patrick.net

Why are they even still around? What do they offer society, other than a third party place to buy carrier cell phone service?

They don't carry any of the electronic components which is the original purpose of them being about in the first place.

They briefly had that "Incredible Universe" mega electronics store that was pretty cool. That failed and they haven't been the same ever since.

CaptainShuddup says

They briefly had that "Incredible Universe" mega electronics store that was pretty cool. That failed and they haven't been the same ever since.

They didn't fail completely. The six profitable (of seventeen) stores were acquired by Frys electronics.

Well ours didn't make it, and the wee little Frys they have in the Mall are nothing like the one we had. There's actually a Mega Home Depot, with a huge garden section at that location now. And that Home Depot still isn't using all of the floor space that the IU used.

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Radio Shack ceased being a parts, connectors and batteries outlet for hobbyists and transformed itself into the Crappy Fucking Cell Phone Hut a long time ago.

You beat me to it. Perfect summary of what Radio Shack has become.

If you want to buy electronic components, you have to do so online. Brick'n'morter retail can't compete with online for anything that the unwashed masses don't buy in bulk like food and diapers.

In a way, it's a good thing though. Yeah, you now have to wait for shipping for everything instead of getting it right away. However, it frees up a lot of land that has been wasted on retail. Land that can be used for residential purposes driving down housing prices and letting us leave in real houses instead of micro-boxes.

Someone told me around the time IU went under that RS was just a tax write off for Tandy at that point. IT was shortly sold and seems to operate as a tax write off for who ever bought it, ever since.

Dan8267 says

If you want to buy electronic components, you have to do so online.

Don't most cities have a B&M store for electronics parts?
Like this one in Baltimore:
http://www.baynesvilleelectronics.com/index2.ivnu
It's even has good hours:

The only consumer products soon: Top Ramen and government cheese.

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Radio Shack ceased being a parts, connectors and batteries outlet for hobbyists and transformed itself into the Crappy Fucking Cell Phone Hut a long time ago.

I agree mostly, though they still have some of the parts that they had back in the 1980s - often exactly the same ones. It was a strategic error on their part to become the cell phone hut for other carriers; they should have used their own brand name to cell unlocked cellular phones (which are radios, fundamentally) and an MVNO. Put little cellular transmitters and WiFi in every store, so your Radio Shack phone gets free service wherever you see a Radio Shack sign (worldwide), come on in and check out the new gear, upgrade your old phone with new parts that we sell and install, etc.

Damn. I go to radio shack sometimes to buy the tiny batteries for our sex toys. Now ill have to submit to battery warehouses crappy hours

errc says

I go to radio shack sometimes to buy....

LOL - another lost market opportunity! Who knows what Radio Shack might have achieved with an "after hours" campaign for - ahem - personal radio devices.

zzyzzx says

Don't most cities have a B&M store for electronics parts?

Never heard of them. I don't think they do business in Florida.

APOCALYPSEFUCKisShostikovitch says

Radio Shack ceased being a parts, connectors and batteries outlet for hobbyists

I recently wanted a USB-micro to USB-B standard connector. Geeky enough right? They sort of exist, but everyone wanted $7 for one. The only place I could find that had them for a reasonable price was Amazon...for a buck fifty. I ordered it from them, but it took a month to arrive.

errc says

Now ill have to submit to battery warehouses crappy hours

And their crappy prices.

Dan8267 says

Never heard of them. I don't think they do business in Florida.

It's Baltimore only. Other cities often have their own version.

Atlanta has this one:
http://www.deltacomputers.com
I don't know if they do electronics anymore though. They did in the 80's.

D&Z Electronics in Beltsville MD would be one in the DC area.

errc says

Damn. I go to radio shack sometimes to buy the tiny batteries for our sex toys. Now ill have to submit to battery warehouses crappy hours

Here's a money saving tip. The AA, AAA, etc. batteries you buy at the store are made up from a bunch of smaller batteries. You can save money by buying the large battery and opening it up rather than buying a small battery. Heck, sometimes the large battery that contains 4 or more small batteries costs less than the small battery. Capitalism is really ripping you off.

Here's a demonstration of extracting tiny batteries from a larger one.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hjinc6jBm40

I can't really say I'm sad to see Radio Shack go. They've been ripping off customers for years. For example, when Christmas comes, they'll take a single toy product like a remote control boat and separate it into two packages and then sell the remote separately so that the toy costs twice as much. Total ripoff artists.

Dan8267 says

The AA, AAA....

examples do not support your otherwise valid comment. Your linked example shows a 6V A544 battery that contains four 1.5V LR44 batteries. Similarly, a 9V battery may contain six 1.5V AAA batteries in series, and a 1.5V C or D battery may contain AA batteries in parallel. I have never heard of AA or AAA batteries being made of smaller batteries though; AA tend to be the best value.

HydroCabron Yanni the Zionist says

Top Ramen

Is crap, if you want good instant noodles you gotta go with Neoguri.
Or better yet, just stock up on dried seaweed, clam stock powder, beef stock powder, dried fish flake, dried wood ear, dried Oyster mushrooms, a good jar of kimshee, some red pepper flake a few bags of Asian Noodle nests, then just roll your own.
Crack and egg in the last two minutes, and then garnish with left thinly sliced left over roast(any meat will do) and chop up any fresh greens or herbs.

That's the only way I've found to make Soup, look like the soup pictured on the instant soup packages. Is by making it from scratch.

Aaaah, Radio Shack. I have fond memories of being grade school age in the late '70s and riding my bike 1.5 miles to the place where there were THREE electronics stores within one block, one of them Radio Shack. I'd spend hours looking at all the components, imagining the things I could build if I could afford stuff. I'd use lawn mowing money to buy things like quad J-K flip flops and BCD to 7 segment convertors and hook them up on a solderless breadboard.

In the late '90s I was lamenting with my electronics experimenter since the tube days Grandfather how nobody buys parts like that anymore- you pretty much buy the chip and connect + and ground. Hundreds of square feet of components had been relegated to a dresser sized set of drawers, and the bulk of the store now had CHEAP mostly plastic remote control toys, overpriced cords for audio and video components, and heavily pushed phones.

Heck, they stock a store brand soldering gun BUT NOT REPLACEMENT PROPRIETARY TIPS! When that last tip went out and I was faced with buying a new gun with 2 tips, I walked out and went to Home Despot and bought a Weller.

I don't know what happened to that stupid move to re-brand as "The Shack," but it was symptomatic of a company that had long since seen its original purpose expire without any will or drive to remain relevant.

One other thing, Radio Shack alienated many people by aggressively demanding address before they'd ring up your sale. This policy was in place too long in the face of too many complaints. At some point, their commercials jovially stated that you don't need to do that anymore, rather too late.

Typical course of a business where decisions are made by people completely insulated and disconnected (if they ever WERE connected) from the day-to-day operations.

Dare I say they were instrumental in the decline of STEM interest in this countries youth?
They used to be a store, that if Dad wanted to tweek Jr's Interest in electronics. They could have found everything to build almost any electronic project. By the mid 80's their storewide store full of electronic components, were condensed to a few sliding walls, by the early 90's that was condensed to a cabinet, and the last time I was there, about 10 years ago, when I needed a Capacitor everything was condensed down to just one drawer, and they didn't even have the Capacitor that I needed.

CaptainShuddup says

Well ours didn't make it, and the wee little Frys they have in the Mall are nothing like the one we had. There's actually a Mega Home Depot, with a huge garden section at that location now. And that Home Depot still isn't using all of the floor space that the IU used.

I'm not sure which Frys you are thinking of, there are no Frys Electronics stores in Florida. The closes ones to you are in Georgia:

http://www.frys.com/

If you get the chance visit a B&M Frys sometime, its as close to an Incredible Universe as you'll get. Heck, they even sell Erlenmeyer flasks and test tubes.

Automan Empire says

I was faced with buying a new gun with 2 tips, I walked out and went to Home Despot and bought a Weller.

Last one I bought (maybe a year ago) was a Craftsman high powered one. Made in USA and everything. My reasoning being that sometimes you really do need it.

Dual 400/150 watts provides high performance under continuous use. Trigger controlled heating element heats 1/4 in. diameter pyramid tip to a rated soldering temperature of 1000 deg. F.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-dual-heat-soldering-gun/p-00927320000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

That thing should work outside, even this winter.

zzyzzx says

Made in USA and everything. My reasoning being that sometimes you really do need it.

Working with good tools can be a real pleasure, while bad tools can make almost any project unproductive and unpleasant. I bought a Cold Heat soldering iron, and it broke just like most reviewers said, though I learned a bit about the science of resistance soldering tools. Back to my conventional Radio Shack soldering iron, and wondering why Radio Shack doesn't sell a reliable resistance soldering kit.

New Renter says

If you get the chance visit a B&M Frys sometime, its as close to an Incredible Universe as you'll get. Heck, they even sell Erlenmeyer flasks and test tubes.

I may have been to one in Palo Alto or San Jose, and yes I'd love to have one nearby.

curious2 says

I bought a Cold Heat soldering iron

Quite frankly, I don't see how that could work good in the first place:

http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Heat-20128CH-ColdHeat-Soldering/product-reviews/B000RWCRAM/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?showViewpoints=1

My disappointing soldering iron is a "Pipemaster Pro", made for soldering copper pipes. It works if all you are doing is fittings and can wait a good 5 minutes or more for the fittings to get hot enough. It's claims to be a 220W soldering iron, but my Kill-A-Watt suggests it's only half that.

New Renter says

I'm not sure which Frys you are thinking of, there are no Frys Electronics stores in Florida. The closes ones to you are in Georgia:

They did have Mall stores a few years back.
I think I bought my Daughters XBox there, or that could be FYI.

curious2 says

I bought a Cold Heat soldering iron,

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Cold-Heat-soldering-iron/

I gave up on elelctric soldiering irons years ago.
I use Butane Irons now.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-Butane-Micro-Flame-Torch-and-Accessory-Kit-328630/100585921?N=5yc1vZbqmd

zzyzzx says

I don't see how that could work good in the first place

The Cold Heat had a bad design, so flawed execution ruined what could have been a great product. I'm surprised anyone still sells it, or buys it. A better design would have reinforced or encased the graphite tips with something stronger to prevent breaking.

For plumbing, plastic fittings (e.g. Quick Connect) and tubes work surprisingly well. I used to use copper with brass compression rings, but plastic is much faster and easier and ppl say it lasts; my experience has been good so far.

curious2 says

For plumbing, plastic fittings (e.g. Quick Connect) and tubes work surprisingly well. I used to use copper with brass compression rings, but plastic is much faster and easier and ppl say it lasts; my experience has been good so far.

I know that, but I don't like to mix plumbing types.

My favorite electronic hangouts while growing up in Minneapolis during the late 60's, Lew Bonn, Stark Electronics, and Acme Electronics. Of the three, only Acme is still in business.

http://www.aeielectroniccenter.com/

My favorite mail order places, Allied Electronics and Lafayette Electronics.

I also built a number of kit's thanks to Heathkit. My first Ham Transceiver:

Heathkit HW-100

Went searching for the fate of the Ubuntu phone that was supposed to come out this year, and ended up with a bad case of the "Gimmie's".

http://www.pcduino.com/

There's even smaller complete examples of this platform, but I like the openness of this unit. I'd like to get one and see what kind of software and hardware solutions I could create on it.

CaptainShuddup says

Went searching for the fate of the Ubuntu phone that was supposed to come out this year, and ended up with a bad case of the "Gimmie's".

Or how about WebOS? Now there is a keeper. :-/

http://www.hpwebos.com/us/

I used to buy random stuff at Radioshack for my guitar pedals. That's about all the use I ever had for the store.

Radioshack should've bought Fry's and buried them. I have a RS one block away and would rather make the ten-mile drive because I know they will have what I need (and I usually end up buying more than that).

That being said, my 20+ year-old Realistic scanner is still in use today.

http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews.com/2014/09/radioshack-looking-for-ways-to-boost-cash-sales-fall-20.html/

RadioShack said Thursday that it may have to file bankruptcy to reorganize its business.

The company’s earnings report showed sales dropping 20 percent and its loss doubling year-over-year in the second quarter.

So far this year, RadioShack has closed 47 stores by not renewing leases. Magnacca wanted to close more than 1,000 of the chains 4,200 U.S. stores, but its lenders nixed that idea. Under its current credit agreement it can close only 200 stores a year.

The Fort Worth-based consumer electronics chain reported a net loss of $137.4 million, or $1.35 a share in the period ended Aug. 2, compared with a loss of $52.2 million, or 51 cents a share, a year ago.

Wednesday, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a report where he lowered his price target for the stock to $0, that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.