and most recently, a guitar amp. Will miss radio shack the next time I needs some small part, but otherwise did not buy much from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted February 13, 2015 Members Share Posted February 13, 2015 in the early 80s I had a hand me down TV that blew a tube. Removed the tubes and went to Radio Shack to test them. Found the bad tube and went to the counter to buy one. "Oh, we don't sell tubes".... Huh? Why in the heck do you have a tube tester if you don't sell tubes???? He didn't have and answer to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted February 14, 2015 Members Share Posted February 14, 2015 Our Helena MT store is one of the many closing at the end of the month. I'm not an e-hobbiest like many here but it was a convenient place to pick up cables, adapters, car audio supplies, etc. it was almost always totally empty when I went there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted February 15, 2015 Members Share Posted February 15, 2015 IMO, Radio Shack "dropped the ball" when they started selling IBM Almost-Compatible Tandy 1000s. They offered no competitive advantage over a true clone (except retail spaces), but limited the software you could run. Then they started dedicating large amounts of retail space to these computers. It was all downhill from there. 30 years ago, you could walk into Radio Shack and at least buy enough parts to build a linear power supply. And you could stock your spares drawers. I still have resistors and caps that came from Radio Shack grab bags. Heck, I still have "Archer" perfboard I bought myself, and NOS/NIB resistors that say "Allied-Radio Shack" on them that my dad bought. We used to spend a lot of money in that store. Lately? Not so much. Although I occasionally buy barrier terminal strips, 1/4" ends, barrel power connectors, etc there that I have to have "right this minute". Which reminds me, Radio Shack Canada broke away from the US chain about 10 years ago. It's called "The Source" now, and is owned by Circuit City. But. Same poop, different pile. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gordon Sound Posted February 25, 2015 Members Share Posted February 25, 2015 I saw the closure list and it looked like alot of marginal stores and those with high overhead were closing, here our mall store closed but the one in a low rent strip mall 5 miles away is slated to stay open. ( the strip mall is suprisingly busy with hispanic customers) The one in the strip mall had the better staff too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DanCostello Posted February 27, 2015 Members Share Posted February 27, 2015 Some people on facebook are hitting stores on their very last day and making out like bandits. One guy had an entire cart full of adapters for about $5. Another guy had a receipt about 10' long. I have to call up and see when my local ones are shutting down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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