[Boatanchors] Re:Radioshack "catering" to hams...?

[eldim at att.net]

Hello Mike and Gang,
Wow, that sure brings back memories.

I too, grew up in St. Louis, and when I was 10 or 11, I would get on the bus from Jennings,  transfer to a streetcar in Welston and get off downtown and walk to WALTER-ASH.  What a fun trip!  I think they had every imaginable radio and boatanchor made.  A trememdous surplus trove of amateur radio gear and neat consignments.  When I came back from the Phillippine Islands in October 63 after 15 fun months stationed atWallace Air Station, PORO POINT on the edge of the beautiful South China Sea.  My first stop after visiting with my family was a visit to Walter Ash where I made my first purchase, a mint condition (repro) SIMPSON 260 Series 3 VOM, which I still have today.  Of course, as a kid I had no idea what electronics was, or for that matter how to become a HAM.  All I could do was walk around, oogle, google, drool, and watch as people tested out rigs and worked radio contacts.  I remember the huge beam up on the roof. The Air Force transplanted me at Fort Lewis in Jan 73, and now reside in Tacoma.  There used to be 3 Radio/TV Electronic Parts Stores in Tacoma.  Only one supplier survives today.  United Radio purchased A.T. STEWART CO. (Sylvania/Raytheon Tubes), and WIBLE ELECTRONICS (RCA tubes). They closed AT STEWART and evently closed Wible.  This was in the late 70's.  Only C&G (GE Dealer of old) survives today.  I see more and more of their inventory is from offshore sources and the quality and wormanship is not near the quality of our U.S.A. manufactuers.  "SUPPLY & DEMAND"  my friends, is what it's all about!  It this state, Retail Stores are have to pay an INVENTORY TAX, which makes stores push their inventory as fast as they can.   If no one
buys, then another nail is added to the coffin.  ALLIED ELECTRONICS is still going strong in Catalog Sales as is NEWARK  ELECTRONICS.  Then, there is Mouser and a bunch of other smaller mail order suppliers.   Overhead (Rent & Leasing), Taxes, Insurance, wages are all contributing to driving  business into the ground.  As more and more good manufactuing jobs are outsourced to no-wage or low-wage countries abroad, it is a domino effect on our country to sustain high paying jobs.  Technology is exponentionally outpacing us.  Products are so cheap today that a repair shop cannot compete.  It's cheaper to replace and get a warranty, than to spend an hours labor in repair cost.  Computer's are great but are also a downfall as they tend to isolate us from reality, keep us in a cacoon, and will eventually sufficate us.  All I see in this town is more and more medical offices, Storage units, Fast Food places, and less technical or manufactuing.  SEATTLE use to have a lot of surplus places that are now gone.  Boeing Surplus has drastically cut back on their hours and seem to have very little surplus of interest. It is very narrow minded to think that a business of any kind could survive only on HAMS.  Amateur Radio Supply in Seattle was driven out of business by mail order, thievery, and no sales tax by going down and purchasing the same item in Portland, Oregon.  Auctions on the Internet have also contributed, as well as the cost of fuel, and the headaches of driving to your favorite haunt, and I.m sure you can name some more factors.  Long live those who protect and bring new life to those boatanchors of the past.  Not to mention how much fun they are to operate.
73,
Glen Galati, KA7BOJ
Tacoma, WA

p.s. A SALUTE to our men and women in uniform who gave their all for this great country.  

-------------- Original message from "Mike Sanders K0AZ" <k0az at corpranet.net>: -------------- 


> I really hate this thread but it is directly related to what we do so let me 
> offer another 
> perspective that speaks to the comment below. 
> In other posts on the subject it was mentioned that the Radio Stores of 
> yesteryear 
> fizzled because of one reason or another. This is partly true but there was 
> a time 
> in history that disputes the comment below. No attack or slam on the poster 
> or the 
> thought but just a bit of history I remember. Please read on as I turn to 
> agreeing 
> with the below post. 
> I am not a historian on this and cannot give specific dates but there was a 
> time in 
> the late 60s (I think) that RADIO SHACK went around the country buying up 
> old time 
> radio parts suppliers and turning the stores into electronic junk stores. 
> I fully remember Walter Ashe Radio at 1125 Pine Street in Downtown St. Louis 
> ending 
> up a RS store. I am sure the owner/s were offered a good enough deal to move 
> them 
> to sell. However there were market pressures that also had an impact. 
> Now to agree with the post below. It was a time when "hams" were no longer 
> building 
> equipment but buying it. The term "Appliance Operator" was coined around 
> that time 
> or earlier in the 50s. Anyway the migration from building to buying took 
> hold and that 
> was that. Also at this time the cheap imports from the far East got a 
> footing and began 
> to expand and price out more quality manufacturers. 
> I remember a number of years ago looking at a Gonset GSB100 transmitter and 
> finding 
> that some of the parts were made in Japan. I was truly shocked because at 
> the time this 
> was made in the late 50s early 60s we assumed it was all American made. Not 
> so of course. 
> 
> Anyway the drive by someone to build a publicly held corporation by buying 
> up small/er 
> businesses is an old game and goes on today. The post below confirms that 
> when the 
> ham population migrated from builders to buyers it had a major impact on the 
> parts suppliers 
> and manufacturers. We did not support the old time businesses and moved 
> "ahead(?)" 
> with technology. Technology really has moved ahead. I'm just not sure how 
> much of it we 
> really need or how much is really bad news for us. 
> 
> Yep, I remember getting on the street car and going down to Walter Ashe on 
> Saturday 
> mornings to buy parts. Shopping list in hand clearly printed out so the 
> counter person 
> (Those guys really did know something!) could read it. Give em the list and 
> go look at 
> the new and used equipment in the store. 
> They used to have a Collins KWS-1 in the window on the left of the front 
> door. It was 
> almost as tall as me in those days. One trip to the store it was gone. In 
> it's place was 
> the new Collins S-line. I thought I was going to be physically ill and had 
> the feeling it 
> was the beginning of the end even at my tender age. 
> 
> 
> 
> K0AZ Mike Sanders 
> 
> http://k0az.com 
> 
> 
> 
> In a message dated 5/29/2005 5:08:44 PM Central Standard Time, 
> RKofler at aol.com writes: 
> What I'm trying to say here is, the buying public names their own poison 
> 
> You are absolutey correct! 
> 
> Jim W9TM 
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