Tandy - Old & New

Visited Tandy Electronics today. Thought I'd see how its changed from the

1970s when I remember it so well.

The result - less than 1 % of the current stock was similar to that in the

1970s. I was surprised. Not Just that but almost everything now stocked complemented technologies that weren't even invented then.

Surprised, I wondered how much electronics has changed, remembering that they still had plenty of stuff to fill a store back then - all obsolete?

By the way, remember how they used to give a free card entitling you to a monthly free 9 volt battery just for coming into the store.

John

Reply to
John Smyth
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"John Smyth"

** I recall Tandy stores had a *valve tester * for customers to use and carried a range of valves for sale !!!!

DSE followed suit - then worked out it was a very poor idea.

............. Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison

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I loved those valve testers. They were so interesting.

I think DSE missed the boat with valve testers.

Reply to
John Smyth

"John Smyth"

** What "boat " was that ??

The SS Titanic ??? ;-)

........... Phil

Reply to
Phil Allison

The Woolworths doppelganger brand names of Dick Smith and Tandy are consumer electronics stores that bear little relation to the hobbyist stores of the

1970's. Jaycar and Altronics are probably more directly comparable. If you want interesting then head to Rockby.

Cheers, Alf

Reply to
Unbeliever

Ah you mean the old "Battery club card" and you got one of a choice of AA C D or 9 volt battery.

Tandy also used to stock a lot of kind of OK hifi gear in the

70s and early to mid 80s.

They also had a range of kits which were essentially stripped down commercial products that you could build. I recall a shortwave radio bought in 1978 which seemed pretty fancy at the time and, though I could not build it myself I helped make it and it had a wood case and looked pretty neat.

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

Interesting. When I started off as a hobbiest in the early to mid 80s I never saw Tandy as a hobbiest store, with their resistors and other items packaged in multiples and usually much much more expensive than DSE. My opinion of Tandy back then, as it is now, is that it was really just a consumer electronics store.

DSE is different, the company as I remember it in the 80s was definately more hobbiest orientated, and yes it has over the years slowly moved more into the consumer electronics area however at least it still carries the basic parts needed for most hobbiest work. I liken DSE now to the 7-11 of electronics.

Jaycar seems to be following the DSE path slowly but surely. While they are at the moment still chock full of interesting parts they certainly don't have the range they used to, with much of the store space becomming dedicated to consumer computer items, alarm/security and gimicks. The parallel with DSE is easy to see.

I never shopped at Rockby before, however I went into their shop not long ago and was disappointed to see very little stock of anything on the shop floor. Many trays were empty and glass cabinets only containing one or two items, looked like a shop winding up business! However they did have what I wanted and I grabbed a copy of their catalog which has heaps of stuff, I guess much of it must be warehoused out the back? Looks interesting though.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Paull

Funnily enough, though, when DSE & Tandy merged it was essentially all the old Tandy/Realistic/RadioShack lines that were dropped. Don't know why they bother to have two signs and twee catalogues with the same specials shuffled to different pages.

Cheers, Alf

Reply to
Unbeliever

Prior to DSE taking over Tandy it wasn't much different. Last time I had been into a Tandy they had very little of the old audio gear they were once renowned for, and in had come the usual range of Panasonic and Sharp micro hifi's, name branded cordless phones and so on. They still had RadioShack and Optimus branded stuff in the form of cheap audio switch boxes and cables. Since the takeover all I have seen is that DSE have continued that philosophy and changed the cheapy Optimus/RadioShack stuff for cheapy DSE/Digitor brand gear.

I think DSE want to keep the Tandy stores as pure consumer electrical stores (which was where Tandy was heading anyway), and the DSE stores as the combo they are. Slowly killing off Tandy stores as they find shop space in the centers where they figure its worth having a DSE. I'm sure half the reason DSE bought Tandy was just to get a foothold in some of the centres they were previously unable to, and when the leases expire hound centre management to give them larger shop space in return for the promise of a nice new DSE store in its place.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Paull

On Wed, 4 May 2005 19:19:45 +1000, "John Smyth" put finger to keyboard and composed:

I suspect that in the not too distant future even stores like Jaycar and Altronics will either disappear or go the same way as DSE/Tandy. After all, why bother stocking components if the low cost of a ready made commercial item renders it uneconomical to repair, or if the item costs less to manufacture than an equivalent kit?

I envisage a future where the majority of repairs will be done by backyarders with low overheads, or by retired hobbyists looking for something to keep them busy. The trend toward smt components and ASICs will probably kill the kit industry as well.

- Franc Zabkar

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Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.
Reply to
Franc Zabkar

Jaycar do this now, if you buy their catalogue.

Peter

Reply to
Pete

If want to see the change from an Electronic store to a consumer/Computer electronics store just look at TECS.

You once where able to walk into their La Trobe street store and ask for almost any electrical component, now you get very strange looks of "What are you talking about?"

Radio Parts is another.

Just shows you how much of a throw away world we now live in!

Reply to
Anthony Preston

Remember, TECS is an abbreviation of their original company name: The Electronic Components Store..

As early as 1987, TECS started selling non-core electronics products such as computer parts (bought an 8 bit 64k VGA card and AOC VGA (640x480 max res) monitor from them, waay back then when I sold them Talking Electronics kits for the hobbyist market) and it's all been downhill ever since.

Craig

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Reply to
Craig Hart

OMG someone remembers Talking Electronics...

Cool magazine too but remember those other ones from the UK like Elektor?

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

Real pity if you need more then one for a device LOL

Reply to
Kate Fights, I Cry

At $3.40 each their books were terrific value. Was leafing through one just the other day. Colin's business and life philosophies (which he often wrote about) were 'interesting'.

DSE had them up to only about 3 years ago.

There was an Elektor section in one of Roger Harrison's mags (either ETI or AEM).

It's still available from newsagents.

Peter

Reply to
Peter Parker

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