Radio Shack and the DIY'er - RIP

[commando1]

I fix stuff. I improve stuff. I tinker with stuff. All the time.
Yesterday, I needed a solderless automotive antenna cable plug to repair the one in my NYB with the dash torn apart and the car immobilized in my driveway. As with every simple job comes the untimely crises. Of course. The plug is available for $1.34 at Radio Shack. A 1/2 dozen RS's have closed in my area already. I rushed to the last remaining one and I was greeted by a bare bones GOING OUT OF BUSINESS store.  Now I'm in the SOofL position. Again.
So I end up making an improvised repair WHICH I HATE.



I'm bitching about, not the repair, but the executive level, greed, mismanagement, and incompetence that put RS out of business. NOW, what am I gonna do when I need a stinkin $2 electronic part? Order it online for 15 bucks and wait a week???

I despise corporate America and their version of Capitalism and free enterprise.

No more Radio Shack. I'm screwed.

 

[GJS]

It's a really sad loss. My grandfather was an electrical man. Kind of guy that pulled tvs out the the dump, fixed them and sold them. He had his own impressive collection of components... his vacuum tube stock out did most professional shops. However, when he needed something, I'd head down to the local RS with him and I loved it. Virtually anything you needed was right there and ready to go.
Last I was in one it was a pretty abysmal scene. More cellphones and cheap RC stuff than components... by that I mean, a spool of speaker wire, maybe.
Yea, you can order anything online. But I miss heading out to get something and returning to the job To finish it correctly.

 

[70Tom]

Yeah, it definitely sucks. I noticed on the list that the 2 that I usually go to are closing or have already closed. There's no store to really take its place either. So basically, if you ever need anything, you will now have to order it and wait the week for it to arrive, all while your car (or whatever else) sits there apart, taking up space. Some times change sucks.

RadioShack is closing 552 stores — see if your store is one of them

 

[Dobalovr]

Amazon drones are the reason man....

I'm just waiting for the virtual showroom to eliminate the need for me...

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Become a Amozon prime customer and if you order in the next 42 min a drone will drop it off at your house before midnight.
Otherwise pay buster brown $14 shipping on a $1.98 part and you can have it next Thursday.

 

[67-Fury]

All the malls in my area are dying pretty fast. I told my Friends we are witnessing the complete end of when People would leave their homes to buy something.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

YO STAN. P.M. me a picture and Part name and number and I'll hit the only R.S. left in Wilmington and hook the part for you. If it's there you'll have it by mid week......Send your address with the P.M. No big deal Pal, Jer

 

[commando1]

YO STAN. P.M. me a picture and Part name and number and I'll hit the only R.S. left in Wilmington and hook the part for you. If it's there you'll have it by mid week......Send your address with the P.M. No big deal Pal, Jer

Thanks, Jer, but my hack repair will have to do.

I AM NOT TAKING THAT & $#@ INSTRUMENT PANEL APART ONE MORE TIME!

 

[300rag]

Thanks, Jer, but my hack repair will have to do.

I AM NOT TAKING THAT & $#@ INSTRUMENT PANEL APART ONE MORE TIME!

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I LOVE that liar picture!!

 

[tallhair]

Thanks, Jer, but my hack repair will have to do.

I AM NOT TAKING THAT & $#@ INSTRUMENT PANEL APART ONE MORE TIME!

How long does it take to take the dash out of a fusey?

 

[cantflip]

Amazon drones are the reason man....

I'm just waiting for the virtual showroom to eliminate the need for me...

Sorry Graham, I've got to disagree with this just a little.

I loved RS, even though I seldom used them, decades ago... I bought my first multi meter from them mid 1980's... analog, because I didn't really know what I was doing and was following a 1972 FSM working on Mopar electronic ignition. I was a repeat customer for many cars and other little projects. I even thought their stereo equipment was nice, but overpriced for my budget.

Flash forward to 2001... needed a bunch of ceramic resistors to repair some 12v florescent lights. The local store had little to nothing like the old inventory of hobbyist/repair supplies and was full of crappy electronic toys at stupid pricing.

In the years since I have been disgusted every time I needed something. Sometimes they had what I was after, but they had become little more than a toy store IMO. A few years ago I needed a 5v regulator for a simulator board... took three stores to find one with it in stock... and they only had 3 (which I bought/used)... since that time I have done repairs with parts salvaged from old stuff in the scrap pile or ordered online.

AFAIAC, they deserved to die and I wonder how they lasted this long. I still miss the store they once were... but hated what they devolved into. The automotive aisle at wally world is nearly as useful.

 

[1978 NYB]

Stan, get Pedro to hammer one out!

 

[commando1]

Stan, get Pedro to hammer one out!

He can't but he knows someone...

 

[Dobalovr]

Sorry Graham, I've got to disagree with this just a little.

I loved RS, even though I seldom used them, decades ago... I bought my first multi meter from them mid 1980's... analog, because I didn't really know what I was doing and was following a 1972 FSM working on Mopar electronic ignition. I was a repeat customer for many cars and other little projects. I even thought their stereo equipment was nice, but overpriced for my budget.

Flash forward to 2001... needed a bunch of ceramic resistors to repair some 12v florescent lights. The local store had little to nothing like the old inventory of hobbyist/repair supplies and was full of crappy electronic toys at stupid pricing.

In the years since I have been disgusted every time I needed something. Sometimes they had what I was after, but they had become little more than a toy store IMO. A few years ago I needed a 5v regulator for a simulator board... took three stores to find one with it in stock... and they only had 3 (which I bought/used)... since that time I have done repairs with parts salvaged from old stuff in the scrap pile or ordered online.

AFAIAC, they deserved to die and I wonder how they lasted this long. I still miss the store they once were... but hated what they devolved into. The automotive aisle at wally world is nearly as useful.

I worked at RS back in 1983 for a couple of months and you are quite correct @cantflip it did devolve from a decent tech supply store to a glorified cell phone kiosk. The writing was on the wall back then. The component section with diodes/resistors etc was being replaced with vcrs and beta players when I left...

 

[tbm3fan]

It was the early-mid 90's where they decided to go into cell phones. Problem was they were now in competition with some serious players much bigger than them. They gave up their high markup specialized goods no one else had. Then they sold their manufacturing facilities and dropped their house brands. I have a couple of the higher end Realistic stereo receivers which were made in the 70's in Japan. Very underrated. I believe they also made an ill advised investment is some start up idea that lost them tens of millions. For a company their size that hurt.

 

[tbm3fan]

I fix stuff.

Saw those first few words and thought ... Walt.

 

[jct]

all the radio shacks around here only sells cell phones. thank god there's a Fry's Home Electronics | Computer Parts & Accessories, Software, Games, TVs, Cameras - Frys.com in town

 

[saylor]

yup frys altex or mouser

 

[cantflip]

I shouldn't really whine too much, I have Skycraft in town. The problem there is overload, I could spend a day in there just trying to dig through it all.
Skycraft Parts & Surplus, Inc.