The day of the electronics hobbyist is pretty much over.
I subscribe to Nuts and Volts magazine, but most larger components that you can solder or breadboard are gone and special circuit boards are needed to mount the micro parts on. Most electronics today involves programming a micro-controller like "Pics", "Arduinos" or "Propellers" to do what a whole board of parts used to be needed to do. Only a bit of interfacing with individual components is needed to drive real world stuff from one of these 1/4-inch sqaure chips with 100,000 transistor arrays on them. The classic example is the DCC decoder..... One chip does it all.
Radio Shack's original experimenter/ computer geek venue has had to change with the times.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
rgengineoiler Last week I needed a new spool of 0.50 60/40 solder which was always 2.5 oz's.
Last week I needed a new spool of 0.50 60/40 solder which was always 2.5 oz's.
Doug,
I'm assuming your meant 0.05" OD solder? That would be one honking big piece of solder.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
SUX V R40 Rider tstage Sounds like a good opportunity to become the resident electronics expert at your local RS. You'll be several steps ahead of the high school kids who work there - even some of the adults. Tom Expert? Thanks for the compliment but I'm no expert. I think others here can vouch for that with the questions I've had to ask to figure a few things out with my layout.
tstage Sounds like a good opportunity to become the resident electronics expert at your local RS. You'll be several steps ahead of the high school kids who work there - even some of the adults. Tom
Sounds like a good opportunity to become the resident electronics expert at your local RS. You'll be several steps ahead of the high school kids who work there - even some of the adults.
Expert? Thanks for the compliment but I'm no expert. I think others here can vouch for that with the questions I've had to ask to figure a few things out with my layout.
SUX,
I meant in comparison to the other employees there at RS.
I avoid Radio Shack now and have been as much as possible for a long time. They are not what they used to be and the employee's are worthless as too knowledge on electronic parts. Last week I needed a new spool of 0.50 60/40 solder which was always 2.5 oz's. They have re-spooled it to 1.5 oz's so it is only half full and when you pull off the solder from the spool it is all kinked up. I have been ordering from Mouser which is world wide and treat a hobbiest like a king with no minimum order. They have sent me a 2326 page catalog at no cost. If you call them they bend over backward to help you and explain if needed. Also I usually know what I want days before I need it. I live in Colorado and they are near Ft. Worth Texas and I can order on say a Monday and standard shipping will have it here on Wed. I can sure live with that so by,by Radio Shack. I can't help it with this rant as this subject has been building for a long time with me. Doug
It's not unique to Radio Shack. The retail indusrty has almost totally changed over to minimum wage, part time employees. That results in high turnover. Very few retail employees know anything about their products.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Safe to say, it's not your fathers Radio Shack anymore. I used to buy a lot of stuff in there. Now they mostly carry skin packed items, hanging on a pin. No one knows anything in there. When they say "Can I help you", I'm always tempted to say "Probably not". I do have a couple of their power transformers, 12 volt, 4 amps, for lighting my layout. I've had them a while. Don't know if they even still carry them.
tstage SUX V R40 Rider But I do know what an DC power extension cord for motor vehicles is without someone having to explain or use the words cigarette lighter style. I know what but connectors are, spade connectors, ring connectors and I know about the different gauges of wire. I know how to crimp both insulated and non-insulated and how to solder. I have put together a telephone kit and it actually worked when I plugged it into my phone jack. This all basic, fundamental electronics. things these stupid clerks at RS should know. Sounds like a good opportunity to become the resident electronics expert at your local RS. You'll be several steps ahead of the high school kids who work there - even some of the adults. Tom
SUX V R40 Rider But I do know what an DC power extension cord for motor vehicles is without someone having to explain or use the words cigarette lighter style. I know what but connectors are, spade connectors, ring connectors and I know about the different gauges of wire. I know how to crimp both insulated and non-insulated and how to solder. I have put together a telephone kit and it actually worked when I plugged it into my phone jack. This all basic, fundamental electronics. things these stupid clerks at RS should know.
But I do know what an DC power extension cord for motor vehicles is without someone having to explain or use the words cigarette lighter style. I know what but connectors are, spade connectors, ring connectors and I know about the different gauges of wire. I know how to crimp both insulated and non-insulated and how to solder.
I have put together a telephone kit and it actually worked when I plugged it into my phone jack. This all basic, fundamental electronics. things these stupid clerks at RS should know.
My knowledge is based on what I have learned through experience, which part of is based on mistakes I've made. thankfully they have not been too costly and have not resulted in a fire or other major damage.
Though there is an opening at the local mall store for full time, which is what I'd be looking for. I may apply and see what happens.
I also have some experience in basic networking and audio/video electronics such as TV's, sound systems, etc.
Not sure how much is will matter these days. You might get lucky and hang out in a store where the manager at least get that you'd be helping. Not like the good old days - I was about 11 when they first came out with the TRS-80 computers. I used to live in the local store, playing with the computer and learning - the mall was close enough that I was often allowed to go there by myself (and II used to think my Mom was overprotective - dunno that I'd let an 11 year old go to the mall alone these days) and while I couldn;t afford the computer, they did sell the manuals seperately and I bought all of them. And some tapes to store my programs on. The store personnel were happy to have me there - they had no clue how computers worked and could only run the prepared demos. I was making it do all sorts of interesting things. Plus I was wise enough to step out of the way when a live customer came and wanted to try their own things.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
This past summer I walked in to one my my local RS and asked about a male to female DC extension power cord used in motor vehicles with one end with the male plug and the other end the female end. What do they show me? Male and female coax connectors. I didn't know what to think but gave the kid the benefit of the doubt and said cigarette lighter style connector.
I'll be the first to admit I may not know how some DC power connections connect, until someone draws me a picture, or at least i may have a hard time understanding how it is supposed to connect together so it will work. But I find out either by asking questions, researching it or through simple trial and error until it works.
Granted we've become a very disposable society but for goodness sake, don't fathers teach their kids, especially their sons this basic knowledge anymore? My dad taught me.
It's very frustrating.
We don't even have Radio Shack stores in Canada any more. A number of years ago, they morphed into a new identity called "The Source" and the selection of parts is virtually non-existant.
If I need / want any electronic components today, it's mail order or nothing.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Just like the MRR hobby. Everyone wants RTR. You have to stay with the times. I saw RS changing some years ago.
I have used Mouser Electronics a lot over the years. All Electronics is another good on line company.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
But what really happened is that electronics used to be a really big hobby. People used to buy kits to build high quality items that they could not otherwise afford, plus all the people who used to experiment and build new circuits. All circuits have gone digital and there is no way someone can build as good a quality of component as can be purchased "Made in name one". So to stay in business Radio Shack morphed themselves into selling the products that the mass markets were buying. Here in Denver they moved all the good electronics components to a single "Parts America" store. All the electronic hobbyists in Denver were not even enough to keep it open. Sigh. We also lost Century Electronics, leaving us with exactly 1 electronics store for the 4 million people on the front range.
I have found that when it comes to LEDs, the brighest are from Miniatronics, not any of those Internet dealers.
Radio Shack LEDs are the next brightest after Miniatronics.
Alton Junction
Yeah if you need one of something to finish a project, assumign they have it in stock - although with 3 or 4 in s small area usually you cna find one store that has what you need. It's cheaper than ordering just one from one of the bigger resellers. And quicker. But if you need a few dozen resistors and things, MUCH cheaper to order from Mouser or Digi-Key. Or one of the cheap eBay seller. I've always liked Mouser because they didn;t have a surcharge on small orders (unless you are buying expensive piarts, even a LOT of resistors is way under $25). Some of the others add a handling charge if you only order a small dollar value of parts.
rrinker Radio Shack is a cell phone store now, where they happen to haev a few parts. The last electronics knowledgable emplyee quit workign at radio shack about 26 years ago (not so coincidentaly I last worked at radio shack 26 years ago...) --Randy
Radio Shack is a cell phone store now, where they happen to haev a few parts.
The last electronics knowledgable emplyee quit workign at radio shack about 26 years ago
(not so coincidentaly I last worked at radio shack 26 years ago...)
LOL, so true.
That said, Radio Shack is still my go-to source for resistors, LEDs, toggles, etc. when I am in a hurry and cannot wait for an order to arrive from Miniatronics.
I usually don't buy much at Radio Shack anymore. The have become a toy and phone store. They do have some good deals on Batteries. I have four RS's within 15 minutes of my home. If I need more than one of something I usually have to visit all four of the stores to get enough of what I need. The parts bins are not kept stocked well and most of the time the parts are mixed up in different drawers. When I have the time to wait I order from allelectronics.com . It takes a week buy they always have everything I might need at better prices including the shipping.
Yeah, the parts selection actually is better than it has been for a few years, not liek the good old days, but more than they had for a while - plus they now have a bunch of Aurdino kits and stuff, although you can get them from places like Sparkfun for a lot less. Now, expecting a current RS emplyee to even know what an AUrdino is, or what it can do....
Most folks who work at Radio Shack nowadays think a resistor is someone on "Cops" who doesn't want handcuffs slapped on 'em.
The best thing to do is to find the part number on the RS web site then give that number to the person on the phone. At least they should be able to look it up on their in-store inventory list and tell you whether they have it in stock or not.