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I know most of you heard about Radio Shack closing. That is the end of an era, in electronics anyway. I remember when I would go to Radio Shack because they carried electronics parts and they were everywhere. There were so many of those parts distributors around the country that I relied on. In Harrisburg there was Cumberland Electronics which carried tubes, they were my local source. I remember when Graybar would carry the telecom parts I needed.

So Goodbye Radio Shack! Don’t worry, I am not upset about how you abandon me when I needed parts because you only carried computer parts or when you finally gave up computer parts to carry flat screens and cell phones. In fact, all distributors did that so we in the field had to get creative and do mail order! When we did that we also saw how much cheaper we could get computer parts, so that plan backfired a bit. Then we learned more about shopping on the internet, thank you again, boy, the deals we found.

Still, it was great when we could pick up the parts as we needed them. I really miss that and also shopping for other deals at your stores. I remember that about all the distributors, there were so many parts that I felt I could fix anything! WOW! Those were the days!

Now, we need to wait for the parts or make sure we have the spares. It seems that board level repairs is almost non-existent today. We just need to order the part or replace the unit, just like cell phones today. The good old days are gone!

There were so many distributors across the country. I fear those days are gone. I haven’t bought a tube or even a resistor in decades. I haven’t done anything on a bread board in a very long time. I don’t buy computer parts anymore either, I don’t think anyone does except maybe a hard drive or a new screen.

So I just wanted to say goodbye Radio Shack, it was a fun ride. Goodbye parts distributors, you will be missed. I wish I had a reason to go to your store, but alas times do change. I remember all the guys working at those places seemed to know so much about all the parts in the store.

Do you remember your favorite distributor that you would go to that the guys that worked there knew everything about the parts? I remember how Cumberland Electronics would have guys working that could solve almost any problem, from tubes to resistors to building a delay circuit.

Those were the days and I will miss them. I don’t know what happened to all of you guys but I want to say one last time, thank you for all that you have taught me throughout the last 25 years. Goodbye. I will never forget you!

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