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This ain't your father's Radio Shack....
Feb. 17th, 2011 05:52 pmLast week, I accidentally broke the power cable that came with my Gear Head laptop cooling pad. Not surprising, as it has a very thin cable. It has a USB connector plug on one end and a power adapter plug on the other.
This afternoon, I stopped at my local Radio Shack to purchase either a replacement adapter plug or replacement cable. My plan was to solder the replacement adapter plug onto the cable. I was told by the clerk (who was also the manager) that they no longer carried parts. He explained that there was no money in selling electronics parts anymore, and referred me to another store -- Parts Express in Springboro. I thanked him and left.
Apparently, do-it-yourself electronics hobbyists like myself are a dying breed. Anyone out there remember Heathkit? They used to sell kits of electronics components that people would put together themselves. (I have an alarm clock from them. I was able to wire it up to display 24-hour time.) I think they got out of the DIY electronics business years ago. Now they specialize in kits for education.
It's a sad comment on the industry that it costs more to repair electronics components than it does to replace them. But it's been that way for years. Meanwhile, old and broken electronics pile up in landfills.
I used to love Radio Shack. I remember riding my bike to a local store as far back in 1979. I think I still have a breadboard, circuit components, and an SN76477 sound chip for a project I never completed. What do they sell now? Mobile phones, complete stereo systems and components, computer accessories, and the like. I might as well go to Best Buy instead.
This afternoon, I stopped at my local Radio Shack to purchase either a replacement adapter plug or replacement cable. My plan was to solder the replacement adapter plug onto the cable. I was told by the clerk (who was also the manager) that they no longer carried parts. He explained that there was no money in selling electronics parts anymore, and referred me to another store -- Parts Express in Springboro. I thanked him and left.
Apparently, do-it-yourself electronics hobbyists like myself are a dying breed. Anyone out there remember Heathkit? They used to sell kits of electronics components that people would put together themselves. (I have an alarm clock from them. I was able to wire it up to display 24-hour time.) I think they got out of the DIY electronics business years ago. Now they specialize in kits for education.
It's a sad comment on the industry that it costs more to repair electronics components than it does to replace them. But it's been that way for years. Meanwhile, old and broken electronics pile up in landfills.
I used to love Radio Shack. I remember riding my bike to a local store as far back in 1979. I think I still have a breadboard, circuit components, and an SN76477 sound chip for a project I never completed. What do they sell now? Mobile phones, complete stereo systems and components, computer accessories, and the like. I might as well go to Best Buy instead.
