Electronics Nostalgia: Only Two of These Stores Remain in Montana

When I was a dorky little kid (okay, I'm still a dork), I was really into electronics. My first simple project was building an old-fashioned coil radio that could pick up AM radio stations. Next was a rudimentary telegraph setup, which ran from my upstairs bedroom to a spot in the living room.

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I had a soldering iron and assembled basic circuit boards. I eventually got into amateur "ham" radio. I think I was around 12 years old when I got my Novice Class license. I still know Morse code and remember my call letters (KA0YVV, followed by N7LJI). During these days, Radio Shack was one of my absolute favorite stores. Oh, how I loved Radio Shack.

Radio Shack stores used to be everywhere.

During its heyday, there were 8,000 Radio Shacks in the US, Mexico, and Canada. The advent of the personal computer fueled their growth, with towering rows of expensive Tandy computers lining the front of their showrooms and electronic parts and pieces stacked in the back.

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A decade or so after the PC revolution, Radio Shack stayed relevant with the next big thing: mobile phones. However, by the early 2000s, the company began struggling to keep up with the latest trends. CBS News noted in 2015 that 8,000 stores had shrunk to 4,000. Now, there are approximately 500 locations in the US, according to CheddarFlow.com.

Just two Radio Shack stores remain in Montana.

Most decent-sized towns in Montana had a Radio Shack back in the day; Billings had two at one point. However, time marches on, and now there are just two "authorized Radio Shack Resellers," according to the company's Store Locator. One is located in Hamilton, and the other is along the Hi-Line in Malta.

What about the Radio Shack in Roundup, MT?

I just drove through Roundup a couple of weeks ago and spotted Radio Shack signage on a Main Street business. It's not on the Store Locator, so I called this location to ask more.

The kindly owner of 47 years told us that they received a letter from the corporate office over a year ago, informing them that they were no longer going to be serviced by the company.

Reportedly, the parent company was going to come retrieve their remaining new-old-stock inventory and the sign. They never did, and that was the last time the Roundup store had any communication. We can surmise that Radio Shack's world headquarters isn't too concerned.