I used to go to Tandys every Saturday to see what else I could buy with my pocket money. Still have the Forrest M. Mimms books, still refer to them. When Tandys shut down the staff said I could fill a bin bag for £5. I was so pleased with all the bits I normally couldn't afford like synthesiser chips - with no idea how I was getting it all home.. I have a degree in Electronic Engineering now.
When I was 12(ish), I saved up my paper route money and bought a box of 5 1/2” floppy disks from the Radio Shack in town. I didn’t even have a computer, but when my parents saw me playing with them, they got the hint for Xmas. 😉 - Thanks Radio Shack!
It warms my heart to know that I'm not the only person that has several boxes of parts from scooping up oodles of RS packages for "future" projects when the RS ship sank. Or maybe I could say "when the RS antenna blew over and hit the ground."
No you most certainly are not. We bought out an entire parts cabinet at our local store - $25,000 worth of stuff for $100- and many bags of stuff from others.
So many great times working on projects and being able to drive down the street and find that one more part or two I didn't have in stock. I used to get annoyed with the clerk hounding me for personal information or wanting to sell me a cell phone- especially on my second trip the same day. But I was always nice- they were just doing their job. Miss the Shack.
I was in a Hobbytown store here in Florida a few months ago. They had some Radioshack branded electrical parts on their shelves. I asked about it and they said they had a marketing deal with whoever owns RadioShack now. When I was younger I used Radioshack frequently. In the late 1960s we would buy two old mono phonograph tube amplifiers in junk stores and add a stereo cartridge to a turn table to be able to play records in stereo. I even built a cabinet for my setup. I was in high school at that time.
I checked out the website of the "local" HobbyTown (it's about an hour from me in PA), and they do sell "RadioShack" parts, but the few clicked on seem to be In Store only. Also, site says each store is independent, so inventory varies
Radio Shack! It was so cool just to go in and look at all the bits and bobs. I think after they went under and reopened the first time they still had a little bit of this stuff at the back, but after the second closing and reopening this section was truly gone.
I used to enjoy back in the early 80s going to Radio Shack to see what was new in test gear and parts especially new ICs and at the time it felt like a wonderland to me,I miss the Shack. Here in Alberta I was able to buy through Liquidation World almost 6000 dollars worth of parts for 100 dollars that included transistors , diodes and chips along with resistors and caps not to mention inductors plus transformers. Radio Shack was a hobbyist dream as was Heathkit,man those were good times!
There are a couple of radio shacks still in operation. The website says 37 stores are operating. There are two in Northeast Ohio, Columbiana and Carrollton.
I miss Radio Shack. When I was a kid I built a couple of their breadboard box kits and bought lots of random components. Not to mention, dog eared many a RS catalog. I am working repairing the clock that has a nice VFD display on our old Jenn Air oven and need a electrolytic capacitor and since I have no electronics supply houses in my city, my only option is mail order from DigiKey or any of the other catalog suppliers. Great service and all, but sure would be nice to hop in the car and grab what I need today.
My fav Radio Shack part was the glass jeweled blue, green or red lamps that I could use to replace plastic or otherwise boring power indicators on oscilloscope, signal generator, signal tracer, vacuum tube audio and other vintage electronics restoration projects..
Aside from 'The House Of Tropical's" pet shop, Radio Shack was my favorite place to hang out when I was a kid in the 70s. They were right next to each other between Ken's Barber Shop, where I got all my heaircuts until I was in my late teens, and Piggly Wiggly. I wouldn't trade my childhood for any kids today, I'm sure if I were growing up today I'd be heavily medicated for ADHD and confined to the house, dreadful.
I used to work next-door to a Tandy in the UK. When it closed down, I remember buying loads of speaker drivers. I've recently found 2 X 12" woofers, still new in box. Unfortunately the foam surrounds have now turned to dust, so they would need a rebuild. It's probably not worth doing, as much better speakers are available now.
Crazy to think that these days those transformers can be replaced with a super-cheap, much lighter PSU module from China that also includes regulation -- and for a fraction the price.
Radio Shack was great for when you needed some common parts or some resistor value. I can't imagine how many of their transformers are powering my various projects! Now I need to put together an order to Mouser or Digi-Key and wait for a few days (and pay for shipping, etc). Of course, now I'm buying 0805 1% resistors, so I can't imagine Radio Shack carrying that sort of stuff. Also... you mentioned the Radio Shack catalogs, but do you remember the big paper Digi-Key catalogs? It's amazing to consider how many more parts they sell now.
Hey you can get everything now online! You just have to wait a month and a half for it to arrive from China (maybe) and hopefully it's the right part, and then hopefully it will actually last some amount of time (maybe 1/100th the durability of the original part if you are lucky). We are so spoiled......
We still have a local RS 15 min from my place. I thought it closed down last year but it turns out they just relocated. I’ll stop on every now and again to buy replacement cell phones or if I need a generic component that would take too long to come from DigiKey.
You are damn right it cool when it's tactile with a positive lock button or throw a toggle switch, it's ooh and aah as you enjoy what you made or modified.
I used to go to Tandys every Saturday to see what else I could buy with my pocket money. Still have the Forrest M. Mimms books, still refer to them. When Tandys shut down the staff said I could fill a bin bag for £5. I was so pleased with all the bits I normally couldn't afford like synthesiser chips - with no idea how I was getting it all home.. I have a degree in Electronic Engineering now.
When I was 12(ish), I saved up my paper route money and bought a box of 5 1/2” floppy disks from the Radio Shack in town. I didn’t even have a computer, but when my parents saw me playing with them, they got the hint for Xmas. 😉
- Thanks Radio Shack!
It warms my heart to know that I'm not the only person that has several boxes of parts from scooping up oodles of RS packages for "future" projects when the RS ship sank. Or maybe I could say "when the RS antenna blew over and hit the ground."
No you most certainly are not. We bought out an entire parts cabinet at our local store - $25,000 worth of stuff for $100- and many bags of stuff from others.
Quite the walk down memory lane!
I still have boxes of archer components... Still come in handy...
So many great times working on projects and being able to drive down the street and find that one more part or two I didn't have in stock. I used to get annoyed with the clerk hounding me for personal information or wanting to sell me a cell phone- especially on my second trip the same day. But I was always nice- they were just doing their job. Miss the Shack.
I was in a Hobbytown store here in Florida a few months ago. They had some Radioshack branded electrical parts on their shelves. I asked about it and they said they had a marketing deal with whoever owns RadioShack now. When I was younger I used Radioshack frequently. In the late 1960s we would buy two old mono phonograph tube amplifiers in junk stores and add a stereo cartridge to a turn table to be able to play records in stereo. I even built a cabinet for my setup. I was in high school at that time.
I checked out the website of the "local" HobbyTown (it's about an hour from me in PA), and they do sell "RadioShack" parts, but the few clicked on seem to be In Store only. Also, site says each store is independent, so inventory varies
No wonder i couldn't find anything when they closed.
You got it all.😅
Radio Shack! It was so cool just to go in and look at all the bits and bobs. I think after they went under and reopened the first time they still had a little bit of this stuff at the back, but after the second closing and reopening this section was truly gone.
You need to set up a lucky dip at a local fair and capture the excitement and fun as kids unpack these 🤯
I think those square white LEDs are called "Piranha LEDs" and are commonly used in auto head/tail lamps.
I used to enjoy back in the early 80s going to Radio Shack to see what was new in test gear and parts especially new ICs and at the time it felt like a wonderland to me,I miss the Shack.
Here in Alberta I was able to buy through Liquidation World almost 6000 dollars worth of parts for 100 dollars that included transistors , diodes and chips along with resistors and caps not to mention inductors plus transformers. Radio Shack was a hobbyist dream as was Heathkit,man those were good times!
There are a couple of radio shacks still in operation. The website says 37 stores are operating. There are two in Northeast Ohio, Columbiana and Carrollton.
I miss Radio Shack. When I was a kid I built a couple of their breadboard box kits and bought lots of random components. Not to mention, dog eared many a RS catalog. I am working repairing the clock that has a nice VFD display on our old Jenn Air oven and need a electrolytic capacitor and since I have no electronics supply houses in my city, my only option is mail order from DigiKey or any of the other catalog suppliers. Great service and all, but sure would be nice to hop in the car and grab what I need today.
Funny, you just did an enclosures video and I just pulled out my little old Radio Shack phono preamp. I absolutely love that thing.
My fav Radio Shack part was the glass jeweled blue, green or red lamps that I could use to replace plastic or otherwise boring power indicators on oscilloscope, signal generator, signal tracer, vacuum tube audio and other vintage electronics restoration projects..
Aside from 'The House Of Tropical's" pet shop, Radio Shack was my favorite place to hang out when I was a kid in the 70s. They were right next to each other between Ken's Barber Shop, where I got all my heaircuts until I was in my late teens, and Piggly Wiggly. I wouldn't trade my childhood for any kids today, I'm sure if I were growing up today I'd be heavily medicated for ADHD and confined to the house, dreadful.
I miss Radio Shack
I was there when they were closing in Willimantic CT - picked up a remaining electronic learning kit for 11 bucks!
I used to work next-door to a Tandy in the UK. When it closed down, I remember buying loads of speaker drivers. I've recently found 2 X 12" woofers, still new in box. Unfortunately the foam surrounds have now turned to dust, so they would need a rebuild. It's probably not worth doing, as much better speakers are available now.
Man I miss radio shack
Crazy to think that these days those transformers can be replaced with a super-cheap, much lighter PSU module from China that also includes regulation -- and for a fraction the price.
But not Cool, so there's that part....
I have a pack of 1A fuses in the OG packing that my aunt sent me to Europe from the RS in her area. I keep it as a memento of a bygone era.
Interesting... Is there a store that replaces Radio Shack?
Radio Shack was great for when you needed some common parts or some resistor value. I can't imagine how many of their transformers are powering my various projects! Now I need to put together an order to Mouser or Digi-Key and wait for a few days (and pay for shipping, etc). Of course, now I'm buying 0805 1% resistors, so I can't imagine Radio Shack carrying that sort of stuff. Also... you mentioned the Radio Shack catalogs, but do you remember the big paper Digi-Key catalogs? It's amazing to consider how many more parts they sell now.
It was called Tandy in the UK
Hey you can get everything now online! You just have to wait a month and a half for it to arrive from China (maybe) and hopefully it's the right part, and then hopefully it will actually last some amount of time (maybe 1/100th the durability of the original part if you are lucky). We are so spoiled......
We still have a local RS 15 min from my place. I thought it closed down last year but it turns out they just relocated.
I’ll stop on every now and again to buy replacement cell phones or if I need a generic component that would take too long to come from DigiKey.
dang, at first glance I thought the RF choke was an ferrite rod antenna for a MW radio project
I think I have a couple components still in packaging.
I thought I was a parts hoarder.
You are damn right it cool when it's tactile with a positive lock button or throw a toggle switch, it's ooh and aah as you enjoy what you made or modified.
.....
There's nothing like rediscovering treasures.
❤️🔥FRAN❤️🔥