Scanner Tales: The Other Radio Stores

[trentbob]

I think I still have most of the books purchased from Tucker, including most of Tom Kneitel’s, all 3 of Bill Cheek’s, plus 2 editions of the thick Monitor America books.

Yeppers, I think there were three monitor America books but I could be wrong on that, there was one really huge one that was the last Edition.

A big hit by Tom was the Federal frequency book which may have had two editions.

I really enjoyed making the rounds on a Saturday to all the stores in my area, not a large crowd but always a crowd with plenty to talk about.

 

[N9JIG]

I was one of the editors on Monitor America, I handled about 20 different states for the 3rd (Huge) edition and about half that for the smaller 2nd edition. I also helped the main editor (Rich Barnett) in layout and concepts. It was a lot of fun and a ton of work.

 

[trentbob]

I was one of the editors on Monitor America, I handled about 20 different states for the 3rd (Huge) edition and about half that for the smaller 2nd edition. I also helped the main editor (Rich Barnett) in layout and concepts. It was a lot of fun and a ton of work.

I'm very much enjoying this ongoing series. It's great that this is documented in such an organized fashion.. otherwise, it basically goes.. with us.

 

[CKnobb]

Does anyone remember DAK Industries? I remember drooling over their catalogs in my younger days. They had a lot of electronics and gadgets, including CB radios now and then. I always wanted one of the ones with the rack mount handles. Never did buy any as they were quite expensive, plus I went the ham radio way by then. I wish I'd kept a few of those catalogs. I'd be sweet to peruse them again. I think they went out of business/bankrupt in the early 80s. Or, maybe I'm dreaming all this.....

 

[trentbob]

Does anyone remember DAK Industries? I remember drooling over their catalogs in my younger days. They had a lot of electronics and gadgets, including CB radios now and then. I always wanted one of the ones with the rack mount handles. Never did buy any as they were quite expensive, plus I went the ham radio way by then. I wish I'd kept a few of those catalogs. I'd be sweet to peruse them again. I think they went out of business/bankrupt in the early 80s. Or, maybe I'm dreaming all this.....

Apparently they're still around, I Googled DAK Industries and they have a website. Copyright 2024 Limited products, speakers, earbuds, phone power packs, power cables Etc. Doesn't appear to have any brick and mortar stores.

 

[ladn]

Does anyone remember DAK Industries? I remember drooling over their catalogs in my younger days.

Drew Alan Kaplan was DAK. Lots of interesting offerings similar to Brookstone. The full color, glossy, catalog was well produced and had homey descriptions from Drew. They had an outlet/retail store in the San Fernando Valley that I sometimes visited. Fun stuff and interesting tech for its time.

 

[footage]

I was one of the editors on Monitor America, I handled about 20 different states for the 3rd (Huge) edition and about half that for the smaller 2nd edition. I also helped the main editor (Rich Barnett) in layout and concepts. It was a lot of fun and a ton of work.

I did the first Monitor America for a number of reasons, but mainly to fulfill my wish for a book I could carry with me when I traveled. It was truly a bear but I was proud of the result. Rich was a really supportive and generous publisher and helped me (plus my associate Daria Malinchak) do a pretty thorough job for the time. Think of it as a giant tribute to pre-trunking analog radio. Believe it or not I sometimes think of making something like it again.

 

[trap5858]

I grew up in Philadelphia PA and Radio Shack and Lafayette Electronics were the mainstays in my area, they were close enough that I could ride my bike there as a kid. As I got a little older and began driving I learned there were at least 3 other "Radio" stores- mostly Ham radio and professional two way communications shops. They all did a little CB and Scanner work, their inventory was pretty much the same. For the CB stuff each had a favored brand. We also had a sporting goods store not far away that sold CB and Scanners- in fact I bought my first 4 channel Fannon-Courier handheld there- the big problem was they did not sell crystals so it was off to Radio Shack to complete the mission.

Then through my subscription to Monitoring Times and Popular Communications I learned of other sources- mail order or actually telephone order. So many choices- so little money!

 

[W4KRR]

Got my first scanner, an Electra Bearcat III crystal scanner in 1973, from LaFayette Electronics. We also had Olson Electronics, which sold Regency scanners back in the day. Long gone now.

 

[dlehman216]

I remember well EEB! When I was active duty Air Force stationed at Bolling AFB back in the early 80's, I was a big Scanner and SWL buff. I discovered EEB and spent many a day and dollar there. In fact I took my No-Code Novice Test at the store. Many years later, I retired to the Northern Virginia area and the first thing I did was to head over to Vienna to visit the store only to find it gone, a very sad day!!! Even sadder to hear how it closed down! I also discovered the Woodbridge location of Ham radio Outlet (HRO), they also have a pretty good selection of Scanners and SWL radios in addition to all the cool Ham gear!!!! There's always some place to find that will suck the money out of our wallets ;-)

 

[exkalibur]

Lakeshore Electronics (Burlington ON)

Lakeshore was pretty much a scanner store, but they also dabbled in CB’s and car stereos. They had one of the world’s largest selections of scanner crystals. I first started going there in the early 1980’s as I railfanned that part of the GTA/Hamilton area often. I was an honorary member of “BARF”, the Burlington Area Railfan’s, a group of folks that would hang out at the old Burlington depot in the evenings to watch trains and socialize. I weas looking for crystals for the local railroad channels and was referred to this place. I went and was absolutely floored by it. I ended up getting not only the crystals I needed but also a BC220 scanner. It had a filter on it that would filter out the pilot tones used by the old OPP pseudo trunking system on 140 MHz. at the time. What I didn’t know until I got home to Illinois was that that filter also worked on the old IMTS VHF mobile phone system pilot tones.

LSE also had a huge wall of crystals but with little drawers like one would use in their workshop for hardware. They also had all kinds of antennas and accessories. They closed up sometime in the 1990’s I think but I would stop in every time I was in the area, a couple times a year then.

Lakeshore Electronics didn't close per say, they moved to Fima Crescent in Etobicoke and later to Meteor Drive, where they continue to do business. At some point the business "split". Radio/Equipment/Repairs was done by Lakeshore Electronics while systems and infrastructure was done by Fleetcom Inc. Fleetcom ran a private 900MHz iDEN system branded as Harmony which enjoyed limited success with a few "big ticket" customers such as the Toronto International Airport and a media outlet. Eventually, the two companies merged into what it is today, Lakeshore Communications. There was a time they were very hobbyist-friendly but unfortunately they were bought out by people in the cellphone market and it forever changed to just another rental/repair outfit.

 

[Eng74]

How about Scanners Unlimited? Never visited but I'm pretty sure I ordered from Glenn at some point.

I was going to bring up this one. He was in Redwood City. I would go by there when going to San Francisco for 49ers games. He had a great collection of scanners in the store. I got my PSR-500 and 600 from there along with some other radios and a lot of accessories. The GRE office was nearby so he had the first of the PSR radios. I think he was a tester and he showed me the 500 after it was announced but was not available yet.

 

[W9WSS]

So who is this mystery scanner celebrity?

 

[FedFyrGuy]

HARCO ELECTRONICS, Aberdeen, MD
Electronics retail and wholesale vendor. Bought my first brand-new Regency scanners here from Ralph - one of the counter salespersons. He always kept me updated on new scanners and new crystals added to their inventory.

LAFAYETTE ELECTRONICS, Bel Air, MD
Bought a few CB's here and electronic hardware of all types until it closed in the late 70's. They also had an independent mobile install shop located in the lower level and I had a Plectron receiver and Robyn CB installed there in my Plymouth Fury - yes, they drilled the holes for the antennas!

 

[electronix_tech]

I bought my first scanner a Uniden BC 200 XLT with the cellular bands unlocked back in 1991 at Atlantic Ham Radio in Toronto, Ontario.

Durham Radio in Whitby was a shop I would visit in the 90s they sold CB radios, scanners, antennas and parts now closed.

Bytown Marine in Ottawa was where I bought quite a few Cushcraft ham antennas, ARRL handbooks back in the 90s.

Radioworld in Toronto is still open they sell scanners and ham radios.

Edit: This post was in reply to The Other Radio Stores thread.

 

[jack103]

A W Electronics​

491 Riverside Ave, Medford MA, 02155(800) 499-7443. Closed now

 

[Omega-TI]

Does anyone remember DAK Industries? I remember drooling over their catalogs in my younger days. They had a lot of electronics and gadgets, including CB radios now and then. I always wanted one of the ones with the rack mount handles. Never did buy any as they were quite expensive, plus I went the ham radio way by then. I wish I'd kept a few of those catalogs. I'd be sweet to peruse them again. I think they went out of business/bankrupt in the early 80s. Or, maybe I'm dreaming all this.....

Yes, I remember DAK! As a matter of fact I bought my Uniden/Bearcat 800XLT from them.. and I still have it and use it every night (it's in my headboard).

 

[dispatchgeek]

In my younger years I worked briefly at a local Service Merchandise location in the electronics section of the store.
At the time Service carried a few models of radios and the one I remember above all others was the Sony WaveHawk ICF-SC1PC handheld. At the time I really considered picking one up but it was always a little too expensive for my tastes. All things considered the radio was not that great of a receiver so I am glad I did not pick one up.

So you can add Service Merchandise (RIP) to the list of stores that once carried a limited selection of hobby gear.

I had a Wavehawk for a short bit. I wanted to love it, but could never bring myself to even like it! The receiver was meh and hand programming was a nightmare. I seem to remember contorting my hand to hold down multiple keys while tapping in the frequency.

I offloaded the unicorn at a hamfest later that year.

 

[Omega-TI]

Drew Alan Kaplan was DAK. Lots of interesting offerings similar to Brookstone. The full color, glossy, catalog was well produced and had homey descriptions from Drew. They had an outlet/retail store in the San Fernando Valley that I sometimes visited. Fun stuff and interesting tech for its time.

I actually had more fun pouring over those old catalogs than I do shopping online.

 

[PACNWDude]

I miss Ramsey (Electronics) and their catalogs of electronic kits, and items like their DTMF remote control, and the Touch Tone Grabber. They got me for more money than expected with FM transmitters too, I was stationed at a military base where the only signals to be heard was Country Western music.

This morphed into a sort of remote DJ work and supporting a rock station, with Ramsey selling TASCAM CD players, and other "cheap" broadcast gear.

Later, an employer of mine bought a dozen of their Com3010 radio test sets, sacrificial units for use around vessels and test equipment that could be shipped to other sites when needed (being cheaper than the HP/Agilent 8920 series test sets, and later Aeroflex 3500 series).

Now, Ramsey appears to cater to the RF shield room crowd, and does not sell hobbyist kits or broadcast radio gear anymore. The catalogs and store were cool to peruse.