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I remember flipping through the Radio Shack catalogue as a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, and making my virtual xmas shopping list (I almost never got the thin

by plg 12y ago

I remember flipping through the Radio Shack catalogue as a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, and making my virtual xmas shopping list (I almost never got the things I actually wanted). radio-controlled cars, walkie-talkies, metal detectors, tape recorders, electronics kits. I also remember being able to walk into a Radio Shack in my local mall and stroll over to the electronics section and pick out just the right resistor that I needed to complete my circuit project at home. I think I was 12 at the time.

jmelloy 12y ago
Two Christmases in a row, I got a radio-controlled car from Radio Shack. Two years in a row, that car was dead by New Year's. I never asked for one again.
- thenmar 12y ago
  Were you recharging them?
  - ChuckMcM 12y ago
    I suspect he was. I used to take Radio Shack R/C cars and re-purpose them into robots. The best ones used treads as that would allow for differential steering which was much easier on the inverse kinematics than the front wheel steering. And Radio Shack always had a 'closeout/clearance' junk table that said R/C cars would end up on. That experience lead me to understand that a common failure mode was that the radio receiver circuit had some tuning caps on it that would get jostled about, causing the car to cease responding. Not sure why they went with trim caps other than it meant everything else could be wider tolerances if they just tuned it once fully assembled. It did lead to a lot of fallout though.
- damon_c 12y ago
  When I was about 8 or so, I had a friend who was all excited about the remote controlled car he found in the RadioShack catalog that advertised "scale speeds of 60 mph!!!". It was only about $40. What a deal! He cashed in all his parental good will and actually got them to order it for him. Then it came and the 1:20 scale car basically went about 60/20 mph and we did the math... I felt bad for him, but hey... they didn't exactly lie!
sjm-lbm 12y ago
Last weekend, I needed a 10 Ohm resistor and breadboard for a small project - I'd ordered everything else I needed online, and thought I still had spares of those two parts that I couse use. I was somewhat surprised to realize that RadioShack still carried both, and that the prices weren't that bad.
rootbear 12y ago
When I was very young, the Sears Toy Catalog was my Book of Wonders. Then, in my teens, it was the Radio Shack catalog. Now, I guess, it's the Newegg deals page. Things change. I rarely go into a Radio Shack these days, but as others have noted, when you need a part right now, it's often the only choice. I worked on a project a few years ago that had me in the local Shack several times as I discovered I didn't have a part I needed. I'll be sad when they're gone.

by plg 12y ago

jmelloy 12y ago

Two Christmases in a row, I got a radio-controlled car from Radio Shack. Two years in a row, that car was dead by New Year's. I never asked for one again.

thenmar 12y ago
Were you recharging them?
- ChuckMcM 12y ago
  I suspect he was. I used to take Radio Shack R/C cars and re-purpose them into robots. The best ones used treads as that would allow for differential steering which was much easier on the inverse kinematics than the front wheel steering. And Radio Shack always had a 'closeout/clearance' junk table that said R/C cars would end up on. That experience lead me to understand that a common failure mode was that the radio receiver circuit had some tuning caps on it that would get jostled about, causing the car to cease responding. Not sure why they went with trim caps other than it meant everything else could be wider tolerances if they just tuned it once fully assembled. It did lead to a lot of fallout though.
damon_c 12y ago
When I was about 8 or so, I had a friend who was all excited about the remote controlled car he found in the RadioShack catalog that advertised "scale speeds of 60 mph!!!". It was only about $40. What a deal! He cashed in all his parental good will and actually got them to order it for him. Then it came and the 1:20 scale car basically went about 60/20 mph and we did the math... I felt bad for him, but hey... they didn't exactly lie!

sjm-lbm 12y ago

Last weekend, I needed a 10 Ohm resistor and breadboard for a small project - I'd ordered everything else I needed online, and thought I still had spares of those two parts that I couse use. I was somewhat surprised to realize that RadioShack still carried both, and that the prices weren't that bad.

rootbear 12y ago

When I was very young, the Sears Toy Catalog was my Book of Wonders. Then, in my teens, it was the Radio Shack catalog. Now, I guess, it's the Newegg deals page. Things change. I rarely go into a Radio Shack these days, but as others have noted, when you need a part right now, it's often the only choice. I worked on a project a few years ago that had me in the local Shack several times as I discovered I didn't have a part I needed. I'll be sad when they're gone.