Cool web site ...

Every Radio Shack catalog from the first one in 1939, up till 2005.

I spent hours on this web site last night.

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalog_directory.html

This is one of my favorites ...

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1980/h175.html

And this one ...

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1980/h007.html

brilliant

Old55


Geek heaven!

Nah, that's Fry's.

http://www.radioshackcata...om/html/1983/h055.html

 
That's absolutely facinating Bub.

We used to have an electronics store here in Worcester called 'Tandy' - virtually everything they stocked was branded Radio Shack so I'm guessing that Tandy was maybe their trading name over here?

When I first started messing about with guitars and speakers, soldering and making up my own audio leads and such, I used to go to a one-man owned/operated shop that had been going for donkeys years apparently. Jack Porter's shop, although very small, was an Aladdin's cave of electronic components and associated hardware, valves, speakers etc - if he hadn't got what you wanted, it probably didn't exist!

After he died, his son Jack junior carried on the business for a few years, but it was never quite the same without 'old' Jack running it.

I still used him even after Tandy opened though, it just seemed to be a much more enjoyable (and cheaper) experience, although Jack's son never seemed to have quite the knowledge of the trade his dad possessed. Over time, the boxes of 'loose' components and spare parts that had once littered (and gave the wonderful character to) the shop were gradually replaced by the now familiar pre-packaged items I'd always associated with places like Tandy.

It was a sad day when Porters eventually shut, the passing of an era really.

Jack Porters and Tandy are now a distant memory, we now have a shiny new Maplins here in Worcester. But it's not the same.
 
Fancy me getting all nostalgic about dusty boxes of valves and jack plugs

Over here the Tandy - Radio Shack connection was well known.

Tandy started as a leather crafts supplier and ended up funding personal computers.

A great legacy.



here's the wiki about UK stores: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandy_Corporation

"Tandy stores
Tandy Logo used in the UK


From the 1970s Tandy operated a chain of RadioShack-style stores in Britain and Australia through its subsidiary InterTAN, under the Tandy name. In 1986, InterTAN became a separate entity though connections between them were still visible. For example, catalog number compatibility was maintained, so the same catalog number in both companies would refer to the same item.
In 1999 the UK stores were sold to Carphone Warehouse, and over the following years have either been closed, or turned into Carphone Warehouse stores. Some of these stores were sold to a new company called T2 which continued the RadioShack style theme. Lately, many of these stores have closed down, though T2 has a strong presence online and has a wide range of RadioShack products.
In 2001 the Australian stores were sold to Dick Smith Electronics (DSE), a subsidiary of Woolworths Limited. Most Australian Tandy stores have been closed or rebranded as Dick Smith, and only four Tandy stores remained as of June 2011.[1]
In Canada, the InterTAN stores were sold to rival Circuit City Inc. At that time, the stores were branded as RadioShack, however, because Circuit City lost the naming rights, all RadioShacks were re-branded as "The Source by Circuit City" (now called just The Source.) Some have closed.
"

SteveStrummerUK

Fancy me getting all nostalgic about dusty boxes of valves and jack plugs  

Analgesics may help.

mike_mccue


Over here the Tandy - Radio Shack connection was well known.

Tandy started as a leather crafts supplier and ended up funding personal computers.

A great legacy.



here's the wiki about UK stores: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandy_Corporation

"Tandy stores
Tandy Logo used in the UK


From the 1970s Tandy operated a chain of RadioShack-style stores in Britain and Australia through its subsidiary InterTAN, under the Tandy name. In 1986, InterTAN became a separate entity though connections between them were still visible. For example, catalog number compatibility was maintained, so the same catalog number in both companies would refer to the same item.
In 1999 the UK stores were sold to Carphone Warehouse, and over the following years have either been closed, or turned into Carphone Warehouse stores. Some of these stores were sold to a new company called T2 which continued the RadioShack style theme. Lately, many of these stores have closed down, though T2 has a strong presence online and has a wide range of RadioShack products.
In 2001 the Australian stores were sold to Dick Smith Electronics (DSE), a subsidiary of Woolworths Limited. Most Australian Tandy stores have been closed or rebranded as Dick Smith, and only four Tandy stores remained as of June 2011.[1]
In Canada, the InterTAN stores were sold to rival Circuit City Inc. At that time, the stores were branded as RadioShack, however, because Circuit City lost the naming rights, all RadioShacks were re-branded as "The Source by Circuit City" (now called just The Source.) Some have closed.
"

mike_mccue


From Radio Shack: http://www.radioshackcorp...om/company/history.php

"An unexpected beginning RadioShack traces its roots to two separate and very different entrepreneurial ventures: the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, a supplier of leather shoe parts to shoe repair shops founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1919; and RadioShack, a retail store and mail-order operation that was established in Boston in 1921 to serve the needs of radio officers aboard ships. RadioShack quickly grew to encompass a handful of stores in the Northeast, as well as a successful electronics mail-order business. The Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company also prospered, and in 1954, it sold its flagship leather business to expand its scope of operations. In 1959, the company shortened its name to Tandy Corporation, and in 1963, Tandy Corporation acquired RadioShack, marking the company's start as a personal electronics retailer.  In 2000, Tandy Corporation changed its name to RadioShack Corp., listing on the NYSE under ticker symbol RSH."

Here in the states (for the benefit of our over the pond friends) the TRS-80 was an ever popular Radio Shack model computer. I never thought of it before but I imagine TRS stood for TandyRadioShack.