Did Radio Shack start out selling ham stuff?
 

On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 03:18:41 -0600,
wrote:

Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?
Based on their name I sort of suspect that.

I know they used to carry a decent stock of parts, but now they just
sell lots of toys and a few overpriced useful home electronic items.

From their web page at
http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/about/history.html

The First RadioShack Store
Two years later and half a continent away, two brothers, Theodore and
Milton Deutschmann, opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation
in the heart of downtown Boston. They chose the name, "RadioShack,"
which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ship's
radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for
a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as
well as "ham" radio operators.

Beginning in 1921, RadioShack would grow to a handful of stores
clustered in the Northeast, and become a leading electronics
mail-order distributor to hobbyists. This is how it would remain until
the company and a young Texan named Charles Tandy crossed paths four
decades later.
***

It would seem that the focus was on radio operators from the very
start, professional as well as amateurs, as you suspected from the
name.

It has changed somewhat since then.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom

Radio Shack History can be viewed at URL:

http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/about/history.html

Stores sell what people buy and electronic hobbyists items are in low
demand.
Many independent Electronic parts stores have closed up.

For Electronic Parts dealers see URL:
http://ac6v.com/components.htm
--
Caveat Lector (Reader Beware)



wrote in message
...
Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?
Based on their name I sort of suspect that.

I know they used to carry a decent stock of parts, but now they just
sell lots of toys and a few overpriced useful home electronic items.

George

In article ,
wrote:

| Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?
| Based on their name I sort of suspect that.

Yes. And they stopped selling ham radio stuff not too long ago.

| I know they used to carry a decent stock of parts, but now they just
| sell lots of toys and a few overpriced useful home electronic items.

They sell what people want. Or they go out of business.

To be fair, they do still sell quite a few radios -- GPSs, stereos,
cell phones, satellite receivers, walkie talkies, R/C toys, CBs,
scanners, etc.

The last RS catalog I read (2004?) still listed some ham radios and
antennas and such, so maybe they do still carry some, but it's all
special order now unless it's also useful for CBs (which they still
carry a few of.)

Looking at the web site, I can't find any of the HTs or mobile units I
recall seeing in the catalog, but they still sell a few ham-only items
items -- paddles, a 2m amplifier, a TNC, DSP filter, code practice
units, SWR analyzer, tuners ...

(Ok, a few of those might be useful to a CBer, but you get the idea --
they're not totally out of ham radio yet.)

But even so, `You've got questions? We've got cell phones!' and
`You've got questions? We've got dumb looks!' still applies for most
of the people that work in the stores. Which isn't surprising -- if
they knew more about electronics, they'd probably not be in what's
basically a retail sales job.

--
Doug McLaren,
Seen on a Bumper sticker: "FISH TREMBLE AT THE MENTION OF MY NAME!"

"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message
...
On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 03:18:41 -0600,
wrote:

Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?
Based on their name I sort of suspect that.

I know they used to carry a decent stock of parts, but now they just
sell lots of toys and a few overpriced useful home electronic items.

From their web page at
http://www.radioshackcorporation.com/about/history.html

The First RadioShack Store
Two years later and half a continent away, two brothers, Theodore and
Milton Deutschmann, opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation
in the heart of downtown Boston. They chose the name, "RadioShack,"
which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ship's
radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for
a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as
well as "ham" radio operators.

Beginning in 1921, RadioShack would grow to a handful of stores
clustered in the Northeast, and become a leading electronics
mail-order distributor to hobbyists. This is how it would remain until
the company and a young Texan named Charles Tandy crossed paths four
decades later.
***

It would seem that the focus was on radio operators from the very
start, professional as well as amateurs, as you suspected from the
name.


The Radio Shack that I knew was a store on Central Ave in Newark NJ which
sprung up sometime in the mid 1920s. I don't think it was connected with
the Deutschmann group. It seemed to carry mostly surplus. I started my
electronic junque box there in 1929. I still have some of that stuff,
including a gridleak I just found. (What's a gridleak you say?)

Marty K1FHR

Electrons - of course.

"Doug McLaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

| Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?

Wasn't there also something called "Allied Radio Shack" years ago? Or am I
confused?

Jerry

"Jerry" wrote in message
. ..

"Doug McLaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

| Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?

Wasn't there also something called "Allied Radio Shack" years ago? Or am I
confused?

Jerry


You are not confused
From URL:http://www.qsl.net/kb7rgg/

"Allied Radio (now known as Allied Electronics) is a company with a long
eight decade history. It was founded in Chicago, IL. in 1928. Its purpose
was to distribute radio parts for Columbia Radio Corp. By 1932, Allied was
selling electronic parts by catalog. Storefront sales operations were
established with the goal of selling to amateur radio operators and
electronics experimenters. During WWII, Allied devoted itself to the war
effort by handling government contracts and high-priority industrial needs.
This was Allied's first real experience in industrial electronics. After the
war, Allied continued to sell to the consumer and industrial markets.
Sometime around 1962, Allied Electronics was created as a subsidiary of
Allied Radio. In 1971, Allied was acquired by Tandy (now Radio Shack Corp.)
and moved its headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas. Around 1981, Spartan
Manufacturing acquired the company. In 1997, Avnet took over ownership. In
1999, Allied Electronics was acquired by Electrocomponents plc of the United
Kingdom. Allied Electronics continues to sell electronic components by
catalog and Internet ordering."

I have a catalog here titled Allied Radio Shack - 1971

I don't recall seeing an Allied Radio Shack catalog after the 1971 date

But Allied Electronics is live and well see URL:

http://www.alliedelec.com/AlliedHistory.asp

--
Caveat Lector (Reader Beware)
Help The New Hams
Someone Helped You
Or did You Forget That ?

On Sun, 6 Feb 2005 19:51:09 -0500, "Jerry"
wrote:


"Doug McLaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
wrote:

| Did Radio Shack (the store) start out selling Ham Equipment and stuff?

Wasn't there also something called "Allied Radio Shack" years ago? Or am I
confused?

Jerry

Allied Radio, now Allied Electronics, was never part of Tandy or Radio
Shack. http://www.alliedelec.com/AlliedHistory.asp

Dick

On Sun, 6 Feb 2005 17:32:40 -0800, "Caveat Lector"
wrote:

You are not confused
From URL:http://www.qsl.net/kb7rgg/

"Allied Radio (now known as Allied Electronics) is a company with a long
eight decade history. It was founded in Chicago, IL. in 1928. Its purpose
was to distribute radio parts for Columbia Radio Corp. By 1932, Allied was
selling electronic parts by catalog. Storefront sales operations were
established with the goal of selling to amateur radio operators and
electronics experimenters. During WWII, Allied devoted itself to the war
effort by handling government contracts and high-priority industrial needs.
This was Allied's first real experience in industrial electronics. After the
war, Allied continued to sell to the consumer and industrial markets.
Sometime around 1962, Allied Electronics was created as a subsidiary of
Allied Radio. In 1971, Allied was acquired by Tandy (now Radio Shack Corp.)
and moved its headquarters to Fort Worth, Texas. Around 1981, Spartan
Manufacturing acquired the company. In 1997, Avnet took over ownership. In
1999, Allied Electronics was acquired by Electrocomponents plc of the United
Kingdom. Allied Electronics continues to sell electronic components by
catalog and Internet ordering."

Hmmm. That's interesting. I just posted that Allied was never part
of Tandy. Funny they don't mention anything about it in their history
even though they do mention being acquired by Electrocomponents in
1999. I guess the move to Fort Worth should have been a clue.

Dick

But Allied Electronics is live and well see URL:

http://www.alliedelec.com/AlliedHistory.asp


And I would add, its an excellent source for parts. If I could only
have one catalog, it would probably be theirs.



Ed K7AAT