RadioShack Returns To U.S....

[marcotor]

I truly doubt, given what they were showing at CES, that the Radio Shack we all knew and loved is ever coming back. Sure there might be some retail presence but think AliExpress style electronics with the RS logo slapped on it. Certainly not scanners, antennas, parts.

 

[Omega-TI]

My Pro-2004 and HTX-202 are still working great.
I would like to find a battery pack for the 202, but until then, I'll rebuild the one I have with new rechargeables. Didn't they also have an empty case you could put your own alkalines in?
I wish I kept one of these...
View attachment 176107

You may not like the price for an old radio like that, but for $45.00 Amazon sells new ones...
https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-HTX-202-HTX-404-IC-02GAT/dp/B07KYM4TF4

 

[baybum]

You may not like the price for an old radio like that, but for $45.00 Amazon sells new ones...
https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-HTX-202-HTX-404-IC-02GAT/dp/B07KYM4TF4

I saw that. I don't see a charger connection on it. Is it the pack where you put alkalines in? That's the one I'm looking for.

 

[Omega-TI]

I saw that. I don't see a charger connection on it. Is it the pack where you put alkalines in? That's the one I'm looking for.

It has a little rubber cover on it (lower left-hand side.

 

[baybum]

It has a little rubber cover on it (lower left-hand side.

View attachment 176108

Ok, now i see it.

 

[ecps92]

My Pro-2004 and HTX-202 are still working great.
I would like to find a battery pack for the 202, but until then, I'll rebuild the one I have with new rechargeables. Didn't they also have an empty case you could put your own alkalines in?
I wish I kept one of these...
View attachment 176107

Wasn't the 202 just an Icom ?
Guess my post is a dupl, not sure why I could not see the other responses.

 

[Coffeemug]

I seriously doubt that Radio Shack will re-open Brick and Mortar Locations That's like waiting for CHANNELS or HECKENGERS to re-open Nope, I'm afraid Radio Shack won't be re-opening brick and mortar locations. If they, I would hope they pick up more variety on radio manufactures, such as ICOM KENWOOD MOTOROLA and VERTEX/YAESU. Not just Amateur Radio and GMRS, but also for commercial industrial users. This is wishful thinking, but that's would like to see. I think there's a better of seeing the LA Dodgers move back to Brooklyn before we see Radio Shack re-open a Brick & Mortar Store.

 

[merlin]

I used to shop at Allide before they became Radio Shack. Mostly for parts.
They used to stock Heathkit replacement parts.

 

[n1chu]

I'd prefer to bring back GRE

Agreed. Especially since GRE produced the PRO 2005/6 for Rat Shack… one of the hottest scanning receivers in its time! (Whistler absorbed GRE but to what extent I’m not aware. As long as we are reminiscing, is there a history of how Radio Reference came to be? Just curious. I surmised long ago that with the advent of trunking (and the various modes that accompanied it) the manual programming process was going to be the death of scanners… if they didn’t remain user friendly the market was likely to dry up. Programming hundreds of individual settings manually for each trunked system was invariably going to cause typos, not to mention, even if correctly programed, these trunking capable scanners would take a month of Sundays to set up. I wonder if the idea of using a “crowd sourced” databank, much like RR, was proposed to the manufacturers by the databank people or was it an idea the manufacturers approached the databanks with? To access RR in the beginning it was free. A databank people subscribed to and supported by submitting data on the agencies they were listening to. Back in the day, I would use a portable frequency counter to capture frequencies for my scanner and then share with others. It’s the same with RR. And I had no problem with RR when they asked for donations and then subscriptions (which allowed for pulling down data from RR to place in my scanner’s programming software for the additional download into the scanner’s memory. It was a god send!) But the history behind RR eludes me. Did it turn out to be a profitable endeavor financially for the owner(s)? Did the manufacturers help in the expense of building out an extensive database, etc.? Did I miss a publication or book on “The History of Scanning”?

 

[ecps92]

Agreed. Especially since GRE produced the PRO 2005/6 for Rat Shack… one of the hottest scanning receivers in its time! (Whistler absorbed GRE but to what extent I’m not aware. As long as we are reminiscing, is there a history of how Radio Reference came to be? Just curious. I surmised long ago that with the advent of trunking (and the various modes that accompanied it) the manual programming process was going to be the death of scanners… if they didn’t remain user friendly the market was likely to dry up. Programming hundreds of individual settings manually for each trunked system was invariably going to cause typos, not to mention, even if correctly programed, these trunking capable scanners would take a month of Sundays to set up. I wonder if the idea of using a “crowd sourced” databank, much like RR, was proposed to the manufacturers by the databank people or was it an idea the manufacturers approached the databanks with? To access RR in the beginning it was free. A databank people subscribed to and supported by submitting data on the agencies they were listening to. Back in the day, I would use a portable frequency counter to capture frequencies for my scanner and then share with others. It’s the same with RR. And I had no problem with RR when they asked for donations and then subscriptions (which allowed for pulling down data from RR to place in my scanner’s programming software for the additional download into the scanner’s memory. It was a god send!) But the history behind RR eludes me. Did it turn out to be a profitable endeavor financially for the owner(s)? Did the manufacturers help in the expense of building out an extensive database, etc.? Did I miss a publication or book on “The History of Scanning”?

There is a thread of that (App for that)

The history of RadioReference.com, from start to now

I'd like to take some time to do a walk-through of the history of RadioReference.com over the years, how we got to where we are, and what we looked like along the process. This will be a multiple post process over time. I've got a lot of content queued up and I'll post each of the progressions...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[crippledchicken]

Enjoyed them locally for years. But, when they opened their phone service things were not the same. I'd have to stand in line for someone to open a new phone account. Needless to say that got old quick! If they come back here that's great! As long as they don't bring the phones with them.

 

[videobruce]

It appears someone just bought rights to the name so to slap that name on some unknown Chineese made 'stuff'. Nothing more.

 

[videobruce]

Appropriate user name cc.

 

[crippledchicken]

Appropriate user name cc.

?

 

[crippledchicken]

Care to elaborate? I don't want a Radio Shack like that either!

 

[SteveO1987]

i got my first homepatrol1 at radio shack in 2014

 

[Omega-TI]

Enjoyed them locally for years. But, when they opened their phone service things were not the same. I'd have to stand in line for someone to open a new phone account. Needless to say that got old quick! If they come back here that's great! As long as they don't bring the phones with them.

Agreed! I miss being able to go in and get a few parts without waiting a week for UPS or FedEx to deliver them. I truly doubt they'll ever do brick & mortar stores again, it's just too much overhead to compete with ordering online and their prices are not that great to begin with.

 

[KE4ZNR]

There is a thread of that (App for that)

The history of RadioReference.com, from start to now

I'd like to take some time to do a walk-through of the history of RadioReference.com over the years, how we got to where we are, and what we looked like along the process. This will be a multiple post process over time. I've got a lot of content queued up and I'll post each of the progressions...

forums.radioreference.com

Those of us that are really old school remember StrongSignals.net (based here in Central NC) which was around back when RR was just starting as trunkedradio.net.

 

[MrBungle]

We have a brick and mortar store near me. Tons of antennas, connectors, CB's, scanners, power supplies, power connectors, the entire electrical connection wall with all the bins for all the diodes, LED's everything... And no cell phones. There was a ton of new old stock. This store is a time capsule.

 

[YalekW]

If I bought the rights to radio shack, Id have the following happen, but under a different name. Most of this would seem repetitive, but some may be different...

The Sweep radio (aka the PSB-7 spirit box). The ovilus device, and the puck device (word generators also used in paranormal investigations).

Portable radio models, under custom modelling schemes.

Mini Boom boxes, maybe some larger ones.

Speakers approved by THX, including the old speakers once manufactured but engineered with the qualification (THX).

Radio scanners custom manufactured from uniden like it was with GRE, with no restrictions or "freemium" upgrades like the sds100/200. And having every single legal digital mode on the things. The older versions would get sold too, but with modern features and the digitial modes added for decoding, and simulcast issues resolved.

Routers, hubs, switches, especially some, maybe most, from 3rd party manufacturers. Ethernet cables, etc.

Walkie Talkies, including ham radio base/handheld models for HF and beyond. Even those for digital like System fusion, dstar, etc. Lot of brands to choose from and different types, including GMRS/FRS.

Modems (even cable modems). But also custom built modems for transmission over radio using every modem standard that can fit into a 4khz bandwidth.

Printers, fax machines, graphics cards, adapters, such as VGA, DVI, HDMI. Monitors of any brand. TVs, RCA cables, audio input and output devices, even some audio to rf generated devices with VFO's as long as you dont leak out above 0.5 watts without a license.

Antennas, including dipoles, some small, some big. DIscones, helixes, anything you wish. Even custom models that you can specify.

Paging encoders (yes, even these get mentioned). Such as POCSAG, that have its own bundled software either on USB or DVD. Your PC would ofc need a CD/DVD drive in your tower.

Bluetooth transcievers, cell phones.
Flashlights, screwdrivers, soldering kits, microphones of varying quality, headsets, security systems (or home fire alarm/burglary detection systems).

And a whole bunch more.
The name unfortunately would have to go. The new name? T.E.T. The Electronic Toolshed. Radio Shack is a cool name, but lets face it, the name has gotten out of hand into the wrong hands...