Boy, do I miss those catalogs, and that's not just the nostalgia talking. Flipping through the parts, tools, and accessories is perfect project idea fuel, and if you've hit a frequent/current snag working on something, the color photos and well-written descriptions may present the perfect tool or component for solving the problem.
Sure, the Internet made access to any part you needed at prices that still make RS look like highway robbery (even after 30 years of inflation!), but there's something to be said for a curated list of the most common items a tech-geek would need, in a store where you could have the item in your hand in a hour.
I can't put my finger on it, but there was something more accessible when you had a physical catalog in your hand. I am not knocking modern online catalogs, which are great when you know what you want. Take Digikey, for example, often I don't know exactly what I want, but only roughly. It was so quick to just flip through the pages in the correct section of the catalog and zero in on it. The search features we have on Digikey's website today are excellent, but I can't help but feel they are still a little slow in many circumstances. Maybe it is just my age. EDIT grammar and a missing phrase.
Some of my earliest memories are at a Radio Shack trying to convince my dad to buy me an RC car. Eventually we switched to Fry's (where I bought and built my first computer) but that died too... Now there's a big hole in the bay area and I am probably one of the last people to have that sort of childhood staple. Although, Microcenter might be a worthy replacement once it's done.
Last time I was in the bay area, I went to Central Computers, and it fills a lot of the niche that Microcenter offers elsewhere in the country. It's one of the few places I can find Raspberry Pis at MSRP (without the high shipping prices from online retailers), and it has enough worthwhile parts for you to build your own PC if you wanted, too.
I have a Microcenter within biking distance. You are going to hate their prices versus what you can get the exact same product for online. Plus, still no individual electronics components. One of the biggest things I miss about Radio Shack was being able to go buy just the five capacitors I needed to repair something, all housed lovingly organized by value in those sliding drawers.
I'm interested in that TRS-XENIX operating system from 1983:
> Derived from Western Electric's UNIX™ Operating System.
The 1983 lineup (RSC-8) is impressive - everything from handhelds to home/game systems to CP/M to multiuser/UNIX systems. It's a shame that they apparently discouraged third-party software and games.
[Writing this post on a Unix-based system from Apple, Radio Shack's less-successful competitor.]
The Radio Shack catalog (and Radio Shack itself) was a hugely influential part of my childhood. My grandfather (Berkeley EE '34) was a huge fan, and one of my favorite early Christmas gifts was the 75-in-1 Electronics Kit, which taught me the fundamentals of electronics. Later, I got my first computer (a TRS-80 Model I), and I would write programs for school assignments, then ride my bike to the Radio Shack Computer Center so that I could print them out.
I glad we have websites like SparkFun and friends, but there was something about browsing the catalogs or visiting the stores that was creatively inspiring. (RIP Fry's)
I was at MicroCenter in Cambridge yesterday, so that experience isn't totally lost, but it's harder to find.
-Ebay, occasionally, if the seller is trusted and known by your corner of the electronics community.
There are several mailing lists where you can get equipment and parts as well over on groups.io.
- test-equipment-buy-sell-exchange
- tekscopes
- hp-agilent-keysight-equipment
and other sources that I'm not remembering off the top of my head. Check out the EEVBlog forums, they probably have a list somewhere, or can tell you where they shop. Same with the various mailing lists. If they don't have it, they might be able to point you towards who does.
This is a brilliant website, destroyed by abhorrent UX. Completely unusable on mobile. A link to some PDFs would be 1000x more effective. It makes me long for the simple paper catalogs.
I found it less jarring once I found the sound OFF toggle.
There is also a mobile mode, but not like a bulk PDF.
I'm guessing they're saving bandwidth by loading each page individually. If they gave me PDFs, I would spider all 73 years like a packrat, and look at < 10% of them.
Yeah I came back to this thread to see if anyone tracked down the source PDFs so I could virtually thumb through some of these on my way home. Can’t get one to load and not refresh itself constantly on my phone.
My deep unquenchable desire for a Realistic PocketVision 2" battery powered portable handheld color television just took over my mind for a minute, despite me browsing the catalog on what would have been considered a mobile supercomputer with a 6" HD screen. Our childhood dreams never really die.
Not jealous... I worked at a Radio Shack as a clerk. The training program was something else. It took weeks of studying books and taking tests to get "certified."
I could diagnose and prescribe for any TV or media combination. 300 ohm wire, 75 ohm cable, or mix and match for fun. Need RCA cord? No problem, let me show you these gold-plated patch cords (back before digital audio, when that made a difference). You're going to need two splitters and this switch here...
And then there was the day where I spent two hours selling that Tandy 1000. It was going to be my biggest commission ever! Just as I was about to ring it up, my boss rolls over and says, "Don't worry. I've got this."
Fairly soon after that I chose to not be an employee of Radio Shack.
Yep. And the giant plastic flashlight giveaways that took like 6 D batteries, and those round doughnut magnets that were fun to buy and sneak into school. Still have them. Fun days.
When my parents married, my father built a component stereo system by Heathkit, giant speakers included. He was also a DX'er who curated a nice den full of radio receiving equipment.
Radio Shack was like a constant companion to us, among other outlets. When I was in high school, Grandma would take me and my sister on the bus to the shopping mall. When I wasn't flirting with the tall blonde clerks in a record shop, I was hanging out in Radio Shack having long tech convos with "Jon" the junior clerk.
I purchased all kinds of gadgets during that time, including cool microphones for "clandestine" recording; a matching microcassette recorder and media; a 2" LCD television set, handheld and battery-powered; a complete 100-project eletronics kit; an Armatron robot arm; radio-controlled sports cars; you name it!
We went there like every week, and the sky was the limit for gadgets that followed me home, and Jon was quite entertaining, as he knew he'd always make that sale if he was friendly and patient with this tech-nerd teenaged boy. Always the highlight of my week.
Fast-forward to 1998, and I'm in Oregon, with no car, and the only points of interest in my neighborhood are a Subway sandwich shop, and a Radio Shack, so I obtained a store credit card and picked up one of those gigantic CD changers, and a remote-controlled boat, because I lived in a lakeside apartment. Good times!
Boy, do I miss those catalogs, and that's not just the nostalgia talking. Flipping through the parts, tools, and accessories is perfect project idea fuel, and if you've hit a frequent/current snag working on something, the color photos and well-written descriptions may present the perfect tool or component for solving the problem.
Sure, the Internet made access to any part you needed at prices that still make RS look like highway robbery (even after 30 years of inflation!), but there's something to be said for a curated list of the most common items a tech-geek would need, in a store where you could have the item in your hand in a hour.
I can't put my finger on it, but there was something more accessible when you had a physical catalog in your hand. I am not knocking modern online catalogs, which are great when you know what you want. Take Digikey, for example, often I don't know exactly what I want, but only roughly. It was so quick to just flip through the pages in the correct section of the catalog and zero in on it. The search features we have on Digikey's website today are excellent, but I can't help but feel they are still a little slow in many circumstances. Maybe it is just my age. EDIT grammar and a missing phrase.
Some of my earliest memories are at a Radio Shack trying to convince my dad to buy me an RC car. Eventually we switched to Fry's (where I bought and built my first computer) but that died too... Now there's a big hole in the bay area and I am probably one of the last people to have that sort of childhood staple. Although, Microcenter might be a worthy replacement once it's done.
Last time I was in the bay area, I went to Central Computers, and it fills a lot of the niche that Microcenter offers elsewhere in the country. It's one of the few places I can find Raspberry Pis at MSRP (without the high shipping prices from online retailers), and it has enough worthwhile parts for you to build your own PC if you wanted, too.
I love giving them my business when I can. I hope they're thriving, whatever that means for brick and mortar anymore.
I have a Microcenter within biking distance. You are going to hate their prices versus what you can get the exact same product for online. Plus, still no individual electronics components. One of the biggest things I miss about Radio Shack was being able to go buy just the five capacitors I needed to repair something, all housed lovingly organized by value in those sliding drawers.
The best part is the computer catalogs.
I'm interested in that TRS-XENIX operating system from 1983:
> Derived from Western Electric's UNIX™ Operating System.
The 1983 lineup (RSC-8) is impressive - everything from handhelds to home/game systems to CP/M to multiuser/UNIX systems. It's a shame that they apparently discouraged third-party software and games.
[Writing this post on a Unix-based system from Apple, Radio Shack's less-successful competitor.]
First time I've seen it as coming from WE - I suppose due to the unbundling of Bell Labs.
I actually developed business apps (and did sysadmin) on Altos Xenix machines back in the early nineties - they were quite nice.
The Radio Shack catalog (and Radio Shack itself) was a hugely influential part of my childhood. My grandfather (Berkeley EE '34) was a huge fan, and one of my favorite early Christmas gifts was the 75-in-1 Electronics Kit, which taught me the fundamentals of electronics. Later, I got my first computer (a TRS-80 Model I), and I would write programs for school assignments, then ride my bike to the Radio Shack Computer Center so that I could print them out.
I glad we have websites like SparkFun and friends, but there was something about browsing the catalogs or visiting the stores that was creatively inspiring. (RIP Fry's)
I was at MicroCenter in Cambridge yesterday, so that experience isn't totally lost, but it's harder to find.
Posted 36 days ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41359903
That's ok -- any mention of Radio Shack catalogs will always make me smile.
Interesting the brand name was "Realistic" - seems like something you'd have expected to have evolved out of a toys company or something -- https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1985_radioshack_...
If Argos is your thing: https://retromash.com/argos/
I worked at RS in '99/00- at the time "Realistic" branded stuff was RCA produced.
Sometimes we would have identical items from both companies, with the Realistic model on sale or special with free batteries or an extended warranty.
Radio Shack comes from the days of AM radio and baffle-less speakers, when sounding "Realistic" was a somewhat distant goal
Are there any online shops that are good for purchasing electronic components and gadgets like Radio Shack?
- Digikey
- Mouser
- SparkFun
- Adafruit
- Antique Electronic Supply
- Sphere Research Corporation
-Ebay, occasionally, if the seller is trusted and known by your corner of the electronics community.
There are several mailing lists where you can get equipment and parts as well over on groups.io.
- test-equipment-buy-sell-exchange
- tekscopes
- hp-agilent-keysight-equipment
and other sources that I'm not remembering off the top of my head. Check out the EEVBlog forums, they probably have a list somewhere, or can tell you where they shop. Same with the various mailing lists. If they don't have it, they might be able to point you towards who does.
A little more niche, but tindie.com also.
This is a brilliant website, destroyed by abhorrent UX. Completely unusable on mobile. A link to some PDFs would be 1000x more effective. It makes me long for the simple paper catalogs.
I found it less jarring once I found the sound OFF toggle.
There is also a mobile mode, but not like a bulk PDF.
I'm guessing they're saving bandwidth by loading each page individually. If they gave me PDFs, I would spider all 73 years like a packrat, and look at < 10% of them.
Yeah I came back to this thread to see if anyone tracked down the source PDFs so I could virtually thumb through some of these on my way home. Can’t get one to load and not refresh itself constantly on my phone.
I still dream of getting that Robie Sr.
My deep unquenchable desire for a Realistic PocketVision 2" battery powered portable handheld color television just took over my mind for a minute, despite me browsing the catalog on what would have been considered a mobile supercomputer with a 6" HD screen. Our childhood dreams never really die.
God that thing was all My child self wanted but knew we could never afford. It was like the real future for me to play with.
Don't be jealous, but I was a member of the exclusive "Battery of the Month Club".
Not jealous... I worked at a Radio Shack as a clerk. The training program was something else. It took weeks of studying books and taking tests to get "certified."
I could diagnose and prescribe for any TV or media combination. 300 ohm wire, 75 ohm cable, or mix and match for fun. Need RCA cord? No problem, let me show you these gold-plated patch cords (back before digital audio, when that made a difference). You're going to need two splitters and this switch here...
And then there was the day where I spent two hours selling that Tandy 1000. It was going to be my biggest commission ever! Just as I was about to ring it up, my boss rolls over and says, "Don't worry. I've got this."
Fairly soon after that I chose to not be an employee of Radio Shack.
Imagine working at Best Buy instead, where they managed to sell a cable modem to my neighbor, a Qwest ADSL subscriber.
Yep. And the giant plastic flashlight giveaways that took like 6 D batteries, and those round doughnut magnets that were fun to buy and sneak into school. Still have them. Fun days.
Photo of the Radio Shack Free Battery Club card:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nostalgia/comments/8f6p9i/battery_c...
This is fascinating. I just started getting into radios, how they work, how to build them from scratch, history of them, etc.
Blast from the past my dad bought the the one tube radio kit on page 67 in the 1970 catalog and used it to try and teach me some basic electronics.
When my parents married, my father built a component stereo system by Heathkit, giant speakers included. He was also a DX'er who curated a nice den full of radio receiving equipment.
Radio Shack was like a constant companion to us, among other outlets. When I was in high school, Grandma would take me and my sister on the bus to the shopping mall. When I wasn't flirting with the tall blonde clerks in a record shop, I was hanging out in Radio Shack having long tech convos with "Jon" the junior clerk.
I purchased all kinds of gadgets during that time, including cool microphones for "clandestine" recording; a matching microcassette recorder and media; a 2" LCD television set, handheld and battery-powered; a complete 100-project eletronics kit; an Armatron robot arm; radio-controlled sports cars; you name it!
We went there like every week, and the sky was the limit for gadgets that followed me home, and Jon was quite entertaining, as he knew he'd always make that sale if he was friendly and patient with this tech-nerd teenaged boy. Always the highlight of my week.
Fast-forward to 1998, and I'm in Oregon, with no car, and the only points of interest in my neighborhood are a Subway sandwich shop, and a Radio Shack, so I obtained a store credit card and picked up one of those gigantic CD changers, and a remote-controlled boat, because I lived in a lakeside apartment. Good times!
Just today I was stunned to see a radio shack show up in my search while visiting Annapolis.
A hedge fund bought some assets out of bankruptcy and now the locations are basically off-brand cell phone stores.
In an alternate universe where Radio Shack still lived, wouldn't the real Radio Shack also be selling off brand cell phones?
Systems like the Tandy Model 102 (cue "Bill Gate's last coding project!") were US localized Kyocera computers, for instance.
Unrelated, even Sadly even You-Do-It closed their physical location.
I have used this before and think it is awesome.
I wish the site allowed searching by catalog number.
I wish I had access to PDFs of the catalogs — didn't have to use their built-in viewer.
The “psycho light” and super tweeters were two of my favorites from the middle of that era.
The "psycho light" a kind of color organ?
Seeing $499 VHS players in 1989 really puts in perspective all the keynesian deflation fear mongering.