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Radio Shack going out of business

geoffm3 said:
I know quite a few people that purchased Tandy 1000s so I think it was reasonably successful.
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It wasn't just "reasonably successful". The Tandy 1000 series was the USA's top-selling line of PC-clones in the late '80s.

I think what lost them a lot of market share in computers was not making an AT-class Tandy 1000 much sooner.
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They had 286-powered models beginning with the 1000TX in 1987, but those were all still XT-class systems (with 8-bit ISA slots and an XT keyboard interface) until the very last model, the 386SX-powered 1000RSX. But having a true AT-class system was not really important for home consumer PCs until Windows 3.0 came out in 1990. Tandy tried to compete with Windows for a while with their DeskMate UI, and they even had DeskMate versions of applications like Lotus 1-2-3 and Quicken, but especially by the time Windows 3.1 came out in 1992, it was clear that Windows had won.
 
vwestlife said:
It wasn't just "reasonably successful". The Tandy 1000 series was the USA's top-selling line of PC-clones in the late '80s.
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I could believe that, if the market survey was for "name brand" computers. But the bulk of the market was taken up by imported no-name Taiwanese clones. Dealers selling those seemed to be as ubiquitous as Chinese restaurants (as a matter of fact, I recall a couple of Chinese restauranteurs who went into the clone-selling business). ERSO really did a number on US PC manufacturers.
 
vwestlife said:
It wasn't just "reasonably successful". The Tandy 1000 series was the USA's top-selling line of PC-clones in the late '80s.



They had 286-powered models beginning with the 1000TX in 1987, but those were all still XT-class systems (with 8-bit ISA slots and an XT keyboard interface) until the very last model, the 386SX-powered 1000RSX. But having a true AT-class system was not really important for home consumer PCs until Windows 3.0 came out in 1990. Tandy tried to compete with Windows for a while with their DeskMate UI, and they even had DeskMate versions of applications like Lotus 1-2-3 and Quicken, but especially by the time Windows 3.1 came out in 1992, it was clear that Windows had won.
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I'm sure Windows plays into that, sure, but I would think that access to fancy schmancy gaming hardware would have been nice too.
 
I haven't checked my local store but the one in the small town over is closing and has a big banner saying 20-70% off (all?) items, however walking in to the store the staff just seem to be yapping with eachother and no actual discounted prices are posted so it'd be take an item to the register and ask for everything which is oddly annoying. BUT as bittersweet or uninteresting as this may be, it does suck to see probably the only local brick and mortar store that sells arduino, microcontroller, and "shields" go under. On the other hand, if they end up being 70% off that's fun for the family for cheap (while supplies last). About half the store racks were empty already so I'm not sure how long these "sales" will last.
 
Most of the RS stores in my area (central NJ) will be closing, but that is to be expected in areas with high market saturation of mobile phone stores, Best Buy, Batteries+Bulbs, etc. Even some of the dollar stores around here carry a surprisingly large variety of audio/video/computer cables and adapters!

And we also have this dinosaur still in business:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3948951

2u7njno.jpg


fmquty.jpg


Yes, they even still have a tube tester!

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can you for instance buy any microprocessor chips in this store (edit: 16 bit or earlier)? There were and still may be a similar small outfit in Long Island (though I haven't lived there for years). Spartan Electronics in Commack is gone it seems. Can't remember the name of the place in Patchogue (east Patchogue if such a boundary exists). Could always find much of the same stuff you see in these pictures. But most of it was behind the counter, and the stuff in front was behind plexiglass.
 
tipc said:
can you for instance buy any microprocessor chips in this store (edit: 16 bit or earlier)? There were and still may be a similar small outfit in Long Island (though I haven't lived there for years). Spartan Electronics in Commack is gone it seems. Can't remember the name of the place in Patchogue (east Patchogue if such a boundary exists). Could always find much of the same stuff you see in these pictures. But most of it was behind the counter, and the stuff in front was behind plexiglass.
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I don't know about microprocessors, but Greenbrook Electronics carries pretty much the entire NTE replacement IC range. They have aisles full of electronic components, and more behind the counter.

dyne5e8y.jpg
 
It depends on the transistors, really. Things like the 2N3904 and 2N3906 will probably never leave production because they're useful as glue. It's the esoterica from the CRT TV era that's going to be hard to find now (stuff like "High Voltage Transistor for Cathode Ray Tube Driver Circuits"; I understand horizontal-output transistors are still pretty easy to get, though they don't fail messily like they used to).
 
vwestlife said:
I don't know about microprocessors, but Greenbrook Electronics carries pretty much the entire NTE replacement IC range. They have aisles full of electronic components, and more behind the counter.

dyne5e8y.jpg
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One hour 22 minutes away...I think I may have to take a little ride up 202 tomorrow!
 
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