Here's a full list of the 552 Radio Shack stores that are closing

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Here's a full list of the 552 Radio Shack stores that are closing

Mary Hanbury Mar 18, 2017, 01.08 AM

{snip}

I've picked up some stuff at two stores over the last two days. A whole bunch around Hampton Roads are closing.

I did not see any (police) scanners in the stores I went to. Too bad. I missed out on them two years ago. The prices were high every time I went, until they dropped to a reasonable figure. They sold out before I could get to the store.

I finally broke down and bought a nice digital multimeter, for 70% off:

https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-true-rms-46-range-digital-multimeter

Everyone should have a meter.

This is not an endorsement of Radio Shack, etc.

[RKP5637]

1. I bought one from them years ago to measure some high current AC. The insides looked very

similar to my Fluke. I guess maybe Fluke had made some for them. I've had it now for years, always has worked well. I have an Elac record changer that was branded Realistic, incredible changer. I'm generally not a RS fan, but I have to admit I've picked up some incredible re-branded gear and very reasonable prices from RS.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. I was looking at Amazon to see what the Fluke equivalent might be.

A Fluke 115 is close. I don't know. I don't keep up with the Fluke product line.

https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-Compact-True-RMS-Digital-Multimeter/dp/B01MRFH82T

This is the first new meter I have bought since I bought a Heathkit IM-18 back in the fall of 1975. I've picked up a few used meters since then, and I turned in a Harbor Freight Tools coupon good for a free DMM in June. That was actually my first DMM. I have loads of analog meters.

I keep a Triplett 630 at work. My job does not call on me to use meters. I just keep it at work to check cells for charge level.

I can't believe it. They still sell it.

http://www.triplett.com/shop/model-630/

It's indestructible. If you've seen a Simpson 260, you know what a Triplett 630 is.

The RS meter I bought has a USB port. The included software runs only on Windows computers. Apparently it has an oscilloscope display option.

I can measure current up to 10A. Probably some limits on that. I haven't read the instructions yet.

Now I can be one of the cool kids.

[RKP5637]

3. All good stuff!!! I used to carry I think it was a Simpson 260 way back and a Tektronix tube type

scope way back when early large computers were mostly repairable at the chip level. Wow, guess that dates me! We had bins of lift out electronics, all wire wrapped and endless chips ... and tons of schematics. Some days it was a nightmare, to say the least.
Spare parts? What was that? LOL!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I've got a Tektronix tube-type oscilloscope sitting about three feet awy from me right probablynow.

It's inside a cabinet. It's 5-something. I'd have to move stuff aside to be more specific. I used it last to examine the waveform from an automotive exhaust oxygen sensor.

This DMM I just bought and a laptop could probably do the same thing. I probably wouldn't even need that much.

I can't argue with progress.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Crap, they're closing the nearest one. Literally a 10-minute drive.

A couple of helpful guys there, including an Afghan vet who told me how they replaced Molex adapters in the field when they didn't have the necessary tools. (I needed to do this for a desktop PC; he was doing it for a cargo plane.)

It was a terrible location, not exactly hidden but hard to access. Hard to believe the Huntsville area won't have a RS after all these years.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. There must be something you need. Some oddball thing that

you've been meaning to attend to, but never had the part.

I'm making a list of bits and pieces that I will be picking up tomorrow. I have a pile of old Palm devices with dead battery packs, also a Compaq iPAQ pocket PC. It's not worth the trouble or expense to order new battery packs online, as they cost more than the device is worth. If I can find them at RS for 80% off, then they are worth buying.

I could use a Motorola jack to get a Regency ten-channel scanner useful again. Hey, it brings in the NOAA weather broadcasts.

I can stop anytime I want.