Radio Shack Store Closings

Electronics
#21

I normally wouldn’t be able to buy very much gear, but it isn’t every day that a nationwide electronics chain has an 80%-off sale. I bought a bunch of stuff, with the intention that we could use it at DMS, especially for teaching classes. I sure don’t have an immediate use for this stuff for myself, as cool as it might be.

Here’s what I bought:

Literature
“Using Your Meter”
Special Issue Make: 3D Printer
Make Volume 40 DIY Consumer Electronics
Make DIY CE Magazine Vol 38
Make Magazine: Volume 39
Make: Electronics
Make: Arduino Bots and Gadgets
Forrest M. Mims III Getting Started in Electronics
Forrest M. Mims III Vol I
Forrest M. Mims III Vol II
Forrest M. Mims III Vol III
Forrest M. Mims III Vol IV

Make Gear
Make: IT Electronics Deluxe Tool Kit
Make: IT Component Kit 1
Make: IT Component Kit 2
Make: IT Optical/Mic/Infrared Sensing Pack
Make: Ultimate Microcontroller Pack

General Electronics Gear
RS Electronics Component Pack 2
RS Electronics Learning Lab Kit
15 Watt-equivalent Cordless, Battery Powered Soldering Iron
Learn to Solder Kit w/ 25 Watt Soldering Iron
40 Watt LED-illuminated Soldering Iron
20-30-40-50 Multiwatt Soldering Iron
60 Watt Weller ProSeries Soldering Iron
Lead Free Solder
RS Digital Soldering Station
RS Breadboard and Jumper Wire Kit
LED Helping Hands Magnifier
10:1 IR Thermometer
Pocket IR Thermometer
Pro Crimping Tool
Clamp-on Digital Multimeter
EX210T True RMS Digital Multimeter
EL Wire 3M Red
EL Wire 3M Blue
EL Tape 1M Red
EL Tape 1M Blue
1.75 mm ABS Filament Red
1.75 mm PLA Filament Red
1.75 mm ABS Filament Blue
1.75 mm PLA Filament Blue
1.75 mm ABS Filament White
1.75 mm PLA Filament White
1.75 mm PLA Filament Nature
Thermal Compound Remover/Purifier
Umold Plastic
Rotary Tool Kit (83 PC)
USB Microphone
Wireless Microphone

Arduino Gear
Arduino Micro
Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3
Arduino Uno Rev3
Arduino Esplora
SEEED Motor Shield
SEEED Relay Shield
SEEED Touch Shield
SEEED Ethernet Shield
SEEED Proto Shield Kit
SEEED SD Shield
SEEED XBee Shield
SEEED GPRS/GSM Shield
Relay Shield
PIR Sensor
Camera Board
Ultrasonic Range Sensor
Standard Servo
Micro Servo
3-axis Gyroscope Module
RS Sidekick Basic Kit
RS Motor Pack
Zagg Victory Shield

BASIC
Basic Stamp 2 Board

I’d rather not say how much I spent on this, but I saved a whole lot of money by shopping at Radio Shack!

Now, how can this gear be put to the best use for the Space? I’m thinking of teaching classes with it; or, if someone else wants to teach a class with it, I could donate it for that use. I’m not sure of the details of making this work. I want to avoid donating a bunch of stuff that is not going to be of use to anyone, or that walks out the door without being noticed.

#22

The only items I was unable to get was a couple Arduino Uno R3’s.

I guess I’ll hit a couple of RS at lunch.

#23

The RS at 6940 Coit Rd in Plano has closed permanently.

The RS at 3740 W. Northwest Hwy has 30% to 60% discounts, but no 80% discounts. It has a lot of good stuff still in it.

#24

Thanks @Opcode! I called the Northwest Hwy. location and no Unos left. It was the same guy from a north Dallas store I called this morning. I guess he has a split shift between locations.

You can pretty much write off the following locations as well:
KENSINGTON SQ S/C CORINTH, TX 76210 - very little of anything
VALLEY SQUARE SHOP CTR LEWISVILLE, TX 75067 - no more hobby electronics stuff
SUPER TARGET CTR LEWISVILLE, TX 75057 - had a couple of shields left

#25

Yeah, I cleaned out the Corinth store… :smile:

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#26

The NW Hwy store indeed has no Arduino Unos, but it does have Mega 2560, Micro and Esplora boards (at least when I left). They are 40% discount, so you might find them less expensive in other stores.

#27

I’ve been wanting to set up a full body scanning rig using Raspberry
Pi’s…

From the Instructable (
http://www.instructables.com/id/Multiple-Raspberry-PI-3D-Scanner), this is
what was used in one of the versions:

  • 40 Raspberry Pies for this project and 40 PI cameras.
  • 40 8Gb SD cards
  • 1 single 60A 5v power supply to power all the raspberry Pies
  • Led Strips and a powerful 12v power supply to power them on

He mentions getting good results from only 12 RaspPis though… So, I would
totally be good with using either 12 or 16. :wink:

NOTE: Since then, he has gotten pretty fancy… Using 100 Pi’s!
(http://www.pi3dscan.com/index.php/features,
http://www.pi3dscan.com/index.php/cost)… Again - I’m not looking at
that much fancy/cost (unless someone happens to have a deep pocket and
wants to be really really nice and donate 10 grand to the project! hehe…).

At any rate… Could y’all please keep an eye out for Raspberry Pi’s and
RasPi Cameras, etc… pretty please! If you see any great deals, please
lemme know! Thx!!! :slight_smile:

#28

Oh, believe me, Raspberry Pis have been at the top of my mind when I’ve gone into these stores!

Your project sounds interesting. I’m all about imaging.

It is possible to build the scanners using Arduinos. Considering that we have an abundance of Arduinos at RS, but no Raspberry Pis, you might want to try an Arduino-based system, at least as a proof-of-concept. I bought my Arduino boards at 80% off, making even the most expensive boards much less expensive than the Raspberry Pi.

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#29

You might be able to make some sort of scanner, but it would probably have to be a completely different approach than the one mentioned above. Arduinos are cool, but you wouldn’t have enough RAM to store a single camera shot (requiring a camera with some sort of non-volatile memory ($)), a network connection to transfer them all for processing ($), or a CPU anywhere close (which is probably the least of the issues).

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#30

Great thread. I stopped by the store at Trinity Mills in Carrolton (not too far from DMS). I bought a couple of the robot/arduino starter kits for my boys. They still have a few starter kits for Arduino and Raspberry Pi. They are about 50% off so still a bit pricey but not too bad. There still is a bunch of inventory for other stuff too.

#31

I left a few Arduino boards on the shelf at the Radio Shack store on Northwest Highway yesterday. I probably should have bought them. I also missed some EL tape that was on display. I know, because I shot photos of several of the shelves, before a clerk told me that cameras aren’t allowed in the store.

I found a few Forrest Mimms books for sale at the Radio Shack store at 9025 Forest Lane. I was able to buy a complete set, but I’m afraid that I took the last of one of them. They still have a few others, when I left this afternoon. The store is half-empty, but still has some things worth considering.

The Radio Shack at 14902 Preston Road is the best-stocked of any I’ve seen these last few days. Most of its shelves are full, and they are running discounts from 10% to 80% on “everything” in the store. However, most of what they have are consumer electronics, such as TVs, radios, batteries, toys and such. I bought the only two Arduino boards they had. I left their 3D printer filament; even at discount, it isn’t much cheaper than can be found online (though, shipping might make it worthwhile to buy, if you need some).

#32

Thanks for the updates, y’all! :smile:

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#33

I have more updates, but I don’t want to annoy anyone.

Yesterday, I visited the RS at 3516 W. Walnut St in Garland. It no longer has any Arduino kits. It was also the only store that I’ve found that had Raspberry Pi kits; those are gone, now, too. This was the only store that discounted their solar panels; I bought those out. They still have some Forrest Mims books in stock. Incidentally, this story stays open until 8 or 9 P.M., even though it’s closing. I had been told by another manager in another store that all the closing stores would close at 6 P.M.

I’ve asked at a few stores about the cost of their fixtures, as I heard that Electronics might like some. Apparently, the same man owns all of them in all the stores. He wants $150 per sliding drawer cabinet. I’ve asked if it would be possible to negotiate with him. The Garland store said they are waiting for him to reply about some other quotes.

#34

BUY THEM…

All the stores around the Lewisville/Corinth area have theirs all priced at $300 each.

BUY THEM…

I’d go over and do it today myself but I’m half way around the world until mid-next-week.

:slight_smile:

#35

The one in Ennis,Texas is closing, Plano rd. and walnut closing. lancaster texas on I 35 between belt line and pleasant run rd. (east side of hwy).

#36

I don’t see a RS at Preston and Walnut. There is one at Preston and Belt Line, and one at Walnut and Jupiter. I’ve been to both of those.

#37

3516 W. Walnut St, Garland - No more Arduino or RPi.
5618 E. Mockingbird LN, Dallas - No more Arduino or RPi, just a few plain breadboards.
6402 Gaston Ave., Dallas - Store permanently closed.
312 Medallion Shop Ctr., Dallas - Store permanently closed.

#38

The Ennis location is pretty much played out unless you’re looking for little items in the sliding drawer component bins, iPhone accessories, rechargeable batteries, or blank VHS tapes. There’s still a section with EL tape left in it but only because I didn’t realize what I was looking at. Will remedy tomorrow!

Haul is as follows:

BASIC Stamp 2 Experiment Board - 2 @$8/ea
Enclosure Project Skeleton Kit][2] - $1.92
Mini-Pack Breadboard for Arduino - $5
3-Axis Gyroscope Module - $7
Solar Panels, var. - 5 @$2-$5/ea
MAKE:It Robotics Remote Control - $6
MAKE:It Robotics Sensor Kit - $12
True-RMS 46 Range Digital Multimeter - $28

Oh, they also still had most of the DIY circuit board section if anyone’s interested.

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#39

Updates!

Arlington - 901 W Pioneer Pkwy #101 (Pioneer & Cooper) - 30%-50%, TONS of stock as of yesterday including Arduino, soldering kits, the little click-together Arduino sets, no EL tape/wire though

Arlington - 5912 South Cooper Street (Cooper & Sublett) - Appears Closed

Mansfield - 900 N Walnut Creek Dr, Suite 105 - Appears Closed

Waxahachie - 1440 Hwy 77 N #110 - 20%-50%, a couplefew Arduinos, one offs of motor packs, sensors, etc, a few quick reference books, lots of EL wire but only a little tape, majority of stock is present but only about 30% off right now

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#40

I went by the Euless store Monday (HWY 183 and Ector) …they had barely anything deeper than a 40% discount. Their prices were just a little lower than regular. Most of the good stuff only had a 20% discount.

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