From: Bob Brock on Mon, Jan 29 2007 12:44 am

On 28 Jan 2007 13:11:46 -0800, " wrote:

Not at all, John, you be wrong there. ARRL has periodical and
publication racks on the floors of HRO and Radio Shack and
other stores to catch all eyes.

Not really trying to change the subject, but I went to the local
bookstore and two Radio Shacks trying to get a copy of the General
Class Study manual. Both Radio Shacks said that they no longer carry
the study guides. So, I opted to download the questions and answers
from the net for free and give that a shot.

Good way to go! All it cost was some time in downloading.

Did two Radio Shack managers lie to me? Has anyone seen the ARRL
study guides? I didn't even see any of the "Now Your's Talking" books
at the local stores.

Okay on those points, Bob, I agree with you. It's good
that you reminded me of the differences in location and,
perhaps, my "urban thinking." Just to get organized, I
started thinking about "radio parts" from my perspective:

I've lived in a large urban location for 50 years, one
that was once a center of aerospace technology, now
slowly lessening as more corporations opt out for
lower-taxation states. Lockheed Aircraft was one of
the first biggies to go, leaving behind a HUGE production
area that was razed and rebuilt as an enormous
shopping center (I never worked for Lockheed).
Hughes Aircraft (electronics, Hughes Tool Co. built
aircraft...) got gobbled up by larger corporations and
morphed, retaining only the logo. As a result of all that
growth and change in aerospace and electronics there is
a huge electronic-hobbyist interest around my neck of the
woods. Some of that is in amateur radio and "six-land"
has a very large population of licensed amateurs. With
all that hobby activity going on there are a large number
of retail outlets, chains and independents alike, within
relatively easy driving distance. This area is one large
incorporated city with several smaller incorporated cities
and 80+ suburbs all interconnected with streets, not
roads. Area population is somewhere in the neighborhood
of 8 million (give or take).

I don't go out to "radio stores" often. There was an HRO
outlet in a mini-mall across the major intersection where
my wife and I shop for food regularly. That HRO moved to
another part of Burbank late last year. I haven't been in
the new location but would expect it to be the same as in
the previous site and in the Van Nuys location it had been
before that. Right next to it (in the mini-mall) is a
small Radio Shack that I would go to only for replacement
watch batteries or buy some inexpensive gifts for non-
radio friends. There are two other Radio Shack outlets
in Burbank that I know of, one long-situated corner store
in its "downtown" and another in the three-story indoor
Mall less than a mile from it. Within 5 miles driving
are at least a half dozen Radio Shack stores...and about
four other electronics component stores that aren't
chained nationally...plus a couple of 'surplus' (civil,
not military) electronic outlests slightly farther away
and several telephone book pages of listings for outlets
within about 15 miles driving. For personal computers I've
got a choice of the totally awesome Fry's Electronics
consumer electronics supermarket in what was an old
Lockheed Aircraft building (they have at least 3 dozen
"checkout stands") 2 miles away and a PC Club store 3
miles away. Frys has an aisle of just components, maybe
heavy on computer-related parts but applicable to "radio"
as well. I mention that not to brag but just to describe
the local urban area where I live and have lived for 50
years.

Now, I CAN be accused of "not paying attention" to smaller
geographic locations in the USA and am "guilty" of not
"keeping up a running inventory" at each store. :-)
Mea culpa, mea culpa. But, I don't think that is a
terrible felony crime...certain others in here WILL! :-)

In rummaging through my memory, I recall that Radio
Shack had, in the past, carried ARRL publications. So
did the Electronic City store in Burbank, a store that was
there longer than I've lived in the neighboring L.A. suburb
of Sun Valley. Electronic City went to sound and video
equipment to suit the growing local business of film and
TV production, phasing out its amateur radio equipment
sales, emphasizing off-shore components suitable for all
kinds of non-radio hobby activities (those can be used
in ham radios since there isn't any difference in physics
despite the protestations of some amateur barracks
lawyers).

Yeah, I've confused the HRO contents of the old mini-mall
location with its former next-door neighbor, the little
Radio Shack store, I suppose. :-( Haven't taken inventory
in the other two RS outlets but have gotten some catalogs
at those; can't remember which one gave out the catalogs.
At that former HRO location I did buy an ARRL Handbook
on CD as a gift for a friend about four years ago (?). I can't
remember if Electronic City in Burbank still has a floor
rack of Amidon toroids since I wasn't looking for those
a year ago; Bill Amidon started that in Burbank, CA, years
ago. If I want toroid cores, powdered-iron or ferrite,
I either go to Dieter's "Kits and Parts" website, ordering
by e-mail, or (if a large quantity) directly to
Micrometals or Ferroxcube or one of their distributors.

I'm not a "casual week-end hobbyist" person but do a
mixture of actual paid-for-services work (professional
by definition) or very unpaid-for-except-by-me (amateur
by definition of monetary compensation). Just to keep from
running out to "radio stores" constantly, I keep a stock of
10% tolerance-vales but 5% real quarter-Watt resistors, 50
to 100 each, from 10 Ohms to 10 MegOhms. Those cost
me all of a couple pennies each from Allied, ordered on-line
when they had a special. I've ordered a 60 MHz 'scope and
triple-outlet, metered power supply from Circuit Specialists
by e-mail when they had a special sale on those. I can
and have ordered other electronic parts from Digi-Key,
Newark, Mouser, Ocean State (in Rhode Island) and
Jameco (in CA bay area), all by e-mail...other than Avnet
(for the 'business side' of this shop). As "John Smith I"
said in another thread, the Internet has become a part of
social fabric and I will vouch for it to be a part of
consumer commerce. My wife and I sort of tested that in
1999 by ordering an eastern king dual adjustable air-
mattress bed by e-mail. It was shipped from two
locations (Florida and California), assembled by us, and
still works just fine today. At half the price of retail store
cost...from stores we couldn't reach by car. No problems
in billing, purchase, or even traceable e-spam as a result
of that order. The amount of shopping one can do on-line
is enormous and, usually, worthwhile. Amazon, as an
example, sells much more than books...but some ARRL
publications can be ordered through them...at the same
prices as what ARRL charges on-line but, no shipping
charges on large purchases. :-)

I was born and raised in an Illinois city of about 50K,
now grown to about 180K in population. In 1948 it boasted
(yes, boasted then) of having TWO "radio parts stores,"
only one of which concerned amateur radio things. We've
been back there several times since but I've not gone
shopping for electronics any one of those times. I HAVE
noticed what Hans Brakob mentioned here several years
ago about the decrease of "ham radio outlets." I agree to
that, having seen the same thing. But, I'm not focussed
on just ham radio. I exist in more of the larger "radio"
world (actually electronics world, radio is a subset of
that). Yes, I'm guilty of not keeping EXACT track of
ARRL products. I've only heard about those for over a
half century...and keep hearing about them (described in
glowing terms) just about every day in here. :-)

I realize that small (relative) geographical locations
don't have as much of most anything as "big cities."
I really can't help that, but the PEOPLE in all areas
seem to have common personal desires and needs and the
marketplace actually RULES what is available where and
for how much. Sometimes we have to go "scrounging"
outside our local area to get what we want. The way I
see it the Internet has been a fantastic LEVELER for all
in that "scrounging." The local delivery shipping
companies help that along everywhere in the USA.
Shopping can start in one's computer and wind up with
the product right to one's front door.

Cheers,