Radio shack

A radio shack is a room or structure used for housing radio equipment.

History

During radio's early days, equipment was experimental and often home-built. The first radio transmitters used a loud spark gap to generate radio waves, and so were often housed in a separate outbuilding or shed. When radio was first adopted by the U.S. Navy, a small, wooden structure placed on deck to house the ship's radio equipment became known as the "radio shack." Today, a radio shack can be anywhere that radio equipment is housed and operated, usually a room such as with amateur radio stations, but for some the entire "shack" may consist of a hand-held radio or two while others may operate mobile equipment in a vehicle.

See also

References

RadioShack

RadioShack is an American chain of wireless and electronics stores owned by the Standard General affiliate General Wireless. It is partnered with Sprint cell phones, and most stores are branded with "Sprint" though they also sell RadioShack items.

Founded in 1921, at its peak in 1999, it operated stores in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada. On February 5, 2015, the company filed for Chapter 11 protection under United States bankruptcy law after 11 consecutive quarterly losses. By then it was operating only in the United States and Mexico. On March 31, 2015, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas approved a $160 million offer by General Wireless, which gained ownership of 1,743 RadioShack locations, and immediately leased them to Sprint.

History

The first 40 years

The company was started as "Radio Shack" in 1921 by two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann, who wanted to provide equipment for the then-nascent field of amateur, or ham radio. The brothers opened a one-store retail and mail-order operation in the heart of downtown Boston at 46 Brattle Street, near the site of the Boston Massacre. They chose the name "Radio Shack", which was the term for a small, wooden structure that housed a ship's radio equipment. The Deutschmanns thought the name was appropriate for a store that would supply the needs of radio officers aboard ships, as well as hams (amateur radio operators). The term was already in use — and is to this day — by hams when referring to the location of their stations.

The Source (retailer)

The Source (French: La Source, incorporated as "The Source (Bell) Electronics Inc.") is one of Canada’s leading consumer electronics and cell phone retailers with over 650 locations across Canada. The chain goes back over 40 years in Canada, initially as Radio Shack and later as The Source by Circuit City. The Source is now owned by Bell Canada, which purchased the assets of InterTAN from its parent, bankrupt American retailer Circuit City, in 2009. The Source is a unit of 4458729 Canada Inc. and is based in Barrie, Ontario.

Background

The Source began as the Canadian branch of Radio Shack (later "RadioShack"). The chain was originally owned by Radio Shack's American parent company Tandy Corporation, but was spun off in June 1986, along with the rest of Tandy's international operations, as InterTAN. A licensing agreement with what became RadioShack Corporation allowed InterTAN to continue to use the chain's name and logo. InterTAN abandoned its non-profitable West German stores in 1987, left Belgium and France in 1993, sold its British stores to Carphone Warehouse in 1999 and sold its Australian stores to Woolworth subsidiary Dick Smith Electronics in 2002, leaving just the Canadian Radio Shack, Battery Plus and Rogers Plus stores.