[CW] SK? Radio Shack

[D.J.J. Ring, Jr.]

Sad days are coming - someone said that one of the very first companies,
"The Shack" originally called Radio Shack founded in Boston, MA in the 1920s
is going to fold.

I guess the paramedics have been called though.

They are now bringing back parts into RS here.  I was there yesterday, two
people came in the store near me and they spent over $300 in the last two
days on parts but had to travel 60 miles round trip to get the parts.

They have tools, but the tools have #2, #1, and #0 Phillips instead of what
you need in electronics, #1, #0, and #00.  So even if you want to buy
something there, you really shouldn't.

Everything is done by someone with no experience with electronics. the parts
drawers are arranged by official plan-o-gram but the fuses are neither
grouped by ampere rating nor by part number - leaving the customer's eyes to
swim all over the drawer.

I looked over the shoulder of the local manager who was putting the parts
in, he had X'd out the pictures that "The Shack" had provided for the local
staff - nearly 100% of the graph was wrong, but fortunately there was a list
at the bottom - something has to be taken as "right".

But the same dizzy problems remain - you can buy 1/4 inch mono plugs and 1/8
mono plugs but no stereo plugs - most of us know that you can use a stereo
plug in a mono circuit, but it appears that "The Shack" does not.

They have some brand name parts - but they are marked in the same bags and
cardboard containers that the old "RadioShack" parts are - so even if you
didn't mind trying something of a known manufacturer, you would never know
it was an independent manufacturer until you opened up the bag - Arctic
Silver thermal compound is one example - and excellent product for use on
CPU heat sinks.

For years Radio Shack parts and products in many people's minds have been
suspect for quality, price and reliability.  When you're going to strike
out, why not go all the way.  They've been known for unresponsive middle and
upper management who leave the local manager often dangling at the end of a
rope unable to better serve his customers.

But new lots of parts are coming in - things have changed - you cannot get
electrical tape that is rated over 500 volts these days - Radio Shack
(excuse me, "The Shack") still has it in their very inexpensive 10 kV tape
for cheap money.

Of course, Radio Shack will never look back to the days when local hams came
into the Boston store and wanted to build a radio set.  The fellows working
there would give them a copy of a schematic of a one or two tube radio set
and sell them the parts.  They said "If you can't get it working, come on
back, we'll help you." - and they did that.

Many of those who were interested in building sets went on to become amateur
radio operators, Radio Shack sold keys and everything needed to build a top
notch radio station in those days.  And if the patron needed help, he could
go back to the store and he'd get it.

Some of these new hams became involved in selling and making electronics,
and continued to buy electronics through Radio Shack, even when they got so
big and bought in ten thousand units and went direct to the manufacturer,
Radio Shack still continued to receive their commission on the parts even
though they didn't even order them for the customer at that point.  That's
how the electronics industry works, when Radio Shack's time, effort and care
paid off, it sometimes paid off big.

Radio Shack at one time bought Allied Radio - but that Tandy Corp entered
the picture and took the cash and replaced the electronics knowledgeable
management.

Now the staff (sales associates) are all rated on how many cell phones they
sell and how many service plans and add ons they sell when they ring you up.

Personally I don't like that "hand out for a dollar" attitude, so I shop
them less.

But I long for the day they had nice Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, Johnson
transmitters and Vibroplex and Johnson keys and bugs.

73

DR

David J. Ring, Jr., N1EA <http://www.qsl.net/n1ea/>
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