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Old 22nd Apr 2017, 8:32 pm   #413
WilliamTK1974
Tetrode
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Posts: 59
Default Re: Bygone radio traders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Radio Wrangler View Post
Hi William, I'm definitely interested. It seems like similar market forces have been at play on both sides of the Atlantic. There was a long established amateur radio dealer near London, by the name of The Radio Shack, so when the Tandy corporation decided to expand their franchises this way, the name was already taken, so they traded as Tandy, here. They were useful sometimes for components, but their finished goods were generally seen as not the best. They wouldn't let you buy anything without getting your address first. I got tired of being a dumping ground for tons of advertising, so I started saying '1601 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC USA' None of them figured it out. Visiting California for work, I got shown round all the usual surplus outlets and told that they were a shadow of what they once were... oh and the amateur radio section at the Bascom Bandit in Sunnyvale.

There is a difference in attitude in our two countries If you can play around with electronic or mechanical things and make them work, or design new things. In the USA you are considered useful, in Japan and Germany you are respected as one of the creators of their level of wealth. In Britain, you are considered odd.
Radio Shack did send out a large amount of ads, along with typically having something in the Sunday newspaper. Their catalog was almost as good as getting the Sears or JCPenney Christmas catalog. Some stuff held little appeal as we didn't yet know what it was for, but there were pics of big roof-mounted TV antennas, stereo gear, and the kits on par with "150 Electronic Experiments." Great fun stuff to drool over. Surprising that y'all didn't see their store brand gear as the good stuff. They had a reasonably good reputation here. Optimus was the top line, then Realistic, IIRC. They also had the Free Flashlight Club for a time, and the monthly Free Battery Club.

Seems they hitched their wagon to cell phones at a time when that seemed like a good idea, but then, the market got saturated and they were no longer on top.

Funny what you said about being useful or being odd. Kind of depends on the situation. Ham radio people seem to almost get put on the same shelf as those who posit conspiracy theories about government mind control. Another problem is that we seem to discourage school-age people from pursuing trades, which would include repairs to expensive electronic items.
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