There was a laminated chart next to it with that information on it, IIRC. We didn’t sell many LEDs and none of us really knew much about them so we wanted to make it as easy as possible for everyone.
Since we seem to have bunch of fiddly-shit experts in the thread - refer me to some good sources? I totally missed the boat on Radio Shack having good stuff. For instance, say I need some solenoids? I ended up getting some magnet wire there to make my own, but it’d be much easier if I could just buy the damn things. Any good websites I should be checking out instead?
When I was a youngster, just after the last ice age , I worked at several Radio Shacks.
I was a keener, and RS had a very large parts/fiddly bits inventory, and I had actually memorized spec sheets for enough transistors so that I was able to do pretty good substitutions in my head. I was even fairly familiar with vacuum tube switch outs.
I was a terrible sales man, however. And my sense of “Merchandising” was a little twisted. I once sketched out a "Easter SALE!"window display, which featured a stuffed toy bunny (Which had a radio in its belly) crucified on a cross made of Radio Shack boxes, with the slogan “Jesus died for this sale” (I mean no offense to any one, by this, and apologise now for any taken).
Did you know that Tandy Inc. had an entirerly separate division? They maunfactured and sold leather kits, punches, stains and such. Mainly run through mail order, they had a few retail stores as well. They might even still be in operaion.
By the way, one thing I have become as I have aged is a "Oldfart McSpecialist-Hobby ", and I thought your post was hilarious, Martini!
Thanks! 
I’ve been away from the store long enough now to be able to laugh about a lot of the things that happened there, and it’s even better if other people can be amused by them too.
They still are in operation, but I don’t think still part of the RadioShack corporation.
The company actually started as a leather company, and bought into RadioShack in the 60s.
The corporate site has a good history of the company. They also owned a furniture company, and attempted to compete on the same level as Circuit City & Best Buy with large retail stores as well, but they didn’t work out.
“Radio shack. You’ve got questions, we’ve got blank stares”.
That sounds sort of like the Ball corporation, which started off making canning supplies (and still does), but also made the optics for the Hubble Space Telescope.
My first PC was a Tandy-branded PC clone. 1993: 110 MB hard drive, 1 MB RAM, 14" SVGA monitor. Just about $1000. Two weeks later, I saw an ad for a laptop with almost identical specs. Well, the hard drive was bigger. For the same price. Oy.
Yup…I used to do a little bit of leatherworking, and was on the Tandy Leather catalog mailing list for many years.
I, too, rather doubt that they’re making much money off of the electronics hobbyist anymore. As evidenced here, I imagine a lot of that market has migrated to online sites.
I figure that they’re making what money they are making off of:
- Electronics during the holidays (including those adaptors and such sold in the days after Christmas)
- Cell phones
At least around here, a fair number of RSs have closed. There used to be three within about 10 minutes of my house; they’re all gone.
Now I’m remembering when I was in college, and my girlfriend at that time was an assistant manager at a RS. I was visiting her in the store one night, and referred to their mainline personal computer (the TRS-80) as a “Trash-80”. I thought she was gonna kill me. 
Yeah, RS is a business whose time has gone-sorta like WOOLWORTHS-their markets have disappeared. These is nothing they sell, that cannot be gotten from other sources, and there is not enough hobbyist business left to keep them afloat. years back, I did buy a TV antenna from them (when we ditched cable). So sad, but thats showbiz.
Hee. I was moving into a new apartment and had a round telephone wire I was going to split and attach to one of these
something I thought pretty much every home has and every person has heard of. Particularly someone working at Radio Shack. Now maybe I didn’t explain it well enough, but “blank stare” pretty much covers it. That, plus mumbling. I went over to KMart and bought one for a couple of bucks.
After years of avoiding RS, I went in on Easter because they were open and I was hoping to get a cell phone recharger. Just the kind of thing they should specialize in. They took 15 minutes looking around and giving a spiel about upgrading my cell phone service, and finally gave me a website to find the charger (something I could have done on my own, of course). As I’m leaving, “Do you need any Easter presents?” Yeah, right.
Little Nemo put it best: Radio Shack services the not geeky but not totally disinterested. I inherited a TV that had a very bizarre back connection, and I wanted to find an adaptor that would connect a DVD player. I waited 30 minutes at Best Buy and no salesperson bothered. I guess I could try a specialty store but since I’m not a techhead I don’t where those places are or even what most of their jargon is. (For example, most of the language on this thread goes over my head.) The Radio Shack people quickly figured it out using very simple terms, and mainly because of that I bought a turntable and digital camera there. There isn’t anything unique you can buy at Radio Shack, but how many non specialty stores in any field can you say that? Shopping is a mix of convenience and availability, and as long as the franchisees avoid ignoring customer service (like some posters have unfortunately run into) it should do OK.