Boy, do I miss those catalogs, and that's not just the nostalgia talking. Flipping through the parts, tools, and accessories is perfect project idea fuel, and if you've hit a frequent/current snag working on something, the color photos and well-written descriptions may present the perfect tool or component for solving the problem.
Sure, the Internet made access to any part you needed at prices that still make RS look like highway robbery (even after 30 years of inflation!), but there's something to be said for a curated list of the most common items a tech-geek would need, in a store where you could have the item in your hand in a hour.
The best part is the computer catalogs.
I'm interested in that TRS-XENIX operating system from 1983:
> Derived from Western Electric's UNIX™ Operating System.
The 1983 lineup (RSC-8) is impressive - everything from handhelds to home/game systems to CP/M to multiuser/UNIX systems. It's a shame that they apparently discouraged third-party software and games.
[Writing this post on a Unix-based system from Apple, Radio Shack's less-successful competitor.]
Interesting the brand name was "Realistic" - seems like something you'd have expected to have evolved out of a toys company or something -- https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1985_radioshack_...
If Argos is your thing: https://retromash.com/argos/
I still dream of getting that Robie Sr.
God that thing was all My child self wanted but knew we could never afford. It was like the real future for me to play with.
Posted 36 days ago
That's ok -- any mention of Radio Shack catalogs will always make me smile.
Don't be jealous, but I was a member of the exclusive "Battery of the Month Club".
Not jealous... I worked at a Radio Shack as a clerk. The training program was something else. It took weeks of studying books and taking tests to get "certified."
I could diagnose and prescribe for any TV or media combination. 300 ohm wire, 75 ohm cable, or mix and match for fun. Need RCA cord? No problem, let me show you these gold-plated patch cords (back before digital audio, when that made a difference). You're going to need two splitters and this switch here...
And then there was the day where I spent two hours selling that Tandy 1000. It was going to be my biggest commission ever! Just as I was about to ring it up, my boss rolls over and says, "Don't worry. I've got this."
Fairly soon after that I chose to not be an employee of Radio Shack.
Yep. And the giant plastic flashlight giveaways that took like 6 D batteries, and those round doughnut magnets that were fun to buy and sneak into school. Still have them. Fun days.
When my parents married, my father built a component stereo system by Heathkit, giant speakers included. He was also a DX'er who curated a nice den full of radio receiving equipment.
Radio Shack was like a constant companion to us, among other outlets. When I was in high school, Grandma would take me and my sister on the bus to the shopping mall. When I wasn't flirting with the tall blonde clerks in a record shop, I was hanging out in Radio Shack having long tech convos with "Jon" the junior clerk.
I purchased all kinds of gadgets during that time, including cool microphones for "clandestine" recording; a matching microcassette recorder and media; a 2" LCD television set, handheld and battery-powered; a complete 100-project eletronics kit; an Armatron robot arm; radio-controlled sports cars; you name it!
We went there like every week, and the sky was the limit for gadgets that followed me home, and Jon was quite entertaining, as he knew he'd always make that sale if he was friendly and patient with this tech-nerd teenaged boy. Always the highlight of my week.
Fast-forward to 1998, and I'm in Oregon, with no car, and the only points of interest in my neighborhood are a Subway sandwich shop, and a Radio Shack, so I obtained a store credit card and picked up one of those gigantic CD changers, and a remote-controlled boat, because I lived in a lakeside apartment. Good times!
This is fascinating. I just started getting into radios, how they work, how to build them from scratch, history of them, etc.
I have used this before and think it is awesome.
I wish the site allowed searching by catalog number.
Just today I was stunned to see a radio shack show up in my search while visiting Annapolis.
The “psycho light” and super tweeters were two of my favorites from the middle of that era.
Seeing $499 VHS players in 1989 really puts in perspective all the keynesian deflation fear mongering.