A disappointing end to what once was a pretty decent place (at least to me as a kid in the mid-late 70s) to get things for electronic projects. I guess the bean counters are almost done 'fixing' it...
Blast it, I knew I should have tried to look you up back in October when I went down to FL to pick up my Jeep. 🙄 I did manage to stop at ESRC and load up the back seat at least. Now to find time....
-Pat
Blast it, I knew I should have tried to look you up back in October when I went down to FL to pick up my Jeep. 🙄 I did manage to stop at ESRC and load up the back seat at least. Now to find time....
-Pat
The founders grandson, got financing,
to buy out his Other 3 partners.
They still worked there.
Lasted around more 5 years.
Then sold most of the inventory at auction.
Building is on the national register.
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I felt that way before.
I realize I'm just a dinosaur, with my interest in linear electronics. I asked a computer store salesman (who was demonstrating the "best speaker ever designed" for me) if he'd ever heard of hi-fi. He said "you mean wi fi." No, hi-fi. "You mean wi fi." Okay. I'm the crazy one.
All this wonderful stuff is going to die with us. In a hundred years nobody will know a midrange from a monkey wrench.
I started my electronics journey in 1956 with a crystal set, and a Knight Kit Space Spanner AM / Shortwave receiver.
There was no Radio Shack then.
I was in a small town, so I ordered parts from Allied Electronics in Chicago, and waited sometimes for 6 to 8 weeks.
I have "done" some digital electronics as part of military and commercial jobs.
But I am really just an Analog and Linear person.
I put up my crossed fingers at persons who say words like software, simulation, etc.
Many of them do not know of all the countless Analog and Linear parts and circuits in their smart phone or iPhone.
There was no Radio Shack then.
I was in a small town, so I ordered parts from Allied Electronics in Chicago, and waited sometimes for 6 to 8 weeks.
I have "done" some digital electronics as part of military and commercial jobs.
But I am really just an Analog and Linear person.
I put up my crossed fingers at persons who say words like software, simulation, etc.
Many of them do not know of all the countless Analog and Linear parts and circuits in their smart phone or iPhone.
I remember the years 1968 to 1975 when I was 13 to 20 years old, working and spending money on the hobby. Actually I've been working since I was 10 and remember taking apart TV's and spending earned change on a part or two. In addition to RS there were numerous mom and pop electronics parts shops, numerous repair shops that would sell you parts, numerous TV sets out on the curbs on garbage day to get free transformers and tubes, Heathkits available, Eico shops too, Chicago had the big Allied headquarters on north Western avenue, and military surplus shops dad got me walkie talkies from there one Christmas, we lived in Cicero an eyeshot from the WE Hawthorn Works where 300B's were being made daily, little did I know. Even Popular Science and Popular Mechanics magazines had electronic projects to do in addition to at least five dedicated electronic hobby magazines on the news stands monthly. Fun times. Since then its become a throw-away society and young boys pursued other hobbies, if at all. Thank god for ebay, without that there is no connection at all left to that time.
Growing up in Chicago, any Radio Shack I visited was stocked full of Allied products. Allied was located at 100 North Western on the West Side until Tandy bought Radio Shack.
I heard that there were Allied stores in Chicago but I don't recall ever visiting one. There were multiple sources for electronic components besides Radio Shack. I bought parts from Kelsea Electronics on South Pulaski in my neighborhood when I was in high school. Old Man Kelsea was grumpy about selling me the parts because he thought I was going to just burn them up. His typical clientele was professional TV repairmen (anybody remember the TV repairman visiting your house?).
I heard that there were Allied stores in Chicago but I don't recall ever visiting one. There were multiple sources for electronic components besides Radio Shack. I bought parts from Kelsea Electronics on South Pulaski in my neighborhood when I was in high school. Old Man Kelsea was grumpy about selling me the parts because he thought I was going to just burn them up. His typical clientele was professional TV repairmen (anybody remember the TV repairman visiting your house?).
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Oh boy a Chicagoan. I worked on south Pulaski at the Stone Container factory while in college operating a bostitch machine and die-cutter for corrugated box mfg, drove past Kelsea electronics everyday on the way home to Oak Lawn. I was fixing TV's on the side and bought a lot of parts stuff there too. do you remember Olson Electronics in Evergreen Park? They were a smaller chain, they'd have new stereos and parts, but they also had a giant table in the middle of the store that they'd throw random surplus, mfg buy outs, Military, whatever, on that table for sale, orange tags no organization just stuff piled up. I picked up several 19 inch rack cabinets one time for a few bucks each. One mom and pop was Dot Electronics in Merrionett Park neighborhood, that guy had any odd-ball part you needed. When he went out of business he was selling 74xxxx chips for a quarter each, tubes, everything.
You're the first person I've talked to in over 30 years that remembers Kelsea Electronics. There isn't anything about them on the Web.
Of course I remember the Olson store in Evergreen Park. I grew up at 79th and Pulaski in Chicago. Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn are my home turf.
Of course I remember the Olson store in Evergreen Park. I grew up at 79th and Pulaski in Chicago. Evergreen Park and Oak Lawn are my home turf.
79th and Pulaski, that was "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak's turf finally under conviction, now I understand your handle name! 😉
I went to Reavis HS same conference as EP.
I went to Reavis HS same conference as EP.
By the time I finished up in sale of hitech electronic TE most all of the electronics in communication products was digital.
Only the mike input & speaker driver were analogue. All that does result in very strange sound at times. 😀
At 11 yrs old I got an Allied Radio project book & built the 1H5G/1N5G SW receiver.
On the antenna from my bedroom window to the chicken coup that was good for Europe,
South America & occasionally Australia. I still have the plug in coils I made for that thing,
One day during a violent thunder storm lighting hit the antenna, My mother came
in with scissors & cut the antenna down.
For the parts I went to the electronics store of the time in downtown Toronto, by streetcar.
That would be Alpha Aracon. Not sure when Radio Shack came to Canada,
While I was at U of T, Electrosonic at 543 Yonge St was the place to go.
A group of us often did the short walk of a few blocks to spend what money we had,
On the antenna from my bedroom window to the chicken coup that was good for Europe,
South America & occasionally Australia. I still have the plug in coils I made for that thing,
One day during a violent thunder storm lighting hit the antenna, My mother came
in with scissors & cut the antenna down.
For the parts I went to the electronics store of the time in downtown Toronto, by streetcar.
That would be Alpha Aracon. Not sure when Radio Shack came to Canada,
While I was at U of T, Electrosonic at 543 Yonge St was the place to go.
A group of us often did the short walk of a few blocks to spend what money we had,
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Hey moderators, how about adding a non-technical "History, war stories and tube lore" sticky thread!
I apologize, I have not kept up with modern cell phone technology.
The only analog devices are the microphone and the speaker ? ? ?
How about:
A/D from microphone to digital (notice the A in A/D)
D/A from the digitally calculated and Root Cosine digital filtered I and Q numbers, with the analog voltage output to send to the I & Q modulator (notice the A in D/A)
The linear I & Q modulator that takes I & Q volts in and modulates an RF carrier (all that is analog).
The Linear RF Amplifier (that is analog).
Perhaps they removed all of the above.
. . . Just like they also removed the battery-saving non-linear Class C RF amplifier of the original GPSK signal of the original GSM mobile phones.
Who ever noticed; whoever knew?
The only analog devices are the microphone and the speaker ? ? ?
How about:
A/D from microphone to digital (notice the A in A/D)
D/A from the digitally calculated and Root Cosine digital filtered I and Q numbers, with the analog voltage output to send to the I & Q modulator (notice the A in D/A)
The linear I & Q modulator that takes I & Q volts in and modulates an RF carrier (all that is analog).
The Linear RF Amplifier (that is analog).
Perhaps they removed all of the above.
. . . Just like they also removed the battery-saving non-linear Class C RF amplifier of the original GPSK signal of the original GSM mobile phones.
Who ever noticed; whoever knew?
