[Boatanchors] RATSHACK?

[k0dan]

OK, I'd hoped not to weigh in on the Rat Shack diatribe, but you guys
finally sucked me in!  ;-)

I try to avoid them too, I always get PO'd when an employee jumps me and
asks me if he can help me (and I know that odds are he can't!). But, like
many of you, occasionally there is an emergency or convenience item, and
ocasionally they have the item in stock and occasionally it might even be
priced reasonably.

So...right now, there is a Rat Shack coupon in Nuts & Volts magazine (maybe
others?) which, if you buy $20 worth of parts, or test equipment, or tools,
they will GIVE you a $20 cordless soldering iron. It's good thru the end of
June. Not bad....the NICAD in my old Wlleer cordless is long dead, and I
could use another cordless iron. Soon I will will be visiting my friendly RS
gnomes, and will report any unusual behavior. Gee, now that I think of it, I
hope they'll have the free solering iron in stock! I have no doubt that I
can easily spend $20 in parts or tools or test equipment.

Speaking of test equipment (boy I'm really on a roll), I bought a pretty
nice digital mutlimeter from them last year (Model 22-812) . I was kind of
lusting for a Fluke, and somehow found that RS had this meter for like 20%
off if you signed up for their VISA or Master Card credit card (which I
promply closed the account a month later). The meter, in addition to your
typical VOM functions, also does frequency, capacitance, temperatue,
transistor testing, and whole bunch of other measurements's Ive never used.
What';s really slick, it has a serial port and comes with software that lets
you send trending data which your computer logs. I was having a problem with
line voltage at my house (brownouts and surges), and I let the meter
accumulate data for a day. Sure enough the graph showed some pretty wild
variances and I was able to show the power utility that their line voltage
was out of control, and within a day they had new connections and a new
capacitor bank somewhere feeding my neighborhood. I think the retail on this
meter is about $80 or $90.

Radio Schlock: gotta love 'em, gott a hate 'em.

73
Dan
K0DAN
----- Original Message -----
From: "Horace W. Hall" <hwhall at compuserve.com>
To: "BOATANCHORS List" <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 11:10 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] RATSHACK?


Jeff wrote:
> Customer service is dead, ladies and gentlemen. <

Indeed it appears to be, and yet we all heard all the hoopla about how the
US would be transitioning from a manufacturing based economy to a largely
service economy. hmmmm.....  Well, they didn't say it would be *good*
service. <G>

As Grant said, it is easy to take potshots at Radio Shack, but they have
been better, & they still turn up the occasional surprise or the common
items (solder, fuses, etc.) that you just have to have right away.  On a
recent crosscountry trip, I'd forgotten to pack my laptop power cord. I
stopped in a smalltown Wyoming RS store, hoping to find bits to cobble a
kludge cable with, & there on the wire rack was the exact Compaq cable I
needed. Nowhere else in 100s of miles to turn for help, & I sure didn't
expect what I found, but they sure made that a better trip for me. So, even
though they are the source of many funny stories, & I love to hear them,
I'm glad RS is still out there.

One day in the future, hams may be sitting around reminiscing over how they
used to be able to get small parts & stuff from the local Radio Shack with
its amusing clueless staff, & how its too bad they are all gone. To help
forstall that day, I try to fill as many of my parts needs as I can from
the RS in town that has the better staff.

--Wayne
  WB4OGM
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