Sipsey Street Irregulars: All you DIYers -- get thee to Radio Shack while you still can.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

All you DIYers -- get thee to Radio Shack while you still can.

Received this link from a faithful reader -- Hopes of a RadioShack Revival Fade With Stock to Be Delisted -- along with this note:

Mike, I just picked up a few electronic parts at my local Radio Shack. The shelves look like a tornado had blown through there. Everything in the store was marked at least 25% - 50% off. A lot of goods were marked at 75% off! I asked the clerk if this was "it". He said that management has been dead quiet, but he thought so. Good time to stock up on switches, wires, knobs, solder, computer cables & hardware, etc... I'm bummed. Who will replace Radio Shack ?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...: MCM Electronics, Grainger, most solar panel dealers, Jameco, most of those can meet the supply needs like the radioshack's of the 80s did.

The electronics geeks took off for the most part when radioshack started the hard sell on cell phones, kept asking for phone numbers, personal info, etc. back in the 90s and after.

Harbor Freight is a favorite for batteries, tools, multimeters, etc. I don't think anyone would have to twist their arm too hard for them to start selling more in the electronic components arena. Resistor assortment packs from 1/8 watt up to 3 watt, might set you back $20-$30, wouldn't use up much shelf space, and other similar things.; February 5, 2015 at 8:10 AM
Galaxie_Man said...: Once upon a time, Radio Shack, along with other national retailer Lafayette Radio, were the big players. Heathkit was for high quality DIY kit assembly (I built a few). Locally in CT, we had places like SCELI, Hatry's Electronics, and Signal Center. All of these places were staffed by knowledgeable electronics geeks with pocket protectors, slide rulers, and adhesive tape on their glasses. They were almost all HAM radio license holders and could help you find whatever you might need to complete a project. They could also help you their vast knowledge with the design of whatever you were trying to build. When all that was left was Radio Shack, staffed by pimply faced 17 year old high school seniors that have no idea what components or parts they are selling, then it's all over.; February 5, 2015 at 8:56 AM
Anonymous said...: Fleming Supply has some stores out west, in Casper and somewhere in Nebraska. They have everything, and knowledgeable staff that can help you.; February 5, 2015 at 8:59 AM
Radioman First Class said...: Mouser Electronics.

DigiKey.

And RadioShack's parts have been of inferior quality for a number of years in any case. They blew it when ex CEO Lenny Roberts decided to strip the company of its manufacturing capability, its private brands of good quality for the money, and put everything into reselling the same cell phones everyone else sold.

You oculd say Roberts did to RadioShack what the plutocrats have done to America, with the same results.; February 5, 2015 at 5:53 PM
Anonymous said...: For audio diy try Parts Express online. Good selection of everything I remember buying from Radio Shack back in their heyday. Even have their own house brand of audio drivers, "Dayton", which is pretty good, and they carry vacuum tubes too. Speaking of that, get your Russian made tubes while you can, if you're into that bag. I think trade with them is on its last hurrah and I still need to stock up on 2A3's among others.

For more esoteric parts like specialized semiconductors, try digikey or mouser online.

If you're only after loudspeaker drivers and crossover components, try madisound online. Carry a good selection of Fostex drivers and kits.

Thanks for the tip on RS though. I'll go by there tomorrow after work and see if there are any resistor assortments, hexfreds, LED's, knobs, etc on sale. Parts bins are never too full to have more. Kind of sad if they're blowing that stuff out, like when they blew out all their drivers. Still have cartons of the things waiting for me to get time to put them into cabinets.

PS Insomnia sucks.; February 6, 2015 at 2:03 AM
Anonymous said...: @Galaxie_Man: Yep, historically Hams have been prime movers in the electronics field.

-----

Although sometimes spotty and unpredictable, Ebay can be a good source for components. It also offers access to a more global supplier base. (Over the past year I've purchased project boxes from the PI, 40 A 100 PIV DO-3 Schottky diodes from Bulgaria, 1 W zeners from Malaysia and met mylar film caps from China, as well as 1% 1/2 W metal film resistors from Thailand for about the same price that I used to pay for 5% CC and CF resistors in the 80s.)

All Electronics is also still alive.

Heathkit was admittedly never a source of electronic *components* per se, but after years of mismanagement and decline, finally leading to bankruptcy, it is now planning to relaunch under a new management team - one that recognizes the old corporate values and the interest of a loyal customer base.; February 6, 2015 at 3:05 AM
Anonymous said...: Radio Shack has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy now. 2/04 or 2/05 2015; February 6, 2015 at 8:35 AM
AJ said...: I run a small repair shop, and my go to for run of the mill semiconductors, capacitors, and other parts is Mouser, followed by Digi-Key. Consolidated Electronics is the place for authentic harder to source semiconductors. Don't buy output transistors on ebay. They are almost always guaranteed to be counterfeit. About the only thing I was getting from RS lately was fuses, lamps (in a pinch), and diodes (also when in a pinch).
RS is an excellent example of shortsighted American corporate business practices.; February 6, 2015 at 10:24 AM
Paul X said...: Fry's electronics:
http://www.frys.com/template/index/

Adafruit, a fantastic place despite being a bit unconventional:
http://www.adafruit.com/

I used to go to Radio Shack to buy something like an ethernet cable or a switch, but even Home Depot has material for making ethernet cables now.; February 6, 2015 at 11:08 AM

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And when we are gone, the scattered, free survivors hiding in the ruins of our once-great republic will sing of our deeds in forbidden songs, tending the flickering flame of individual liberty until it bursts forth again, as it must, generations later. We will live forever, like the Spartans at Thermopylae, in sacred memory.

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Sipsey Street Irregulars

Thursday, February 5, 2015

All you DIYers -- get thee to Radio Shack while you still can.

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