I replied: I Had a 130 in One Kit... I built an oscillator that modulated another oscillator that modulated a third oscillator and took the output and plugged it into the Control Voltage Input of my KORG POLY 6 Analog Synthesizer... Turned up the Resonance and I made Crazy "Forbidden Planet" Sounds... You Know... the "Spaceship Taking Off" Sound Effect
The Sensation Computer was the First one with a CD ROM Drive... a very good Idea because, now all computers have one...
Except for Chromebooks... they have No Drives at all! Everything is stored in the Cloud...
I remember meeting Some Genius Customers when I worked at Radio Shack in San Jose in the 1990s. One Man built a Thermometer that Called the Owner of a Supermarket on a Cell Phone whenever the Refrigerators Failed... That Invention Could save the Owner thousands of dollars worth of frozen food... He Sold Many Copies of that invention because it was for a Chain of Grocery Stores...
I Hated asking Customers for their Name and Address...up until that point in time we were friends and I was helping them solve their problems but then... MASSIVE ANGER EXPLOSION!!! Many people understood that we used that data to mail advertisements and catalogs... and many people simply did not want the junk mail... plus, it's an obvious safety threat if you tell random people where your pretty wife lives... What if a clerk came over to visit?
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Another Man Repaired Antennas for Commercial Radio Stations... until he got an electric shock and was thrown off the ladder... injured his back... and We had some smart employees too... Retired Lockheed Men who just wanted to work part time... a USMC Engineer...
One man wrote reviews for Computer Magazines... He bought a Sensation Computer, kept it for One week and Returned it after he was done writing a review... That was the Policy! anyway... He often asked me to go with him to FRY'S Electronics on "one per customer" disk drive sales... He Bought One and I Bought One... and then he installed them in "Home Made" Computer Systems... He Bought a Box, Motherboard, power supply and disk drive and Put 'em all together to make a "State of the Art" System... a Good business in San Jose in the 1990s... We also went to a meeting of the Home Brew Club at Valco Fashion Park... That's the Club started by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac...
Our store was Legendary for having engineering talent working behind the counter... we could design what you needed and draw you a wiring diagram... especially for the A/B Cable TV Hookup needed in San Jose... It was one of the First Cable TV systems in the Country and Half of the Channels were on One Wire (A) and the Other Half of the Channels were on the Other Wire (B)... Well, the Customer clearly needed a remote controlled A/B Switch! ($40.00 plus replacement batteries)
and there were the Many Technicians that did part time work installing a TV Antenna on the Roof of a Customer's House... or a guy that would make a "Pirate Box" for stealing Cable TV... Of Course, We never did anything Illegal but what happened outside the store a NOT our Problem...
I Hated asking Customers for their Name and Address...up until that point in time we were friends and I was helping them solve their problems but then... MASSIVE ANGER EXPLOSION!!! Many people understood that we used that data to mail advertisements and catalogs... and many people simply did not want the junk mail... plus, it's an obvious safety threat if you tell random people where your pretty wife lives... What if a clerk came over to visit?
Winner of the BEST PRODUCT EVER Contest.
Minimus 7 Speaker. Metal Box...
My Opinion: The Best Product Ever was the Giant Outdoor TV Antenna... VU-190 --- We Got San Francisco and Sacramento Stations in Los Gatos (South of San Jose) by using the Rotator...
Weather Radio
.jpg "Radio Shack Speakers - Minimus 7 with Metal Box")
Bill Said: I had one in college -- got me through statistics. Professor allowed me to use it because I had written the programs myself and used them to check my work.
I Replied: Mine had a Horse Race Handicapping Program to Help you Bet on the Ponies... A practical use for a totally portable Machine!
I Said: I sold a closed circuit camera to a guy that used it to find out who was at the front door... change the TV to Channel 3... With certain people he ran out the back door and jumped the fence... then came back a couple of hours later... A better Plan for Life would be to not make so many enemies...
According to Gordon Liddy's Book WILL, a similar Radio was used in the Watergate Burglary... and he a unhappy... He Should have bought a 49 MHz Radio... They Work better in a building... CB is Best Outdoors
A 1988 Radio Shack Comic Book
Gary Said: It’s been great reading all of these posts. I had the pleasure of working in an owner operator store in 1978-80. I enjoyed the audio gear and the various communication devices. I loved that parts wall as I was always into building something. I have already come to the conclusion that the reincarnated Radio Shack will in no way resemble the store we knew in the past. Which is too bad they had a very unique type of customer that they chose to abandon. I truly hope we will see some Realistic branded communication gear, HiFi and a great parts wall.
Roger Said: On one of my first days on the job I was requested to turn on the Model Three computer. I was alone in the store had not been trained on computers at all. I don't know how I did it but I managed to erase the hard drive.
Radio Shack Speaker - in a Tennessee Church
Pete Said: My first scanner...now about 50 years old. Used it to monitor Atlanta Fire dispatch and fireground, Georgia Tech Police, and a Georgia State Patrol channel. Miss the flashing red lights on today's scanners!
Test Meters - Radio Shack
Matt's Mom Working on the Radio Shack Computer
Matt Said:
I absolutely love this group and wanted to share this: Here's my mom, probably in 1981 or 82, being very much ahead of the times. She made use of a computer in small business long before they were everywhere. Our family had a small ice cream store in the local mall (Bresler's Ice Cream, Greenwood Mall, Bowling Green, KY 1979-1986), and my mom used it for general ledger and payroll needs. We used to have a programmer come over to our house to make updates to the software. I'm still friends with him on facebook all these years later. I also still have this computer (TRS-80 Model III bought from the same mall's Radio Shack) along with the cassette player, cables, and a copy of Raaku-Tu on tape. Enjoy!
Sound Meter
Love looking at all the Radio Shack stuff in this group! Brings back many memories. But I am surprised I have not seen the venerable Radio Shack sound dB meter. These things were great. The analog needle meter movement is much better than any digital display, in my limited experience.
These were essential for the Chaperone at Teen Club Dances... "You Kids TURN DOWN Those Electric Guitars!"
We sold a LOT of security system Gear... but many people just bought the STICKER in the hope it would scare off burglers...
a Very Useful Tool... Digital Multimeter
Oliver Said: I had one of these when I was in first grade, I saw the opportunity to buy one again. I found plenty of coins at the school playground...
We also sold Professional Grade Models
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Ham Radio... Selling Equipment at Radio Shack in the 1990s - I Met a Lot of Interesting and Obsessive People who were Amateurs.
It was Really Fun to Be Introduced to The Ham Radio Culture... a World I Had No Contact With...
Dot Dot Dot DASH DASH DASH Dot Dot Dot (SOS - Save Our Ship)
One Man Had a "Mobile Command Center" Built into an Old School Bus. His Plan was that When All Communication Failed During an Earthquake, He and His Ham Radio Friends Could Help Firemen, Policemen and the National Guard... A Pretty Likely Occurrence in San Jose, CA... There Have Been Major Earthquakes in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Gatos... or... Maybe this Old Hippie Just wanted a Valid Excuse for Living in a BUS... With a Sure Fire Way to Avoid Police Harassment was to BE Part of the Law Enforcement TEAM...
We DID Sell Amateur Radios that Require a Licence from the FCC to Operate. We DID NOT Check to see if the Customer HAD a License... or Planned to Have a License... However we Did Inform Every Customer of the NEED for Them to GET a License to Operate the Radio Legally... But anything that Happens OUTSIDE The Store Was NOT Our Responsibility...
Many Ham Radio Operators Who DO Have a License Say That They HUNT DOWN ILLEGAL OPERATORS as a Fun Hobby... Using Triangulation to Locate the Bogus Radio Operator... and Reporting Then to "Friendly Cousin Charlie." Maybe this is a False Story but... Who Knows!
I do know that Getting a License is Difficult. They require that you understand Electrical Engineering and The Basic Physics of How RADIO WORKS... and They also Test Your Speed and Accuracy in Morse Code... I knew a Ham Radio Operator who said the Morse Code Training Helped Him with his Piano Playing... a Deep Understanding of Rhythm...
A Bigger Problem was Citizens Band Radios with an Illegal Linear Amplifier. CB Radios May Operate without any License BUT there is a Maximum Power Output for legal Radios... Well, People DO Sell Illegal BOOSTERS that allow a CB Radio to Work over VAST Distances... One Customer said he could talk to Guatemala on his CB... It Saved him a LOT of Money on his Telephone Bill... BUT... That much Power Interferes With... TV Reception, AM and FM Radio Reception, Police Band Reception and Fire Truck Communications... THAT'S WHY There is a Limit to the Power Output... FCC Laws... So Everyone Can Play Nice and Share the Airwaves... Those FCC Laws are also the Reason That WOLFMAN JACK Had His Radio Station in Mexico... No Laws to Limit His Broadcast Range.
One Blessing of Working at Radio Shack was the Requirement That I Learn Electronics Theory... and How things Work. The Corporation Found out that More Products GET SOLD and STAY SOLD if the Clerks Understand Electronics. Selling Someone the Wrong Part Does NOT Make a Profit... It only wastes the Customer's Time and Patience... SO... We Were Required to Study and Pass Tests in 14 Different Subjects... I Learned the Physics of Antenna Design... How A VCR Works... How a TV Works... Etc Etc Etc... FREE COLLEGE ON THE TIMECLOCK...
Amateur Radio Operators Collect Cards from Each Other Proving that they were able to Contact People Far Away. When they are Chatting, they ask for a Name and Street Address and then Mail a Postcard with the Other Person's Call Sign on it. Then they POST those Cards on the Wall of Their SHACK...
My Friend Had a card from a Man named Fletcher on Pitcarin Island... a Descendant of the Mutiny on the Bounty... I guess if You Live on an Island in the Middle of the Ocean a Radio would be handy for Contacting People On Different Islands or The Mainland...
Two Way Radios Either TALK or LISTEN. But Not Both at The Same Time, Like a Telephone. That's Why People say "Over" when they have finished Talking... and they release the BUTTON... People say "10-4" to tell the other person they Heard What their Friend Had to Say and Understood the Words...
We sold a Lot of Personal Communicators that had a Short Range but 49 MHz FM Quality... They Were Small and Trendy... People Bought them for Communication While Skiing... or Going to The Mall... or Organizing a Stage Show... You Could Wear the Microphone and Speaker on Your Head, and have the Radio Clipped to Your Belt... a Really Trendy High Tech LOOK...
I remember the Watergate Burglars Used Radio Shack CB Radios to Orchestrate Their Crime... Those Radios DO NOT WORK WELL INSIDE BUILDINGS... In G Gordon Liddy's Book "Will" he complained about the Quality of the Radios... HOWEVER... He Simply Did Not Buy The Right Product... a 49 MHz FM Radio would Have been Wonderful For Their Job... BUT... I Bet Liddy Did Not Explain His Intended USE to The Clerk... Being all HUSH HUSH and Clandestine... Dumbf*ck! His EGO caused His Failure...
Of Course, all this is Ancient History because Cellphones are What People Use Now...
