[BC] electronic shops

[cldube]

I have a soft spot for radio shack for the very same reason. I would walk in 
to get something for a repair and walk out with the parts for a totally 
unrelated project. They promoted the do-it-yourselfer thing long before Home 
Depot. And although some of their products weren't exactly the finest of 
quality- they were the neighborhood place for the accessible metal detector 
kit, ham radio code key, Archer 6 million in one experimenter kit, or the 
book that tried to save our souls from CB- "From 5 Watts To A Thousand 
Watts", not to mention all of the Gordon West material etc.

For those of us who didn't have a ham radio store within an hour's driving 
distance, it was a life saver.

And the DX 160 was my first ever shortwave receiver. Not the best, but 
affordable, had SSB capability and it turned me on to a whole new world (i.e 
I'll never forget hearing the freed American hostages flying to Algiers 
before heading to Germany on SSB one afternoon in early1981, and other 
interesting experiences like the russian woodpecker etc). It would drift 
enough to make Clyde McPhatter blush.

Chuck Dube
Amherst


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <WFIFeng at aol.com>
To: <broadcast at radiolists.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: [BC] electronic shops


> In a message dated 07/05/2005 01:14:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> dpuopolo at usa.net writes:
>
>> The Radio Shack "27" board (as it was called; parts' SKU's always begin 
>> with
>>  270) had a minimum 300% markup.
>
> Over 18 years ago, I worked for Radio Shack for a bit, and the markup 
> ranged
> from 200% to 500%. I kid you not. It was right there in black & white, on 
> the
> monthly inventory/order sheets. The first time I saw one, I nearly fell 
> over!
>
> I also miss those 100-pack resistors, caps, etc. They still have a few, 
> but
> they are harder to find.
>
> I am thankful for DigKey, Mouser, etc. but nothing beats browsing the 
> parts
> wall, getting new ideas for projects just by looking at the parts! I miss 
> those
> days! (It was also very convenient when an emergency repair took only an 
> hour
> or so when you could get the parts at the local Shack.)
>
> Willie...
>
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