I worked for Lafayette in Jamaica, Queens, New York 1963-1964. This was my
first job and I sold Ham/CB Equipment. I worked for a sales manager named
Sandy who worked for the store manager Nat Raucher. George "The Greek" sold
hifi and camera and the rest worked hard hours "Over the counter". You could
by any component from a single carbon resistor to a case of electrolytics
over the counter. Two young engineers (RCA Institute grads) met to discuss
some simple designs of ham and cb equipment had their prototypes done in
Japan and then marketed them here. I think this was mostly for the simple
but inexpensive cb's and some ham gear like their 6 meter am transceivers. I
didn't make much money but the employee discount was good and I bought my
first transceiver the National NCX-3. The American Electronics industy was a
good viable source of income for many people and at the time I thought it
would last forever.


Tony WA6LZH (WA2LBY)


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 00:29:33 UTC, "Smokey"
wrote:

Thanks to all for a wealth of information. Now then...ahem...does anyone
know anything about the Model 390 Starflite ham transmitter? I believe early
Kenwood or Yaesu was manufacturing their other ham rigs but the Starflite
was a kit and I am wondering if it was an American effort on the part of
Lafayette? The circuit was almost identical to the DX-60 so I am wondering
if anyone knows if there was a Heath-Lafayette connection? Why was the
Starflite only offered for a year and a half or two years? Was it a dud? Or
was Heath and the DX-60 too much competition? Too many questions, I know. I
am doing a little research paper, of sorts. Thanks guys.


I've read that there was no connection other than Lafayette stole,
ah, honored the Heath design by copying it.

I was a Novice when the Starflite and the DX-60 were marketed and
thought hard and long about it, the Knight T-60, and the Eico 720.

Smart move, I bought the DX-60 kit and assembled it. The DX-60 was
much more substantial, as in heavy steel plate, than the
competition. The cast iron meter bezel alone stood out as unique
in the entry transmitter market.

I knew a fellow who got a 720. More expensive than the DX-60. Could
never figure it out as the 720 didn't include an AM modulator.

Bad move, I sold it a couple years later for $40 to put toward a
$200 used HT-37.

Fast forward 40 years and I'm buying a DX-60 off eBay for $70. Not
a nice as the one I built but looks restorable. I got the DX-60
as opposed to a 60A or 60B because of the meter bezel.

de ah6gi/4

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 00:29:33 UTC, "Smokey"
wrote:

Thanks to all for a wealth of information. Now then...ahem...does anyone
know anything about the Model 390 Starflite ham transmitter? I believe early
Kenwood or Yaesu was manufacturing their other ham rigs but the Starflite
was a kit and I am wondering if it was an American effort on the part of
Lafayette? The circuit was almost identical to the DX-60 so I am wondering
if anyone knows if there was a Heath-Lafayette connection? Why was the
Starflite only offered for a year and a half or two years? Was it a dud? Or
was Heath and the DX-60 too much competition? Too many questions, I know. I
am doing a little research paper, of sorts. Thanks guys.


I've read that there was no connection other than Lafayette stole,
ah, honored the Heath design by copying it.

I was a Novice when the Starflite and the DX-60 were marketed and
thought hard and long about it, the Knight T-60, and the Eico 720.

Smart move, I bought the DX-60 kit and assembled it. The DX-60 was
much more substantial, as in heavy steel plate, than the
competition. The cast iron meter bezel alone stood out as unique
in the entry transmitter market.

I knew a fellow who got a 720. More expensive than the DX-60. Could
never figure it out as the 720 didn't include an AM modulator.

Bad move, I sold it a couple years later for $40 to put toward a
$200 used HT-37.

Fast forward 40 years and I'm buying a DX-60 off eBay for $70. Not
a nice as the one I built but looks restorable. I got the DX-60
as opposed to a 60A or 60B because of the meter bezel.

de ah6gi/4

Gotta wonder where all.
I remember them ending up all over the Long Island /NYC area
Canal Street, Edlie electronics, LNL. (Ed Lei closed shop about 4 years ago)
Before Lafayette closed they created whole rooms of clearance centers. I
remember buying motors, transformers, assorted parts 10 cents on the dollar.
I still have a working Dyna Com 6, Comstat 35 and SSB-140 someplace. I
remember they made these nice looking VOMs that constantly blew up when you
went above 120 volts (PC traces by the selector switch would ark)

-Joe

the parts and inventory went!
"patgkz" wrote in message
...
I worked for LRE for a short while starting during their "last days".
Employed at Company store #54 in Milwaukee WI 1973 thru 1975. LRE opened
this store as the first Wisconsin Company store in 1973. They had about
six
stores in the Chicago area for years. LRE epanded to two stores in
Milwaukee before folding in the late 1970's.

During our store's grand opening, I got to meet Abe Plettman (the CEO) and
a
few other LRE big-wigs like Harold Weinberg, their audio guru, creator of
the "Criterion" speaker line.

I also met Larry d'Amato, the leader of the ham/cb line.

This was when LRE was spending bookoo bucks on expanding company stores
all
the way to the west coast. I think the expansion killed them.

When I was managing the store, I remember calling Syosset Headquarters to
check on backorders, we were plagued by import backorders. HQ's phone
system was so antiquated, we had to call back numerous times after getting
disconnected. Call forwarding was done with "switchhooking". Many of the
people that I remember talking to were well up in years, a couple were
deaf
and we had to shout to them while calling.

Looking back, LRE's massive expansion was doomed from the start. Imported
CB radio's were continually backordered, angering the dedicated customer
base that went elsewhere. The discount "warehouse" stereo stores undercut
LRE as they rose to retail power at that time.

It was really fun working for them at the time. We employees could buy
things at actual cost. For instance, the premium CB radio Comstat 35
which
retailed for about $200 cost me a mere $68.00. Talk about markup! LRE
made
a killing on their Jap imports. Employee buying was closely monitored as
many employees were buying CB radio's at cost, then re-selling them to
supplement their meager income. Salespeople were grossly underpaid
compared
to other stores at the time. You sell a 800 dollar stereo system and may
only receive a commission of $3.00. Pretty poor.

Just some ramblings from a former LRE employee.

BTW, I was making an incredible sum of $200 per week in 1975 when I was
promoted to store manager. That equated to about two bucks an hour
considering all the "store hours" I worked!

I left LRE probably two years before they folded. Gotta wonder where all
the parts and inventory went! LRE kept a huge cache of "import parts" at
Syosset. You could order an s-meter for a 20-year old CB radio if you
wished. We kept the parts list on microfiche at the time. They probably
had tens of thousands of individual parts for every CB, tuner, stereo that
they sold. Incredible.


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

Gotta wonder where all.
I remember them ending up all over the Long Island /NYC area
Canal Street, Edlie electronics, LNL. (Ed Lei closed shop about 4 years ago)
Before Lafayette closed they created whole rooms of clearance centers. I
remember buying motors, transformers, assorted parts 10 cents on the dollar.
I still have a working Dyna Com 6, Comstat 35 and SSB-140 someplace. I
remember they made these nice looking VOMs that constantly blew up when you
went above 120 volts (PC traces by the selector switch would ark)

-Joe

the parts and inventory went!
"patgkz" wrote in message
...
I worked for LRE for a short while starting during their "last days".
Employed at Company store #54 in Milwaukee WI 1973 thru 1975. LRE opened
this store as the first Wisconsin Company store in 1973. They had about
six
stores in the Chicago area for years. LRE epanded to two stores in
Milwaukee before folding in the late 1970's.

During our store's grand opening, I got to meet Abe Plettman (the CEO) and
a
few other LRE big-wigs like Harold Weinberg, their audio guru, creator of
the "Criterion" speaker line.

I also met Larry d'Amato, the leader of the ham/cb line.

This was when LRE was spending bookoo bucks on expanding company stores
all
the way to the west coast. I think the expansion killed them.

When I was managing the store, I remember calling Syosset Headquarters to
check on backorders, we were plagued by import backorders. HQ's phone
system was so antiquated, we had to call back numerous times after getting
disconnected. Call forwarding was done with "switchhooking". Many of the
people that I remember talking to were well up in years, a couple were
deaf
and we had to shout to them while calling.

Looking back, LRE's massive expansion was doomed from the start. Imported
CB radio's were continually backordered, angering the dedicated customer
base that went elsewhere. The discount "warehouse" stereo stores undercut
LRE as they rose to retail power at that time.

It was really fun working for them at the time. We employees could buy
things at actual cost. For instance, the premium CB radio Comstat 35
which
retailed for about $200 cost me a mere $68.00. Talk about markup! LRE
made
a killing on their Jap imports. Employee buying was closely monitored as
many employees were buying CB radio's at cost, then re-selling them to
supplement their meager income. Salespeople were grossly underpaid
compared
to other stores at the time. You sell a 800 dollar stereo system and may
only receive a commission of $3.00. Pretty poor.

Just some ramblings from a former LRE employee.

BTW, I was making an incredible sum of $200 per week in 1975 when I was
promoted to store manager. That equated to about two bucks an hour
considering all the "store hours" I worked!

I left LRE probably two years before they folded. Gotta wonder where all
the parts and inventory went! LRE kept a huge cache of "import parts" at
Syosset. You could order an s-meter for a 20-year old CB radio if you
wished. We kept the parts list on microfiche at the time. They probably
had tens of thousands of individual parts for every CB, tuner, stereo that
they sold. Incredible.


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

George "The Greek"
HAHahaha I think I know him, he had a cash of Lafayette auction parts as
well
He opened a joint on Steinway street with a character named 'Mike"
SL Jack Electronics, I baught a new in the box Hickok scope from him for $60
in 1988
Sadly its a Applebee's or something now

-Joe

"Tony Angerame" wrote in message
...
I worked for Lafayette in Jamaica, Queens, New York 1963-1964. This was my
first job and I sold Ham/CB Equipment. I worked for a sales manager named
Sandy who worked for the store manager Nat Raucher. George "The Greek"
sold
hifi and camera and the rest worked hard hours "Over the counter". You
could
by any component from a single carbon resistor to a case of electrolytics
over the counter. Two young engineers (RCA Institute grads) met to discuss
some simple designs of ham and cb equipment had their prototypes done in
Japan and then marketed them here. I think this was mostly for the simple
but inexpensive cb's and some ham gear like their 6 meter am transceivers.
I
didn't make much money but the employee discount was good and I bought my
first transceiver the National NCX-3. The American Electronics industy was
a
good viable source of income for many people and at the time I thought it
would last forever.


Tony WA6LZH (WA2LBY)


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

George "The Greek"
HAHahaha I think I know him, he had a cash of Lafayette auction parts as
well
He opened a joint on Steinway street with a character named 'Mike"
SL Jack Electronics, I baught a new in the box Hickok scope from him for $60
in 1988
Sadly its a Applebee's or something now

-Joe

"Tony Angerame" wrote in message
...
I worked for Lafayette in Jamaica, Queens, New York 1963-1964. This was my
first job and I sold Ham/CB Equipment. I worked for a sales manager named
Sandy who worked for the store manager Nat Raucher. George "The Greek"
sold
hifi and camera and the rest worked hard hours "Over the counter". You
could
by any component from a single carbon resistor to a case of electrolytics
over the counter. Two young engineers (RCA Institute grads) met to discuss
some simple designs of ham and cb equipment had their prototypes done in
Japan and then marketed them here. I think this was mostly for the simple
but inexpensive cb's and some ham gear like their 6 meter am transceivers.
I
didn't make much money but the employee discount was good and I bought my
first transceiver the National NCX-3. The American Electronics industy was
a
good viable source of income for many people and at the time I thought it
would last forever.


Tony WA6LZH (WA2LBY)


"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and
1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey

there was a store clerk in the Boston, Mass. (110 Federal St. ) in the mid
forties, who taught how to move the decimal point 6 places to the right, to go
from mfd to mmfd...roll on to the 70's...i'am in the only Lafayette store in
Las Vegas...a mother and son are trying to find a 50 ohm resistor, son is
wearing a Cub scout uniform..." Joe " the store clerk goes through the blister
packs of resistors, alas no 50 ohm, sez i, " connect two 100 ohms in parallel"
Joe goes postal..always wondered if the boy persued electronics? never went
back to that store for anything after that? I'am 71 this month, and am still
working at a major hotel/casino, fixing tv sets...i shopped at THE radio shack
store on Washington St. store...and my S-38 came from the Lafayette store, in
Boston...the clerks i met in my youth, helped mold a life long career in
electronics...Gene Reed Tsgt usaf retired...wb7ngi

there was a store clerk in the Boston, Mass. (110 Federal St. ) in the mid
forties, who taught how to move the decimal point 6 places to the right, to go
from mfd to mmfd...roll on to the 70's...i'am in the only Lafayette store in
Las Vegas...a mother and son are trying to find a 50 ohm resistor, son is
wearing a Cub scout uniform..." Joe " the store clerk goes through the blister
packs of resistors, alas no 50 ohm, sez i, " connect two 100 ohms in parallel"
Joe goes postal..always wondered if the boy persued electronics? never went
back to that store for anything after that? I'am 71 this month, and am still
working at a major hotel/casino, fixing tv sets...i shopped at THE radio shack
store on Washington St. store...and my S-38 came from the Lafayette store, in
Boston...the clerks i met in my youth, helped mold a life long career in
electronics...Gene Reed Tsgt usaf retired...wb7ngi

From what I can tell from this thread, they must have sold off individual
stores to various chains or individual stores depending on the locations.
The local LRE here in Westerly, RI became one of small local chain of stores
called Leiser Sound, owned by a Harry Leiser, in the early 80s.. The Leiser
Sound chain went belly up a few years later. I think several other LREs
also became Leisers in the SE CT/ RI area.

I remember getting a LRE SWR/Wattmeter for next to nothing there when Lieser
was liqudating all the non-stereo LRE inventory.

Interesting topic/thread!!!

Chris Bowne, AJ1G
Stonington, CT



"Smokey" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know anything about the corporate structure of Lafayette? Is
anyone out there a former employee, especially during the 1950s and 1960s?
Who "absorbed" or bought Lafayette?

Smokey