I remember fondly hanging out at the RS store in my youth, talking on the Cb's setup there and all the parts. I haven't shopped there in years.... bye bye old friend....
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Bye Bye Radio Shack
- Thread starter w9cll
- Start date
I remember hanging out there back in the 70's...
one of the guys that worked there part time in the evenings
was a Hammy, I was more into the the scanners back then,
but not long after that, was doing the CB thing....it sure was
a great place just to hang out at..... :sad:
one of the guys that worked there part time in the evenings
was a Hammy, I was more into the the scanners back then,
but not long after that, was doing the CB thing....it sure was
a great place just to hang out at..... :sad:
Oooohh......DAMN! You had to bring that up didn't you? By the time I was able to get to a store they were all gone.....everywhere.
It sure seems as radio shack is going down the drain, I went to 4 stores to find a speaker lol. They are stocking more phone cases and bs that you can buy from walmart for half the cost. No wonder they are in the position they are in. Selling off brand batteries and cell phone cases is about all they are good for anymore. Most stores don't even carry cb equipment. Only the bigger stores have a minor selection as well. Sure makes finding electronic components hard to find locally. Gotta order everything these days.
There used to be an outlet store in Columbus, Ohio. Man, did they ever have some kick ass deals there. They had close outs and clearances that you couldn't get in the retail stores. I think they closed it down in the late 90's.
They have no market anymore, the project guys are buying online cheaper, cell phones are cheaper elsewhere, batteries are cheaper everywhere and what is left no one wants. Years ago I worked part time for Wolf/Ritz camera, they were starting to sell cell phones, TV's and cheap consumer electronics. I knew at that point this place was done and I was right.
I've been calling them "Cell Phone Shack" for a few years now. Go into one and ask for something as simple as a PL259 and the guy looks at you with a blank stare. I just help myself if I need anything and if they got it. Now if you ask a cellphone question, they know that stuff.
Sorry to see it go but its been a long time coming.
Sorry to see it go but its been a long time coming.
I love telling radio shack stories!
When i was 17, and a big CB junkie; i used to go to Radio Shack all the time just to browse and buy parts for projects.
check out the new scanners, dream about buying a push up pole and a GP vertical, and BS with the guys that worked there.
you had to be 18 to work there, and my plan was to apply as soon as i turned 18. heck, i knew their whole product line, and could answer most questions (and did!) that a customer might ask, so i thought i was a shoe in.
After i turned 18 i saw in the newspaper that they were hiring so i went down to interview. the interviews were being conducted by the district manager, who i'd met before, and considered him a big fat jackass.
my interview took all of 5 minutes, and he did not ask me one question about my technical knowledge or how well i knew their product line.
All he cared about was if i had any previous sales experience.
i did not.
needless to say i didnt get the job, and started to become very disillusioned about what radio shack was all about.
this was my first hint of the end of the old radio shack, and the start of the new "phone shack".
i actually had them repair a CB for me once!
my first base station was a TRC 440 and i smoked it trying to get more power out of it.
i took it in to RS, and they sent it off to their repair shop.
i waited about a month, and never heard anything from them. i went down to the store and asked the guy i always talked to about it. (he knew electronics and we used to BS alot)
he went in the back to see if it was there, and it was.
there was no ticket with it, and he said the shop wrote that it was unrepairable so there was no charge.
i took the radio home feeling really bummed.
i took the case off to see what work might have been done to it, and could see definite signs that a couple of components had been replaced.
i decided to plug it in and see what happened.
it worked!
it worked 100% and i think it even worked a bit better than it did before.
I never asked the guy about it, as i took a break from the radio hobby shortly after that (hey, i was 18!).
but i have always had this sneaking suspicion that the radio never actually made it to the radio shack repair shop, and the guy at radio shack fixed it himself.
ill never know...
ok, who's next?
LC
When i was 17, and a big CB junkie; i used to go to Radio Shack all the time just to browse and buy parts for projects.
check out the new scanners, dream about buying a push up pole and a GP vertical, and BS with the guys that worked there.
you had to be 18 to work there, and my plan was to apply as soon as i turned 18. heck, i knew their whole product line, and could answer most questions (and did!) that a customer might ask, so i thought i was a shoe in.
After i turned 18 i saw in the newspaper that they were hiring so i went down to interview. the interviews were being conducted by the district manager, who i'd met before, and considered him a big fat jackass.
my interview took all of 5 minutes, and he did not ask me one question about my technical knowledge or how well i knew their product line.
All he cared about was if i had any previous sales experience.
i did not.
needless to say i didnt get the job, and started to become very disillusioned about what radio shack was all about.
this was my first hint of the end of the old radio shack, and the start of the new "phone shack".
i actually had them repair a CB for me once!
my first base station was a TRC 440 and i smoked it trying to get more power out of it.
i took it in to RS, and they sent it off to their repair shop.
i waited about a month, and never heard anything from them. i went down to the store and asked the guy i always talked to about it. (he knew electronics and we used to BS alot)
he went in the back to see if it was there, and it was.
there was no ticket with it, and he said the shop wrote that it was unrepairable so there was no charge.
i took the radio home feeling really bummed.
i took the case off to see what work might have been done to it, and could see definite signs that a couple of components had been replaced.
i decided to plug it in and see what happened.
it worked!
it worked 100% and i think it even worked a bit better than it did before.
I never asked the guy about it, as i took a break from the radio hobby shortly after that (hey, i was 18!).
but i have always had this sneaking suspicion that the radio never actually made it to the radio shack repair shop, and the guy at radio shack fixed it himself.
ill never know...
ok, who's next?
LC
Back in the 80's and 90's, I had RS repair several radios. Back then, everything was flat rate and very affordable. I used to love Uniden's repair also. They did flat rate repairs as well. I think every radio came back with a new mic and power cord at no charge.
I used to buy all the fried 2510's and 2600's I could. Send them to Uniden and get them fixed cheap.
I used to buy all the fried 2510's and 2600's I could. Send them to Uniden and get them fixed cheap.
or anything else for that matter. they did have the correct zener diode I bought the other day that my local electronics store didn't have.
Lately,electronic components is all I've bought from RS with the exception of my iPhone. My last project was a dual temp controller for my car amps so that the mini cooling blowers didn't have to run all the time.
I guess RS served it's purpose back in the day.
I guess RS served it's purpose back in the day.
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