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

[kodiakklub]

ive been seeing these "maker" ads from radio shack in issues of WIRED for probably close to a year now. i remember the first time i saw one i had the same thought as mark. but im very glad this movement has hit mainstream. they have the arduino kits in the radio shack on 45th St and 6th ave in NYC. its also an RS that has the component drawers. 1 block from times square. pretty amazing. its saved my butt a few times while building pedals at work.

let this warm your cold dead hearts  :
http://brooklynrobotfoundry.com/

its around the corner from my apartment!! just for kids though  

[jimilee]

The pricing at radioshack, if you think about it is realistic in the sense that it is a brick and mortar store they gotta pay bills too, you don't have to pay shipping and there is no minimum buy. I wouldn't recommend building whole projects with parts from there for sure, but they're good in a pinch.

[Paul Marossy]

I wouldn't recommend building whole projects with parts from there for sure, but they're good in a pinch.

Pretty much the only time I go there is if I need something NOW and I know that they have it. But it's not very often that I go there, I avoid it if at all possible.

[Electron Tornado]

Radio Shack has been slowly trying to get back into being DIY friendly for maybe a year or so now. I heard the same story about the guy at the booth getting an ear full. If RS management got some feedback via mail or email, it might have an even greater effect.

I've mentioned it somewhere here before - yes their prices are higher than places most of us order from. But remember, Radio Shack is not only online, but a brick and mortar retailer as well, so prices are going to be higher. You pay for the convenience, but if they have something you need and you can get it now....

I'm not specifically a "fan" of Radio Shack, but if they're going to return to a time when a 14 year old kid can walk in and buy a kit, a book, some parts, their first soldering iron, and now Arduino, then it's a good thing and should be encouraged. Why do I say that? Because when Radio Shack finally came to town in the late 70s, I was that 14 year old kid.

[CodeMonk]

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.

They already have those in Reno, NV.
And a few other kits.
Nothing much musical wise in kit form yet though.

I remember the old days though.

The very first electronic DIY thing I built was a radioshack reverb kit back in the 80's.
Came with a layout, PCB, schematic, but I had to source several parts elsewhere.

[Paul Marossy]

They already have those in Reno, NV.
And a few other kits.
Nothing much musical wise in kit form yet though.

You live in Reno? I live in Las Vegas, NV. Is the unemployment there as bad as it is here?

[Devius]

The local radio shack (now called the source) has a very weak component section. Even if they did stock a wider variety of parts, the knowledge isn't there. I'll stick with my sweet sweet interior electronics. They can offer tons of advice, super-knowledgeable about parts, and order most of what I need. Which reminds me I need a source for 3pdt stompies around $2.50 each (last deal I got on ebay)

[Mark Hammer]

You have questions?  We have puzzled looks on our faces.

But seriously, it is indeed encouraging to hear so many of you note that one can indulge in some forms of hobby electronics at a local Rat Shack these days.  Maybe not all that frugally, but then we never used to care about it all that much back when it was what we needed to depend on, because it was all most of us had.  Who knows, perhaps the presence of things like Arduinos in Radio Shacks might attract a different sort of young employee, who looks forward to interacting with the customers that those sorts of things appeal to.  And even if it doesn't, the idea that mom or grandma can pop into one of those places at a shopping mall and buy a kid something like that as a last minute birthday or Christmas gift, gives me hope.

As an aside, what started me off on this thread in the first place was a special issue of MAKE I bought for my kid (where I saw the project article and URL), devoted to 3-D printers.  Maybe it's not so far off where we'll be making our own custom control knobs, legended and figured pickguards, pickup covers (P90 with wings, anyone?), binding, replacement rack-and-pinion mechanisms for wahs, enclosures, and amp logos.

Man, I'm starting to like the future!  

[chromesphere]

I think ill stop complaining about Jaycar (australian version of radio shack).  They could NEVER fill a BOM for a pedal build, but they do have alot of electronic parts and accessories.  Tools, soldering irons, heatshink, lab psu's, components, (res's, cap's, pot's, etc), tones of all types of wire, alot of IC's, etc etc. 

Does radio shack have none of this sort of stuff anymore?  Jaycar is however 10x the cost of online and i only go there for the 2 reasons mentioned above 1. Urgent 2. Know its instock -> ie, almost never.

Paul

[CodeMonk]

They already have those in Reno, NV.
And a few other kits.
Nothing much musical wise in kit form yet though.

You live in Reno? I live in Las Vegas, NV. Is the unemployment there as bad as it is here?

Unemployment is bad here as well.
Actually, a little place called Stagecoach. Its about 25 miles east of Carson City.
Except for the previous, 4 years when I was in Newhall, Ca., I've lived in this area since 1989, including Reno, Sparks, and Carson City.
My sister lives in Vegas though.
I think you all are nuts. Vegas is to damn hot for my tastes.

I think ill stop complaining about Jaycar (australian version of radio shack).  They could NEVER fill a BOM for a pedal build, but they do have alot of electronic parts and accessories.  Tools, soldering irons, heatshink, lab psu's, components, (res's, cap's, pot's, etc), tones of all types of wire, alot of IC's, etc etc.  

Does radio shack have none of this sort of stuff anymore?  Jaycar is however 10x the cost of online and i only go there for the 2 reasons mentioned above 1. Urgent 2. Know its instock -> ie, almost never.

Paul

The Radioshacks I have been in have some stuff.
LM741, TL084, 555's, 1N914/4148, 2N2222, 2N3906, resistors and a few voltage regulators, pots and knobs.
Only plastic and paper thin aluminum enclosures though.
And green drop caps are like $1.50 for 2
FeCl, and copper clad.
Breadboards, irons, and other stuff I forget.

[drewl]

Luckily there are two Shacks nearby that both stock a decent amount of parts, yes even enough to build pedals!
The one is right next door to a hobby store, so that might help.
I have no problem paying a little more for something if I can get what I need NOW to finish repairing something needed ASAP.
If I have time, then I'll order a dozen for the same price from Mouser or Digi-Key.

[DougH]

You have questions?  We have puzzled looks on our faces.

Or- You have questions? We'd like you to explain what the hell you're asking us for.


This is good news. Maybe Radio Shack is getting back to what they did best. Partnering with Make is a good idea too. The guy who used to sell the board for my Firefly got on the Make wish list one Christmas with it, and I was pretty impressed with that outfit when I saw it. Obviously, with the support for online mags like Make, DIY-ing is coming back, at some levels. Good for RS to capitalize on that. I wish them luck.

[Paul Marossy]

Unemployment is bad here as well.
Actually, a little place called Stagecoach. Its about 25 miles east of Carson City.
Except for the previous, 4 years when I was in Newhall, Ca., I've lived in this area since 1989, including Reno, Sparks, and Carson City.
My sister lives in Vegas though.
I think you all are nuts. Vegas is to damn hot for my tastes.

I've never even heard of Stagecoach NV. It is too hot here in Las Vegas, but I seem to be trapped here. I've tried to get out of here before, but I have no family anywhere else but California and my wife doesn't want to move there either. Apparently no one is interested in helping me relocate, so I appear to be stuck here forever.   

Anyway, the official unemployment rate is around 14.2% last I heard, but the real unemployment rate is really more like at least 25%. Seems to SLOWLY be getting better, but it will never be like it was here before 2008 in terms of everyone easily getting a job. We only have (had) two kinds of "industry" here anyway - gaming and construction. Construction is still practically non-existent here after nearly five years. There needs to be more than one or two eggs in our employment basket. Anyway, back to topic... 

[superferrite]

Been getting a few odds and ends at Rat Shack for the last several years, and they have been slowly expanding the stuff in the bins.
Decent price on knobs, battery terminals, etc, if you figure in shipping for a small lot.

It will never be like the days of yore when they had a tube tester, but hell, anything besides remote control bugs and cell phones is a win for us!

[Jdansti]

You have questions?  We have puzzled looks on our faces.

This is good news. Maybe Radio Shack is getting back to what they did best. Partnering with Make is a good idea too.

They should also partner with one of the pedal sites and do videos on building pedals with RS parts (or have Make do it depending on their legal agreement). All of this would, of course, require them to start stocking the right parts at a reasonable price.

[haveyouseenhim]

Reasonable prices? Radioshack? HAAA

I get employee discount (not an employee) which is half off and the parts are still expensive.

[Jdansti]

Yes. It would have to be a major paradigm shift for them.

[J0K3RX]

Yeah, they are really beefing up alright... Besides all of the overpriced silly little noise maker and LED lab kits and arduino stuff they now carry metal film resistors But, they are in a variety pack with about 8 different values with a total of 30 for the low low price of $8.00    I love the cap prices, $2.50 or so for 2 caps lets say 220n which is as high as the go by the way in mylar film...        If I am in a pinch I will just tear apart one of my kids toys and steal the parts out of them... Replace them later when my Tayda order comes in   or not...


I did pick up an old Realistic radio at a garage sale with an old brown bakelite or cardboard PC board with all of the components covered is some sort of wax... Good stuff...

[DougH]

Re: the high prices. For that you get the convenience of picking up parts at the mall and driving home with them instead of waiting a week or so for the mail. For onesy-twosies, RS will do fine for me, if they stock the part to begin with. The mall is 5-10 minutes from my house. I'll do the quantity orders online of course but if I only need one or two parts to do something, paying $2.00 for a $.50 or even a $.25 part doesn't bother me. Better than waiting around a week or so for one or two widgets to show up- and paying shipping. I don't mind paying for convenience, and have yet to find a one-stop shop online, so shipping cost is always a factor.

[Paul Marossy]

Re: the high prices. For that you get the convenience of picking up parts at the mall and driving home with them instead of waiting a week or so for the mail. For onesy-twosies, RS will do fine for me, if they stock the part to begin with. The mall is 5-10 minutes from my house. I'll do the quantity orders online of course but if I only need one or two parts to do something, paying $2.00 for a $.50 or even a $.25 part doesn't bother me. Better than waiting around a week or so for one or two widgets to show up- and paying shipping. I don't mind paying for convenience, and have yet to find a one-stop shop online, so shipping cost is always a factor.

Pretty much my mindset too. If they have it and I need it NOW, I'll spend the little extra.

[rant] I have a store two blocks from my house, it takes nearly ten minutes between when I leave my house and when I walk in the door. Sometimes I have to wait at least two minutes at the $*@#!%& light just to get out of my neighborhood. And then a another minute or two at the next two lights. [/rant]