What were the Tandy/Radio Shack computers good at?

[Chuckster_in_Jax]

One factor that came into play back in that time frame was..... how were you going to pay for that expensive toy.
In the 70's someone in their 20's usually wound up at a loan shark to get the credit they needed. By the 80's credit cards and revolving charge accounts were being offered by department stores and some outlets selling electronics.
My first computer was bought from a Zenith Data Systems store by signing up for their revolving charge account.
I would bet that Radio Shock had similar "on the spot" credit available for their customers making a purchase from them easy.

 

[Agent Orange]

Money was a factor. I gave one of my boys a desktop clock/radio/tv for Christmas (early 80's). The tv portion had, IIRC, a 5" b/w screen and had video inputs on the rear. It didn't take him long to figure out that the Commadore was the way to go. Does $99 at K-Mart sound about right? Anyway, he could be found almost at anytime during the night struggling with little BASIC programs and it definitely kept him 'off the streets'. His next step was an Amiga, and I went for the Tandy 1000SX later on, via the Model 100 and the Tandy handheld portable.

 

[dracos]

The Shacks have gone the way of the car dealerships, good back in the day, now it's hit or miss whether you will find good knowledgeable people there.
The margin on selling electronics now is so thin it's hard to pay and retain knowledgeable people. I think if I was Radio Shack I would pair some of those new cell phone salesmen with some retired or semi-retired EE or CompSci guys. Bob knows there are enough old folks in need of some extra income.

My local Shack had some great guys back in the day, they hired all the guys from my local Heathkit store when it closed (sniff!).

When I bought my 1000sx back in 88 that was my first major credit card purchase, they made a small fortune off me.

 

[Chromedome45]

I remember when you could go to your local shack and pick up some Tubes for that really old TV or Radio you had (yeah I'm OLD!). They even had a lifetime warranty on them. I wonder if one were to go bad (tube) would they still honor it? And they also had just about every Transistoror or IC you needed. Heck they even had Z80's! Nowadays if I need any chips caps etc I go someplace else. They Definately went down the toilet as far as I'm concerned.

What were they good at. Depended on your use for them.

 

[leeb]

I remember when you could go to your local shack and pick up some Tubes for that really old TV or Radio you had (yeah I'm OLD!). They even had a lifetime warranty on them. I wonder if one were to go bad (tube) would they still honor it? And they also had just about every Transistoror or IC you needed. Heck they even had Z80's! Nowadays if I need any chips caps etc I go someplace else. They Definately went down the toilet as far as I'm concerned.

What were they good at. Depended on your use for them.

Actually, I do... RS, ALCO (small-ish dept store) &, IIRC, TG&Y all had tube testers. We didnt get a solid-state TV until 72 or so...
Those were the days, my friend.