coltoff@PRC.Unisys.COM (Joel Coltoff) (02/08/88)
I have been noticing a trend lately that I thought I would pass along. The June 1987 issue of QST magazine had an article on how to turn a Radio Shack Weather Radio into a scanning 2 meter receiver. The Feb 1988 issue of Astronomy magazine has an article that show how to turn a normal clock (the author used a Radio Shack clock) into a sidereal clock. Now on the surface it doesn't seem that these two projects have much in common. The interesting point is that they both turn items from Radio Shack into something that is useful. - Joel
jeffr@aai2..istc.sri.com (Jeff Rininger) (02/09/88)
Joel Coltoff writes: >I have been noticing a trend lately that I thought I would >pass along. The June 1987 issue of QST magazine had an article >on how to turn a Radio Shack Weather Radio into a scanning >2 meter receiver. The 'Shack wx radio is now on sale for $13.00 US, which makes such hacks even more attractive ! - jeffr@istc.sri.com
ray@cs.rochester.edu (Ray Frank) (02/09/88)
In article <5431@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM> coltoff@PRC.Unisys.COM (Joel Coltoff) writes: >I have been noticing a trend lately that I thought I would >pass along. The June 1987 issue of QST magazine had an article >on how to turn a Radio Shack Weather Radio into a scanning >2 meter receiver. The Feb 1988 issue of Astronomy magazine has >an article that show how to turn a normal clock (the author >used a Radio Shack clock) into a sidereal clock. Now on the >surface it doesn't seem that these two projects have much in >common. The interesting point is that they both turn items from >Radio Shack into something that is useful. > > - Joel I've taken cheap FM receivers purchased at garage sales for a buck or two and turned them into weather radios. It is just a matter of playing around with the FM tuning coil and cliping out a capacitor across the FM tuning capacitor. The weather in this area is 162.4MH. As an aside, occasionally I see some Radio Shack bashing going on. But we would all be hard pressed to find all those little odds and ends that we gaget and electronics junkies need on occasion. I don't know of any single store in this area that can supply me with these odds and ends like Radio Shack does. Just go out and try buying a 2.5 ohm 40 watt power resistor on the spare of the moment at 8 PM without going to Radio Shack. ray
todd@uop.edu (Dr. Nethack) (02/10/88)
In article <5431@burdvax.PRC.Unisys.COM>, coltoff@PRC.Unisys.COM (Joel Coltoff) writes: > The interesting point is that they both turn items from > Radio Shack into something that is useful. Ha ha ha, there was a local news program that was discussing hacking the cellular phone traffic, "...and with a simple modification to a Radio Shack scanner..." (see engineer cutting jumpers and adding others) hmmm, another article on hidden features?? uh, oh, flames approaching!! "Thats not legal you sonofa..!!" --- laser initiated fusion reaction SDI x-ray cannons off standby sir! {backbone}!ucbcad!ucbvax!ucdavis!uop!/dev/null ;-)
philm@astroatc.UUCP (02/10/88)
In article <6654@sol.ARPA> ray@cs.rochester.edu (Ray Frank) writes: >As an aside, occasionally I see some Radio Shack bashing going on. But >we would all be hard pressed to find all those little odds and ends that >we gaget and electronics junkies need on occasion. I don't know of any >single store in this area that can supply me with these odds and ends >like Radio Shack does. Just go out and try buying a 2.5 ohm 40 watt power >resistor on the spare of the moment at 8 PM without going to Radio Shack. One of the *only* good things about the chain are their hours of operation and their omnipresence. I have never found a Radio Shack that had in stock the majority of the parts that I desired from the catalog. The electronic parts portion of the store has shrunk year after year to make way for all of the high-priced, low-quality consumer junk. I wouldn't be at all suprised if it were no longer possible to get enough parts together exclusively from Radio Shack to build even a simple radio. I find that the parts are often rejects and out of tolerance. I also find the price markup on a number of their goods truly obscene. It used to be that you could ask a salesperson a question and get an answer that showed that they at least knew *something* about what they were selling. At best, you *may* get a puzzled look today. I have heard the most stupid and lame recommendations and opinions offered by these so-called salespeople to patrons that really need to hear "the voice of experience and reason". The salespeople I have talked with don't know Ohm's Law from Newton's Law and have no concept of what any of Radio Shack's products really do or what they are (or can be) used for. Sorry Ray, this is not meant as a personal attack or anything. I have been burnt too many times by "Radio Shaft" to pass up an opportunity like this to convince people to use the "Shaft" only as a last resort. -- Kirk : Bones ? | Phil Mason, Astronautics Technology Center Bones : He's dead Jim. | Madison, Wisconsin - "Eat Cheese or Die!" ...seismo-uwvax-astroatc!philm | I would really like to believe that my ...ihnp4-nicmad/ | employer shares all my opinions, but . . .
bownesrm@beowulf.UUCP ( Stowaway aboard the Long Shot) (02/11/88)
Overheard at RS a while back: Customer: Well, what size [gauge] speaker wire should I buy? RS Sales Weenie: Well, the bigger the gauge [number], the better. Bob Bownes, aka iii, aka captain comrade bob | Since I AM my employer, Function Consulting, Albany, New York, 12203 | I guess these opinions are (518)-482-8798 voice (518)-482-9228 (anon uucp) | those of my employer bownesrm@beowulf.uucp | my houseplants, and my TR-6. This is my opinion and mine only. It is not that of any former employers (Tandy/Radio Shack) in which I still hold stock.
john@anasaz.UUCP (02/11/88)
In article <832@astroatc.UUCP> philm@astroatc.UUCP (Phil Mason) writes: >I have never found a Radio Shack that had in stock the majority of the >parts that I desired from the catalog. The electronic parts portion of >the store has shrunk year after year to make way for all of the high-priced, >low-quality consumer junk. I disagree! It depends on which store you go to. In some, the manager chooses to neglect the electronic components. In others, they have a complete selection of the catalog components. I frequently go to "Rodeo Shark" to get components when engineering something. However, I would NEVER ship production stuff using their parts, since I have found a few that were of low quality. -- John Moore (NJ7E) hao!noao!mcdsun!nud!anasaz!john (602) 870-3330 (day or evening) The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be someone else's.
larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (02/12/88)
In article <1120@beowulf.UUCP>, bownesrm@beowulf.UUCP ( Stowaway aboard the Long Shot) writes: > Overheard at RS a while back: > > Customer: Well, what size [gauge] speaker wire should I buy? > > RS Sales Weenie: Well, the bigger the gauge [number], the better. You just gave me an idea... Perhaps I will advertise the following in audiophile magazines: *** KNOCK 'EM DEAD with 38-GAUGE SPEAKER INTERCONNECT CABLES *** Be the first on your block to have 38 GAUGE speaker interconnect cables! That's right, folks, THIRTY-EIGHT GAUGE wire! Our interconnect cables are made from the finest [:-)] Belden "Heavy Armored Polythermaleze High Temperature" wire that is available! Why settle for 10-gauge or 12-gauge when you can have a 38? Only $ 5.00 per foot! Order now - don't delay! Think I'd have any takers? :-) <> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York <> UUCP: {allegra|ames|boulder|decvax|rutgers|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry <> VOICE: 716/688-1231 {hplabs|ihnp4|mtune|utzoo|uunet}!/ <> FAX: 716/741-9635 {G1,G2,G3 modes} "Have you hugged your cat today?"
abeles@nvuxj.UUCP (J. H. Abeles) (02/12/88)
I think it's a little unrealistic (no pun intended) to expect Radio Shack personnel to be knowledgable about electronics. First of all, if they were they could make more money as an engineer than as a manager of a Radio Shack Store and have a more pleasant life. Second, since the store is owned by a large corporation, there won't be the knowledgable owner of long standing who really knows his stock. Even in this case, I recall when I was a teenager always going into various electronics stores to buy parts (I rarely got them to do much of anything at home at that time and often despaired of ever understanding how to get an electronic circuit to do anything useful). Those guys weren't exactly rocket scientists either. As far as knowing Ohm's law goes, maybe they did (I'm not sure). I wonder whether the electronics hobbyist market hasn't changed substantially over the years, though. Obviously it's going to be difficult to build anything at a buck for two resistors (is that about what they charge?). And everything is in the IC's today--so you aren't going to be building circuits like the hobbyist of 20 years ago, only wiring up IC's to switches, etc. with a few other discrete components. Radio Shack disgusts me too, since it probably drives out of business the small individual places which would offer us more variety. Instead we're being forced to accept the stuff they spoon-feed us at their exorbitant prices. It's a lot like going to a mall for books and looking through the limited and airheaded selection at B. Dalton or Waldenbooks. I don't really think Radio Shack makes much money off those parts it does sell anyway. Rather I suspect they're part of the Radio Shack image. People must be drawn to buy Radio Shack junk like their computers and stereos and (ugh!) speakers because of the image of electronics wizardry engendered by the parts selection they never would understand. --J. Abeles
glen@blic.BLI.COM (Glen Warner) (02/13/88)
In article <2401@kitty.UUCP>, larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) writes: > > *** KNOCK 'EM DEAD with 38-GAUGE SPEAKER INTERCONNECT CABLES *** > > Be the first on your block to have 38 GAUGE speaker interconnect > cables! That's right, folks, THIRTY-EIGHT GAUGE wire! Our interconnect > cables are made from the finest [:-)] Belden "Heavy Armored Polythermaleze > High Temperature" wire that is available! > Why settle for 10-gauge or 12-gauge when you can have a 38? > Only $ 5.00 per foot! Order now - don't delay! > > > Think I'd have any takers? :-) Maybe you could sell some to the guy who has the snake with indegestion...Not only for use with the thermometer but for a set of mini snake-headphones. Well it sounded good at the time... **** Glen G. Warner Dont look know but theirs a monster cable attacking you speakers!!!
henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (02/24/88)
> And everything is in the IC's today--so you aren't going to be building > circuits like the hobbyist of 20 years ago, only wiring up IC's to > switches, etc. with a few other discrete components. "Why, sonny, hobbyists twenty years ago didn't really *build circuits*. Oh sure, they strung together components here and there, but they bought all them components at a store. Back when hobbyists was real hobbyists, we had to *make* most of our components... You can't call it "building" circuits when you just buy the parts and wire them together!" Yes, ICs do more for you than transistors did. And transistors were just a bit easier to work with than a hunk of galena and a catwhisker, too. Having ICs to use just means that you don't have to spend two days building and debugging a NAND gate before doing something *useful* with it. -- Those who do not understand Unix are | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology condemned to reinvent it, poorly. | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry