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Re: [IRCA] Radio shack to file for bankruptcy



Um, I defer to the likes of Nick Hall-Patch and Colin Newell as to the hobby usefulness of Radio Shack in Canada of years gone by... but RS went belly up in the True North ages ago.

It re-appeared as 'The Source at Circuit City' (I think I have the correct preposition), then later re-organised simply as 'The Source'.

I dunno how the stock/availability from The Source in Canada compares to current American RS outlets, but given the changes in 'our' technical needs, and our individual knowledge bases, the chain seems to be doing pretty well. There are two outlets for example in my local mega-mall, Metrotown, in Burnaby, BC.

Does that suggest RS in the US needs to consolidate or re-invent its focus to satisfy present-day demand, and that our DX requirements are simply too minimal to support a retailer?

Theo

(Sent a day after the fiasco of Target in Canada imploded; now there's a story of retail incompetence in a foreign market.)

On 16/01/2015 7:08 PM, Mark Connelly via IRCA wrote:

Subject:
Re: Radio shack to file for bankruptcy
From:
Mark Connelly <markwa1ion@xxxxxxx>
Date:
16/01/2015 7:08 PM
To:
irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

To:
irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


The Shack provided some of my best portable DX machines from 1961 right into the Eighties.

Most were in the popular "TRF" series.

In August 1966, at a summer cottage rental at West Dennis Beach, MA, I had one of my first big hauls of transatlantic MW stations. This was with a 12R614K Realistic TRF model, a predecessor to the more famous 12-655 of the Seventies.

Some TRF's I was able to modify with regeneration to boost selectivity and sensitivity.

My TRF tribute page, with links to the Radio Shack catalogues site:
http://chowdanet.com/markc/doc/trf.htm

Radio Shack catalogue site:
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com

With Radio Shack stores likely to close, experimenters and hobbyists will be looking for "fire sale" clearance offers.

When the stores are gone, we will be mostly shopping in an online world with C. Crane, Universal Radio, Fry's, HRO, AES, and Amazon covering much of the equipment end.

Parts can be bought from the likes of Mouser, Digi-Key, Newark/Farnell, Jameco, and Allied. Here in MA we still have the "You Do It" electronics store in Needham.

Much of the rest or Radio Shack's stuff (e.g. cables, small hand tools) may be found at Walmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, auto parts stores, etc.

More than once, the Radio Shack store here in South Yarmouth bailed out beach DXpeditions and antenna raising sessions with emergency parts and gear - even if just a humble bag of clip leads. The value of that store goes back to 1974 when my parents had moved to the town from Arlington, MA. This quick access to needed items won't be as easy in the future I suppose.

Short story is that this chain lost its focus and could not compete with big box stores in electronic commodity items (phones, TV's, PC's, stereo, etc.) or with the hard-core parts stores such as Mouser for hams, makers, d-i-y folks, computer / robotics geeks, and other hobbyists. They retained way too many brick-and-mortar outlets 20 or more years after online shopping had become a regular activity for most potential customers.

No matter how you look at this, it's THE END OF AN ERA.

Mark Connelly, WA1ION
South Yarmouth, MA

-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Dau <drummer1965us@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: irca <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; am <am@xxxxxxxxxxx>; abdx <abdx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, Jan 15, 2015 8:56 pm
Subject: Re: [NRC-AM] Radio shack to file for bankruptcy

Anyone with at least half a grasp of what their situation has been like in recent years (i.e., dire) could see this was coming, so it's not too surprising at all. Â Fortunately, there are still places like Universal Radio in Ohio and Ken's Electronics in Kalamazoo, Mich. that sell the receivers and parts that we in the DXing hobby need and seek out the most.Â
Â
73,
Rick Dau
South Omaha, Nebraska  EN21afÂ
Kenwood R-5000, Quantum QX Pro loop, Sangean ATS-909X, Select-A-Tenna, Quantum Stick+, and Midland WR-300
http://www.dxworld.com/bcblog.html



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