Wha?! Radio Shack rebranding - the return of DIY?

[Mark Hammer]

I was flipping through a special issue of MAKE magazine on 3-D printers just now, and there it was: a 2-page advertainment just inside the front cover, on how to make yourself an optical tremolo, with a list of parts you could buy at Radio Shack to make it, and a link to a construction article.  And it was a Radio Shack effort!   

If you go to: https://www.radioshackdiy.com/project-gallery  (make sure to take note of the index at the bottom of the screen) you'll find a bunch of interesting music DIY projects there under the heading  "music, photo, video", although you're probably better off selecting "select all" and scrolling through.  Many of the projects seem to some from MAKE and similar souorces.  A fair number of Arduino-related projects in there too.

The optical tremolo itself can be found here: https://www.radioshackdiy.com/project-gallery/optical-tremolo-box

Who knew?

[jdub]

Looks like a fun little project!  Now if RS would just be a bit more realistic about their component prices...

[Paul Marossy]

You can order stuff from RadioShack online, but I think the prices are still ridiculous.

[Mark Hammer]

Agreed on the pricing.  I was just pleasantly surprised at the repository of construction projects.

[Paul Marossy]

Agreed on the pricing.  I was just pleasantly surprised at the repository of construction projects.

Time will tell if it lasts...

[R.G.]

Hmm... the new MBAs at Radio Shack may have figured out that they are not in a good position to compete with Best Buy.

[wavley]

One of the guys at Rat Shack told me that corporate set up a booth at some DIY show a couple of years ago and all day long they just caught crap about being a cell phone store for the whole weekend and it made them rethink.  There was an article a while back about the Radio Shack that's on the same block as the Make headquarters and how he was doing really well because he had a Make section of the store.

RG is right, maybe they finally caught on.

[defaced]

Hmm... the new MBAs at Radio Shack may have figured out that they are not in a good position to compete with Best Buy.

+1  And at a larger scale, they're noticing the ever so fragile trend that's been trying to gain strength in recent years where it's "cool" to work with your hands again, and they're trying to cash in on it.  None the less, this is good news (provided it works).  

[Mark Hammer]

One of the guys at Rat Shack told me that corporate set up a booth at some DIY show a couple of years ago and all day long they just caught crap about being a cell phone store for the whole weekend and it made them rethink.  There was an article a while back about the Radio Shack that's on the same block as the Make headquarters and how he was doing really well because he had a Make section of the store.

RG is right, maybe they finally caught on.

I, for one, would welcome a world where a 15 year-old can walk into a Radio Shack and buy an Arduino.

[Paul Marossy]

One of the guys at Rat Shack told me that corporate set up a booth at some DIY show a couple of years ago and all day long they just caught crap about being a cell phone store for the whole weekend and it made them rethink. 

Wouldn't surprise me. But these days when someone says the word "electronics" what do they think of? Cell phones, iPods, iPhones, TVs, etc. - NOT capacitors, resistors, etc. I'm surprised that they are even entertaining the idea of supporting DIY projects. Fine with me. Now if only they would carry a larger variety of components at reasonable prices...

[armdnrdy]

I, for one, would welcome a world where a 15 year-old can walk into a Radio Shack and buy an Arduino.
[/quote]

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=13384949&kw=arduino&origkw=Arduino&sr=1

Mark.....the day has come!!

[Mac Walker]

The business model died when they gave individual stores the option not to carry some parts....

The business model for Radio Shack is dead, has been for some time.

Elvis has left the building......

[Mark Hammer]

I, for one, would welcome a world where a 15 year-old can walk into a Radio Shack and buy an Arduino.

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=13384949&kw=arduino&origkw=Arduino&sr=1

Mark.....the day has come!!
[/quote]

Maybe.....are those items only available by order, or can you walk into a store and pick one up?

[jaapie]

Maybe.....are those items only available by order, or can you walk into a store and pick one up?

The last time I was in a radio shack was about a year ago, but they had a few different arduinos for sale back then.

[armdnrdy]

I, for one, would welcome a world where a 15 year-old can walk into a Radio Shack and buy an Arduino.

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index.jsp?kwCatId=13384949&kw=arduino&origkw=Arduino&sr=1

Mark.....the day has come!!

Maybe.....are those items only available by order, or can you walk into a store and pick one up?
[/quote]

Yes they are. Click on "find it in your store" then enter your zipcode and it will show local stock.

[Mark Hammer]

I am heartened! 

This turn of events is, sadly, unlikely to happen north of the border, where the DIY-est thing you can probably get is a coax cable or 9v battery.  But I'm glad there is hope somewhere.

[wavley]

Maybe.....are those items only available by order, or can you walk into a store and pick one up?

The last time I was in a radio shack was about a year ago, but they had a few different arduinos for sale back then.

The one in my town has a bunch of Arduino stuff, Make Magazine kits, and Velleman kits.  Started about a year and a half ago and there is more every time I go in.  I actually make it a point to buy parts from Radio Shack about once a month just to encourage them to keep parts in stock for when I actually DO have a parts emergency, plus they're often franchises and I like to support local business.

[Paul Marossy]

The one in my town has a bunch of Arduino stuff, Make Magazine kits, and Velleman kits.  Started about a year and a half ago and there is more every time I go in.  

Wow, you are lucky. I used to have to drive to the other side of town to the only real electronics store here to get any Velleman kits or any parts. Now even they have gotten lame so now I have to pretty much buy everything from someplace online now.

[Jdansti]

My Radio Shack now has a whole section of Arduino stuff.

[WhenBoredomPeaks]

It seems like they added the first project in 2011