I just got my order in from Radio Shack-online. Yep. Everything was there. Nicely wrapped. Good prices.
I remember ome of my first trips to the States, back in the early 70s, we were in Charleston, SC. Walking around the downtown area I came across an electronics store so I thought I would pop in and have a look around. I couldn't believe my eyes! Customers were walking round isles with supermarket-type trolleys! You could grab a 4CX250b off the shelf and 'throw it' into your trolley! I thought this was heaven. I'd never seen stores like this in the UK or Europe! Needless to say I spent a few hundred bucks that day on stuff to take back to the ship with me. Shame too many stores are closing. There's no enjoyment in shopping any more. Dave SV1RUX
I had a family member who worked at a Radio Shack in 2001. He told me that they had to repackage previously sold electronics returned as broken and put them back out on the shelf. He also told me that they would rip off sales clerks on their monthly commission by manipulating statistics. I started buying Radio Shack electronics in the mid 1970's but never went into another store in 2001 onward.
Do not remember problems with getting bad parts, but did have a problem with getting a working dual-band Radio Shack amateur tranceiver when they marketed them .I bought it at a hamfest when RS authorized a store mangers to sell at hamfests. when a store got back a defective unit, the manager would put it back on the shelf and try to stick it with another customer. Since each store would only keep a couple in stock, a manager would contact other local stores to get enough units to take to the hamfest. He always was sent the bad units. After exchanging twice and having differing issues with all 3, I demanded and got my money back.
Radio Shack started in the twenties! Even the creator of Hallicrafters worked in one in Boston for a time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RadioShack I used to shop there in the sixties and seventies, and Amar Bose, of Bose fame, bought the parts for many of his speaker projects at the one in Boston near BU. It became less interesting with the development of the internet, and paying 300% more for a transistor that you could buy by the bag just did not make sense. I do remember the some of the store clerks really understood what they were selling, and were quite helpful. By the time the one near us in Tyler TX closed, the employees didn't even know what a potentiometer was. I wish RS much luck, since it was a nice place to rummage, back when that was possible. But then again, I remember Allied stores, Eico kits and grab bags for a buck, with real parts in them! Good times.
Again, I think people's past experiences with Radio Shack, positive OR negative, are not material. Look at Radio Shack NOW as a parts and Maker/DIY electronics parts and (limited) device provider, with targeted in-store retail along with a (very good) website and web business. Its now kind of like those perfume counters in department stores, which are essentially mini-stores inside a store. The old Radio Shack is not the business model of this new Radio Shack. I just stored 40 new parts that came in promptly from the website (purchase), and they are all FB quality.
You mean this stuff? Being a stealthy apartment dwelling QRPer, I call this stuff antenna wire. This is a fresh, 600' spool of #26 I recently picked up at Cables and Connectors: As far as who invented enameled wire, I did a quick search and ended up reading from that world renowned source, ahem...Wikipedia. According to them, George Jacobs invented enamel insulation for magnet wire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Jacobs_(inventor) More on Jacobs' travels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rea_Magnet_Wire As for magnet wire itself, I've yet to find out who invented that. And these dirty work clothes aren't going to wash themselves...
I had written them off, but because of your post I just looked at their site - You weren’t kidding! Good prices, and on things that I would actually purchase. I will definitely shop them for my next project. Thanks.
You raise an important point about who to believe. The Gilbert story is self-told and thus likely not reliable. Here is --a-- reference, which I give LESS credence than yours. https://www.investors.com/news/management/leaders-and-success/erector-set-inventor-ac-gilbert/ 73 Chip W1YW
Here in SC we have Hurricane Electronics/Radio Shack in Summerville, they still sell Radio Shack stuff but lean more to cell phone and In car stereos and boom box speakers. They have some parts but I can remember working for Radio Shack in Hartford CT back in the 70s when they were a real PARTS store.
I worked at the Radio Shack regional service center in South Windsor CT in the mid-80s. Related: http://alienjeff.net/iprights.html
As a EE student at Northeastern University in the mid-late 1960s I recall going to RS' industrial division (above the retail store, across from Boston University) to buy parts. We also had DeMambros and Lafayette within a few miles along the same road.
