[GreenKeys] Radio Shack

[Jim Haynes]

The Radio Shack store here in Fayetteville, AR is a franchisee rather than
a company-owned store.  Around the time the company was falling apart I
needed an electrolytic capacitor to fix a computer monitor.  I went in
there hoping to find one that would be a reasonable substitute .  To
my surprise they had an excellent selection, much better than the old
RS inventory, and I found exactly what I needed.  They had a sign out
front saying "We've been here since 1978 and we're here to stay"  I
hope that turns out to be true.  I've since found other items there that
would not have been carried by the official RS stores.  Of course their
prices are higher than places like Mouser and Digi-Key, but if you need
something right now, and it's a small item anyway, it may be worth it.

A long time ago the building they are in was a RS store on one side and
a Tandy Leather store on the other side, and as I recall there was a
passage between them.  But the Tandy store closed a long time ago and
there is no longer a passage and the other store has been occupied by
a variety of businesses.

I've occasionally been disappointed in that something they used to carry
is no longer available - the salesman told me the item was no longer
available from Radio Shack corporation, and I guess they had not found
any alternate supplier.  (The store carries a mixture of Radio Shack and
other brands of stuff.)

Several years ago I had a big surprise in that store.  I went in, told
the sales woman I needed a BNC connector, and instead of a blank stare
she asked me, "RG-58 or RG-59?"