Radio Shack closure date

[W9ZSL]

I mentioned that the last I heard 700 stores were on the chopping block. Originally they wanted to close 1,000 which was shot down by lenders.  That 700 figure is the most recent, so maybe they arrived at a compromise.  Regardless, it seems apparent that stores ARE being shut down.  The only question is how many and how soon.  Maybe all the employees who know nothing are the most recent hires in which case they know even less.  Heck, I left there 7 years ago and we knew the company was in trouble way back then!

[John K5PRO]

One of the companies I worked for over the years had started their engineering IC stash with PolyPaks grab bags of 7400 TTL ICs. There were lots of crummy parts, and no one paid attention to ESD in those days.

[W3LSN]

It appears the end is not far off.  Bloomberg reports that the NYSE suspended trading of RS stock yesterday, and the company is talking complete liquidation with Sprint taking over half their stores. It's not quite a done deal, Bloomberg also reports that other vultures are circling the remaining assets.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/radioshack-is-said-to-discuss-liquidation-as-part-of-sprint-deal


73,
Jim
WA2AJM/3

[W9ZSL]

It's interesting that the Chinese are sniffing around.  I suppose it makes sense since most of Radio Shock's goods are made there.

[KB2WIG]

The Radio Shack saga is beginning to go the way of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, who is still dead. Its time to put the RatShaft to bed.

I still have the box 'o resisters for $1.99, the groovy Linear Applications Handbook 2 by National Semiconductor and the Transistor Substitution guide. Back then, you could buy lectronic parts just buy walking in.


klc

[W3LSN]

It's interesting that the Chinese are sniffing around.  I suppose it makes sense since most of Radio Shock's goods are made there.

Not surprising, really. The Chinese, in general, have always had good business acumen.  Another possible white knight is Amazon which is rumored to be interested in opening retail stores.

[Opcom]

here's a tip. When management wants all the quarterly reports and projects wrapped up a month -before- the end of a quarter, and there is no logical reason for it, beware.

[W3LSN]

News is coming more quickly lately, and I'll bet a nickel they don't last until the end of February. This morning one of its key lenders accused Radio Shack of defaulting on a huge loan. They're exploring a lawsuit.  For jollies I plan to visit my local store tomorrow and stock up on what I might find useful. Probably my last chance.


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-02-02/inside-radioshack-s-slow-motion-collapse

[N2DTS]

I stocked up last week.
Not a lot I want really, I use their knobs, used to use their meters, they had three, all took a very small hole in the panel, now they only have a 0-15 volt meter with a big hole (2 inch) needed.
I would have picked up a PA amp because it was cheap, but it was gone.

[W6TOM]

 Interesting story, I remember the Radio Shack of the 60's that my father took me to in Boston, what a neat place, pyrex insulators, antenna cable,antennas and other radio parts.

 One of the last local real electronics stores here locally is in Berzerkeley on University Avenue, I go in once in a awhile to buy parts for some the things I do at work. This is a family owned business and once I asked them who their biggest customer group was. I would have assumed the university, not so. To my surprise I was told it was the artsy types who like led lights!! The engineering students are all doing virtual circuit design.

[W3LSN]

Interesting story, I remember the Radio Shack of the 60's that my father took me to in Boston, what a neat place, pyrex insulators, antenna cable,antennas and other radio parts.

 One of the last local real electronics stores here locally is in Berzerkeley on University Avenue,

Here in the DC area we are down to only one classic type electronics distributor called Arcade Electronics in Alexandria. They survive mainly because of government purchasing contracts and because they are female owned.  I used to frequent Capitol Radio Wholesalers in Rockville, but they are long gone having morphed into a wire and cable distributorship many years ago.  For any broadcast engineers out there, Capitol used to be located a few doors down the street from the "world headquarters" of Tapecaster who once made broadcast cart machines.

[John K5PRO]

Tapecaster or Spotmaster?

[W3LSN]

Tapecaster or Spotmaster?

It was Tapecaster on Wilkins Ave in Rockville, MD.  I think they folded their tent and faded away in the mid-80's. The DC area has quite a connection to broadcast audio cart technology.   

Now, as for the Spotmaster, I used to be the chief engineer at the former WWDC-AM in Washington, DC.  In the loft above the garage which was our transmitter building in Silver Spring, MD there were two WWDC engineers who in the late-50's worked on a prototype which became the Spotmaster cart machine.  They went on to found a little company called Broadcast Electronics which has done quite well.

73,
Jim
WA2AJM/3

[N2DTS]

The last and only place I know of around here is universal electronics on RT30 in Audubon?
Seems to sell relays on line mostly but has a NICE collection of parts at high prices.
I think he bought out someone, Resco  or some tv repair shop.
There used to be a great place in Berlin, an RCA parts distributor that had bought part of Resco's stock, the basement was full of tubes, chassis, side supports and other goodies.
When they closed down I got some 4x150's, chassis, and side supports very cheap.

The BEST place used to be general radio in Camden, right at the foot of the Ben Franklin bridge.
They stocked everything, and likely sold a lot to RCA and its workers locally.
I went there at age 12 or so and got an interstage transformer and an RF choke for my regen rx I built out of an encyclopedia.  Kid in a candy shop...

[kg7bz]

My Dad told me stories about visiting the Boston Radio Shack in the late 1940's, this was when they had ads like this in QST.

[flintstone mop]

My first Mircosoft based computer was a Radio Shack/ Tandy/Realistic?? computer. Very expensive unit and monitor and DOT printer, 20mb HDD and the usual 512 kb of RAM. WIN 3.1 ?? or DOS?? It was not easy to operate.
Fred

[WB2EMS]

First portable computer was a TRS80 model 100. Actually, wasn't half bad machine for the time, especially as a portable terminal.

I liked those old post war ads! 

[N2DTS]

I had a vic 20, and a microlog rtty interface!
No hard drive, or floppy drive, you could get a tape drive (cassette).
Turn the thing off and all your programming went away...
Guy at work had a kay pro.
https://www.google.com/search?q=kaypro&biw=1280&bih=603&tbm=isch&imgil=5RBSt3crRX-E8M%253A%253B9UtIGMYEMopI3M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.old-computers.com%25252Fmuseum%25252Fcomputer.asp%25253Fc%2525253D148&source=iu&pf=m&fir=5RBSt3crRX-E8M%253A%252C9UtIGMYEMopI3M%252C_&usg=__5V3kJwOOR6SYJfVkvLbvhcGENz4%3D&dpr=1.25&ved=0CDEQyjc&ei=72jSVLSuEYz8yQSu54C4CQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=5RBSt3crRX-E8M%253A%3B9UtIGMYEMopI3M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.old-computers.com%252Fmuseum%252Fphotos%252FKaypro_10_System_1.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.old-computers.com%252Fmuseum%252Fcomputer.asp%253Fc%253D148%3B350%3B325

[W1ITT]

Radio Shack filed for Chapter 11 protection today.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2015/02/05/radioshack-files-for-chapter-11-bankruptcy/

I remember, when I was a kid, the time my father took me to the Radio Shack on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston.  All the surplus radios shown in the ads above and much more was there.  Heady stuff for a kid in the single digits.

[W3LSN]

From Radio Shack, here is 22 pages of proposed store closings. Interestingly for me, they are closing all of their stores in my county except for the one closest to my home.

http://radioshackcorporation.com/pdfs/RS-Store-Closure-List_020415.pdf.


Here also is the official RS press release that announces its petition for Chapter-11, the store sales and proposed restructuring. RS has posted extensive BK information on its website including relevant dates, motions, orders, lists of lawyers, etc.

http://radioshackcorporation.com/pdfs/Press-release.pdf

[W6TOM]

  Looking at the old Radio Shack advertisements and seeing the Washington Street address that is probably the radio shack my father took me too. It would have been just down the street from Jordan Marsh and Filienes Basement(sp?), both stores my mother and her sisters would gone to. I can just just picture my father taking me to Radio Shack for a break.

  BC-348 for $49.95, not sure what that might be adjusted for inflation but sure not cheap. I bought one at one of the California Historical Radio Society swaps a few years ago for a $100. It worked and had a nicely done AC supply.

 Made a trip this morning down to the south bay (Silicon Valley, Sunnyvale) and went to a couple of Emporiums of Junque, Haltek and Weird Stufff. Mostly computer stuff now, especially Weird Stuff. I did find a few goodies at Haltek. I think this is an indication of the lack of manufacturing in Silicon Valley compared to 25 years ago.

[Tom WA3KLR]

The oldest Radio Shack catalog I have is the 1940.  Apparently the 167 Washington Street store was a new location at the time. 

I pdf'ed the front and back covers:

[W6TOM]

 NEAT!!!! thanks for posting that catalog front page!!

[ka4koe]

See photo

[W3GMS]

The oldest Radio Shack catalog I have is the 1940.  Apparently the 167 Washington Street store was a new location at the time. 

I pdf'ed the front and back covers:

Great pictures Tom! 

Joe GMS