[Hallicrafters] and Lafayette info

Fri Feb 13 17:54:37 EST 2004

Hi Pete,

I remember well the Lafayette Radio Associate store that was in Peoria. It
was a dump and in a really bad area of town. They person running it was very
nice and also helpful to a new novice. After my Mother drove me there (I was
not old enough to drive) she commented we would NOT be going back to the
area of town again!  She probably would be really mad at me if she knew I
went there a number of times after I got my license. I occasionally still
drive by. The business is long gone but the building and memories are still
there. It's really to bad. Peoria like a number of other places no longer
has a place to buy parts etc. I never considered R.S. in the last 20 years a
place to buy anything parts related. If you did you needed to buy 4 extra
just to find one within tolerance.
I recently needed a couple of "F" connectors to fix up a cable for my
parents move to a nursing home. I took a deep breath and went into the R.S.
store. Something that reminded me of the Energizer Bunny comes bounding out
wanting to know if i want a cell phone. Strike one!  No I need a couple of
"F" connectors. REPLY: Oh you want some RF connectors for a CB?? Strike two!
Thank goodness some other sucker came in the door and I sicked him on the
unknowing person. I almost felt guilty... NAW!  I found what I needed and
thank goodness they have given up on "I need your name, address, ..."
I would have punched him! There was enough stress with the nursing home
move. I wish I would have just yanked a cable out of our house and forgot
trying to be neat. However it all did work out.
The good news is you can order from places like Mouser etc. and have stuff
in a day or so. I just order a few extra and at a hamfest just take a bigger
handful instead of what I need at the time.
Those were great times visiting the "main stores" like Allied Radio in
Chicago. We also had Klaus Radio in Peoria. They still exhist. Until late
last year you could still go and find parts. Not just parts but good stuff.
I needed the power resistors and capacitors for a Collins 516F-2. They had
all of them except for one capacitor and that they had for me the next week.
But that was last year and I don't think I can even find an "F" connector
there now. Sad really sad.
73 Larry WA9VRH

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Markavage" <manualman at juno.com>
To: <hallicrafters at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 4:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Hallicrafters] and Lafayette info

>
> Some clarification here. The original Lafayette Radio Electronics (LRE),
> a.k.a. Radio-Wire Television, does not exist anymore. In the late 70's
> there were approx. 128 fully owned LRE stores. There were thousands of
> "associate" Lafayette Radio stores whose only connection to the LRE
> parent  was the ability (they had to buy in) to sell Lafayette
> merchandise and house-brand Lafayette equipment. They could also sell
> anything else they wanted. When bankruptcy proceedings started in late
> 70's approx. 62 of the 128 stores closed immediately. After court
> restructuring, the remaining 66 stores were allowed to continue
> operations. The restructuring did not impact the "associate" stores
> directly unless the only products they sold were Lafayette house brand
> equipment. Some of these stores might still be around today. In the early
> 80's, further major financial problems forced the closing of 60 more of
> the original 128 stores. The remaining 6 were located in the Northeast.
> Again, because of financial problems, the remaining six stores were put
> up for sale and bought by Ward's in Richmond, VA also in the early 80's.
> Rumor has it that the only reason Ward's bought the stores was to test
> the metropolitan New York area/Northeast area. Ward's had a strong
> presence in the Southern states and was looking to tap into this area.
> The stores were all closed several years later (85 I think) and the
> original LRE disappeared. Several years later, the first Circuit City
> store (owned by Ward's) appeared in the Northeast.
>
> Lafayette Radio exists today but this not the Lafayette Radio
> Electronics, a.k.a. Radio-Wire Television, that existed many years ago
> where we all went for radio and parts stuff. As a part-time sales
> employee (21 years) and a creditor, I did much of the service for many of
> the NJ stores from the mid 70's through all the closings, I still have
> all the court documents that were sent to me that detailed the court
> restructuring during the various periods.
>
> The original LRE products still exists in our hearts, minds, our old
> catalogs, and web pages.
>
> Pete, WA2CWA
>
>
> On Fri, 13 Feb 2004 19:56:13 GMT Jerry Forwood <e.j.forwood at juno.com>
> writes:
> >
> > Oh by the way, Lafayette Radio is still around,  Their name is now
> > Circuit City.  They too have moved on to selling products that make
> > a profit.  There used to be six stores like HRO in Cincinnati when I
> > first got my Novice Call, KN9AIB.  I used to save up my pennies and
> > beg my dad to let me drive the 75 miles to go "Radio Shopping".
> > Don't go looking for them now, and don't be surprised if the only
> > place you will be able to shop for radios in the future will be on
> > the Internet,
> > or eBay.
> >
> > 73 de Jerry, KØEJF
> > E.J.(Jerry) Forwood
> >
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!
> Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!
> Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!
> _______________________________________________
> List Administrator: Duane Fischer, W8DBF **for assistance**
> dfischer at usol.com
> ----
> Hallicrafters Collectors International: http://www.w9wze.org
> ----
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/hallicrafters
>
>