RadioShack, a chain of stores that sold vital components to eager makers and hackers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to sell 2,400 of its physical stores. The chain, which originated in 1921, dotted strip malls and regular malls across the United States selling wares like diodes, HDMI cables, and remote-control cars. For years, the chain has been derided in the age of Amazon for being inexplicably still functioning, but the inevitable end still affected us, along with anyone who ever held a soldering gun. In memoriam of the institution’s demise, we asked writers and builders for their RadioShack memories.
Eink, E-paper, Think Ink – Collin shares six segments pondering the unusual low-power display technology that somehow still seems a bit sci-fi – http://adafruit.com/thinkink
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
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It’s silly you know. I haven’t been in a radio shack since college. But now that they are closing up, I am a bit sad. Not because I have fond memories, but because despite the fact I was buying everything I needed for my projects online, the thought that I could get some parts at rat shack if I needed them in an emergency is lost. Now the closest place I can get any “maker” parts would be 20 miles away.
It’s silly you know. I haven’t been in a radio shack since college. But now that they are closing up, I am a bit sad. Not because I have fond memories, but because despite the fact I was buying everything I needed for my projects online, the thought that I could get some parts at rat shack if I needed them in an emergency is lost. Now the closest place I can get any “maker” parts would be 20 miles away.