In defense of Radio Shack (re: Bill Maher tonight)

[AzNick]

I know that Bill is a comedian before all, but if Radio Shack comes to disappear, many small towns and neighborhood will lose the only last convenient place where to buy electronic and small electrical components.

See, electronics is one of my hobbies, as well as music, and I fixed guitars and effects, sometimes build some from scratch on demand, and Radio Shack has been a good source of components for me, at a good price, and always with bulk discounts.

See, you can't buy capacitors, resistors, diodes, transistors and integrated circuits anywhere else in many places.

Even the big box stores like for instance Fry's Electronics do not carry the simplest stuff, and have very poor stock keeping. The Radio Shack staff does not know crap, but we the hobbyists know what we're looking for and they don't even bother asking us what we're looking for as soon as we're opening the drawers.

Without Radio Shack, I am afraid that a part of what makes this country unique, the ingenuity of the small independent inventors, is going to be threatened.

That's just my little point.

And I am a software guy, by the way, so don't lecture me about "new vs old". Thank you.

[orleans]

1. and for those who didn't see the show what did he say? n/t

[AzNick]

5. He made fun of their new campaign ad

And how they are trying to revamp their image as "The Shack".

And that it is where illegal immigrants hone their English skills before going to Best Buy.

I think he was a bit over the top. Best Buy has very well informed employees who really try their best to help and most are enthusiastic young kids (with the usual proportion of idiots and A-words).

Honestly, I think Radio Shack has some good gear, but they target mostly the hobbyists like me and older folks scared of the big box stores.

They can revamp their image, but they are not what they used to be, that is for source, when electronics was a big big hobby for the nerds, and that was before the advent of the home computer and the internet.

I have been in the situation where I needed a .47 MF capacitor on a Sunday afternoon and thank god they were right around the corner.

[HeresyLives]

2. I didn't realize it was still around.

In Canada the name was changed to The Source, and it sells standard stuff you can buy anywhere. Phones and cameras and toys and TVs etc.

[tridim]

3. We used to have a Super-Mega Radio Shack in Denver that kicked ass

It's long gone. Ever since I can't set foot in a radio shack without getting depressed. Their parts selection sucks these days.

I guess there's always mail order.

[TransitJohn]

4. You can't get that stuff at Radio Shack anymore anyway.

See, you can't buy capacitors, resistors, diodes, transistors and integrated circuits anywhere else in many places.

The Radio Shacks around here don't sell any of that stuff anymore. They're outlets for Dish Network, Verizon Wireless, etc...w/ college kids staffing them who don't know anything...sort of like my local hardware store.

[Warpy]

6. Best Buy is 6 miles away

but there's a Radio Shack a 20 minute walk from here.

I go there when I need switches or cables or some odd piece of electronic crapola fast.

They usually have it, too.

[tabatha]

7. Yep, I agree.

I have found stuff there that I could not found at other places.
We have three stores in our area.

[pokerfan]

8. There's always Radar

Even in my little burg...

[XOKCowboy]

12. Never heard of them..

What part of the country are they in?

[pokerfan]

14. They're a distributer

http://www.radarinc.com

Looks like just the northwest. I thought they were bigger.

[LunaSea]

9. I would think the name change would only add to the problem

The last time they upgraded their logo they ended up spending too much money defending against lawsuits from a company with a similar graphic (neither of which was very good)

I've patronized the chain since I was a kid, but they have a lengthy track record of pretty stupid ideas as a corporation.

I hope they survive this one.

[XOKCowboy]

10. I'm a traveling AV tech and I love Radio Shack....

You never know when you'll need an RF converter, a BNC/RF adapter, some contact cleaner or DustOff, the new wafer batteries, a cable crimper or all those other little things that the client forgot to pack and the big box stores don't carry. No matter where you are there is always one close by.

I will give Bill a pass though. The bit was funny and he is a comedian.

[CreekDog]

11. Radio Shack will become "The Shack" very soon

i forget where i read that but "radio" will be no more.

[AzNick]

25. At one time they were Tandy & Radio Shack

Remember the TRS 80?

[sasquatch]

13. I bought a short wave from the a year ago, awesome investment

[Blue_Tires]

15. i still remember when Radio Shack was THE place you went

to see the latest PC games...I also loved their RC cars as a kid (went through about a dozen of them...)

[blogslut]

16. I was very sad when the one in my town closed.

At least there's the online store.

[ColbertWatcher]

17. k+r for electronics nerds! n/t

[pnorman]

18. What I recall from some years ago,

"unsophisticated" customers could go there and get pretty good and "uncondescending" service. They couldn't get that in an "up-scale" store, and probably felt intimidated. Result? Had it not for Radio Shack, they'd probably have ended with stuff not suitable for their needs (or their budget).

My pet peeve then, was that the quality control of certain small components was abysmal! e.g.: I KNEW that the springiness of the leaf of an audio jack would fail within year or so, and would have to be unsoldered and replaced. RATS!

pnorman

[Wilms]

19. Yep. All that AND...

The Minimus 7.

[Lagomorph]

20. I miss a lot of things....

Nail bins, instead of boxes, American made nuts, bolts & screws, straight lumber, drill presses with motors that have lasted 60 years, machines with tight threads...

Sigh......

[Adsos Letter]

21. straight lumber? man, I'd settle for DRY lumber...

[AzNick]

24. Well there is always Ace Hardware for that...

Don't know if you have that in your area, but they are the place to go for nuts and bolts plus the people who work there are usually available and know quite a bit (especially lately, lots of construction workers and contractors our of work went to work at Ace).

[JSK]

22. Lance Armstrong just announced that Radio Shack is his new sponsor

for the next American cycling team. Coming next season.

http://www.teamradioshack.com/getready/

[dave123williams]

23. Um, dude...Radio Shack is dumping it's hobbyist electronics...

Not sure if you've been in a Radio Shack in California recently, but they've essentially dumped their transistors and cables in favor of consumer electronics; toys, phones, stereos and so forth. I went in there in hopes of finding a crystal radio kit for my nephew. The guy behind the counter had never heard of such a thing.