[NJARC] Why the Internet didn't kill Radio Shack

[David Sica]

Jim,

Collecting cellphones?  Nah, one's got to draw the line somewhere.  But
then again...  I did have to keep my "bag phone" from 1985 or so. I used to
drag it out occasionally to tease my kids when they started badgering me
for newer, smaller phones.

-- Dave

Sica Productions
732-382-0618
973-873-6347



On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 5:57 PM, <antqradio at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Just remember
> Reply = Poster
> Reply All = Everyone
>
> _________________________________________________________
>
> I can speak only for myself but I imagine that some on this list have had
> similar experiences with Radio Shack.
>
> First off, I have bought several scanners and shortwave receivers from
> them over the years and I have been happy with all of them.  They were
> worth what I paid and reliability was better then average, in my
> experience.  I guess up to about the year 2000 or so, buying components
> from RS was common for me.  But after they concentrated more and more on
> cellphones and the like and the component shelves dried up, I stopped
> going.  By then I had discovered Mouser and have used them and eBay for all
> of my component needs ever since.
>
> I don't really think that RS management was to blame, it is just the price
> of progress.  When you think about it, modern electronic products are now
> no longer repairable.  Pick and place surface mounted parts, not much
> bigger then ground pepper flakes, have made the cost to replace the end
> item so low that repair a thing of the past.  Not to mention that
> reliability is, for the most part so high that one gets tired of the old
> cell phone or what have you long before it fails.
>
> When I left the cell phone industry, the cost to manufacture a phone was
> around $300.  The most costly component was the six volt battery.  The
> production life cycle of the cell phone was 18 months.  The first three or
> so months, the phone sold for $300, the next three or so months it was at
> $100 or so.  In the last months of production, the phone was free for
> signing a new contract since all of the R&D and production cost had been
> recovered and a nice profit was made by all.  Ah, the beauty of mass
> production!
>
> 15 years of so later, I imagine that the cost to make a cell phone is much
> lower.  My Blackberry Z10, which I think is wonderful and intuitive to use,
> was free to me for a two year contract extension.  It has an 8MB camera so
> I no longer have a need for the Nicon Coolpix 2000 camera and the GPS
> receiver in the car.  The Z10 has more speed and memory then either of my
> first two or three PC's I paid a king's ransom for.  It just blows my
> mind!  And to think our favorite hobby is the collection and restoration of
> ancient vacuum tube radios and electronics; it is just plain crazy.
>
> Is anyone collecting cellphones?  I have a few early AMPS and DAMPS
> Ericsson and other makers of cell phones, some NIB, some engineering
> samples and some with only the circuit board, free for postage.  If InfoAge
> is interested, I'll throw in a cellphone schematic!
> Jim
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>  *From:* Alex Magoun <a.b.magoun at ieee.org>
> *To:* njarc at mailman.qth.net
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 1, 2015 1:18 PM
> *Subject:* [NJARC] Why the Internet didn't kill Radio Shack
>
> Per this Fortune reporter (
> http://fortune.com/2015/04/01/why-the-internet-did-not-kill-radio-shack/?xid=gn_editorspicks&google_editors_picks=true),
> though I'm curious what the profit margin is/was on selling components to
> restorers/DIYers/hackers/makers compared to cell phones.  Besides, it was
> selling, or trying to sell, consumer electronics at least 40 years ago.
>
> Alex
> ~~~
> Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D., Outreach Historian
> IEEE History Center
> at Stevens Institute of Technology
> Samuel C. Williams Library 3rd Floor
> Hoboken, NJ 07030-5991
> USA
>
> +1 732-981-3414
> a.b.magoun at ieee.org
> www.ethw.org
> @IEEEHistory
> www.ieee.org/history_center
>
> IEEE - Advancing Technology for Humanity
>
> Just remember
> Reply = Poster
> Reply All = Everyone
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