Chales David Tandy 1918 - 1978

Chales David Tandy 1918 - 1978

Son of founder Dave L. Tandy, Chairman & CEO of Tandy Corporation

This is an official portrait issed by Tandy Corporation

 

RadioShack began in 1919 in Forth Worth, Texas, USA. with a chance meeting of two friends, Norton Hinckley and Dave L. Tandy. During this visit they decided to pool their resources together and start a business. The company was named the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company and they sold leather shoe parts to shoe repair shops in the Fort Worth area.

Two years later two brothers, Theodore and Milton Deutschmann opened a one-store retail and mail order operation in Boston. They chose the name “RadioShack”. which was a term for the small, wooden structure that housed a ships radio equipment.

Beginning in 1921, RadioShack would grow to a handful of stores in the Northeast of USA., and become a leading electronics mail-order distributor to hobbyists.

Meanwhile, the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company grew modestly through the years. Although the company survived the Great Depression, it was nearly crippled when World War II began in 1941. Shoes were rationed – two pairs per adult per year – and leather for civilian use virtually disappeared.

 

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF CHESS PLAYING COMPUTERS! by Garry Kasparov - World Champion.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF CHESS PLAYING COMPUTERS! by Garry Kasparov - World Champion.

Picture taken from a Radio Shack Product Catalog.

 

Mr. Tandy's oldest son, Charles D. Tandy joined the business in 1947. Charles firmly believed in the high gross-profit margins of the leathercraft business and the growth possibilities of the leisure-time hobby market. His views clashed with those of the family's partner, Norton Hinckley. The disagreement ended in a split in 1950 when Charles and his father formed Tandy Leather Company, while Hinckley kept the shoe business.

RadioShack continued to do quite well. It issued its first catalog in the early 1940s. In 1947, the company entered the growing high-fidelity market and opened the nation's first audio showroom that provided comparisons of speakers, amplifiers, turntables and phonograph cartridges. In the mid-1950s, RadioShack began selling its own private-label product line with the Realistic® brand name, a variation of Realist, which had been used earlier.

By the early 1960s, RadioShack had expanded to nine retail stores (plus a mail-order business) and was a leading distributor of electronic parts and products to do-it-yourselfers around the world.

However, the company soon fell on hard times due to poor operating practices, coupled with a disastrous credit offering to its customers.

 

Man and Woman play chess with a Radio Shack chess computer.

Man and Woman play chess with a Radio Shack chess computer.

Picture taken from a Radioshack chess computer box.

 

Charles Tandy, who had become intrigued with consumer electronics, saw the small RadioShack chain as an excellent opportunity for rapid growth. He bought the essentially bankrupt company in 1963 for the equivalent of $300,000 cash, and embarked on a plan that turned it into one of the great success stories of American retailing. Since then, RadioShack has grown to a nationwide network of retail stores, and its net sales and operating revenues have ballooned to $4.6 billion.

In 1975, Tandy Corporation became exclusively an electronics company after it spun off all other operations into Tandycrafts and Tandy Brands. In 1986, the company spun off its foreign retail operations into InterTAN, Inc.

The decade of the '70s was pivotal for RadioShack. It was a time of incredible growth – not only in the number of stores that were opened, but in the quantity, quality and sophistication of the products it offered.

Following on the heels of the phenomenal popularity of citizen-band (CB) radios, the company had another instant hit. In 1977, RadioShack introduced the first mass-produced personal computer: the TRS-80® microcomputer. In contrast to build-it-yourself units available at the time, the TRS-80 was fully wired and tested. Although a primitive machine by today's standards, it was a technological and price breakthrough, and overwhelming customer demand caused a production backlog that lasted for months. Over 200,000 TRS-80 Model I computers were sold from 1977 to 1981.

The '80s continued to make RadioShack the "biggest name in little computers," as the company's advertising proclaimed.

In 1983 RadioShack/Tandy introduced their first dedicated chess computers into their stores and their catalogs the “Tandy Computerized Chess”.

Each of the following years until today, RadioShack have continued to offer dedicated chess computers in their catalogs and in their stores, either branded under their own name and also on occasion under the names of other manufacturers.

Various excerpts taken from the RadioShack Home Page.

 

RADIO SHACK PRODUCT FEATURES FOR ELECTRONIC CHESS GAMES.

RADIO SHACK PRODUCT FEATURES FOR ELECTRONIC CHESS GAMES.

Picture taken from a Radio Shack Product Catalog.

Click to go back to the Spacious Mind Chess Computer Collection
About Radio Shack & Tandy Electronic Chess Computers
Radio Shack and Tandy Electronic Chess Computer Collection

 

60-2251 - 1986

60-2725 - 2004

60-2194 - 1985

60-2199 - 1986

1450 Sensory Pocket Chess

2-in-1 Chess & Checkers

1650 Fast Response

1850 Deluxe Version I

Radio Shack Model 60-2251 1450 Sensory Pocket Chess (1986) Electronic Travel Chess Computer
Radio Shack Model 60-2725 2-in-1 Chess & Checkers (2004) Electronic Travel Chess Computer
Radio Shack Model 60-2194 1650 Fast Response (1985) Electronic Chess Computer
Radio Shack Model 60-2199 1850 Deluxe Version I (1986) Electronic Chess Computer

Travel

Travel

Table Top

Table Top

60-2201 - 1987

1850 Deluxe Version II

Radio Shack Model 60-2201 1850 Deluxe Version II (1987) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2201A - 1988

60-2427 - 1993

1850 Deluxe Version III

Avanti

Radio Shack Model 60-2201A 1850 Deluxe Version III (1988) Electronic Chess Computer
Radio Shack Model 60-2427 Avanti (1993) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

Table Top

60-2204 - 1988

Champion 2150 Version I

Radio Shack Model 60-2204 Champion 2150 Version I (1988) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2843 - 1999

4-in-1 Chess & Checkers

Radio Shack Model 60-2843 4-in-1 Chess & Checkers (1999) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2187 - 1983

1650 Portable Sensory Chess

Radio Shack Model 60-2187 1650 Portable Sensory Chess (1983) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

Drawing of two business men playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer while commuting.

Drawing of two business men playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer while commuting.

Picture taken from a Radioshack chess computer box.

60-2204A - 1989

Champion 2150 Version II

Radio Shack Model 60-2204A Champion 2150 Version II (1989) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2254 - 1992

Champion 2150L

Radio Shack Model 60-2254 Champion 2150L (1992) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2215 - 1996

Champion 2250XL

Radio Shack Model 60-2215 Champion 2250XL (1996) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2439 - 1994

Companion Version I

Radio Shack Model 60-2439 Companion Version I (1994) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2216 - 1997

Companion Version II

Radio Shack Model 60-2216 Companion Version II (1994) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2176 - 1983

Computerized Sensory Chess

Radio Shack Model 60-2176 Computerized Sensory Chess (1983) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2845 - 2001

E-Chess

Radio Shack Model 60-2845 E-Chess (2001) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2730 - 2004

E-Chess & Checkers

Radio Shack Model 60-2730 E-Chess & Checkers (2004) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2742 - 2005

E-Chess Express

Radio Shack Model 60-2742 E-Chess Express (2005) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

Radio Shack Model 60-2427 Go Chess Computer 1650L (1993) Electronic Travel Chess Computer
Drawing of a boy playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer.

Drawing of a boy playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer.

Picture taken from a Radioshack chess computer box.

60-2168 - 1981

LCD Graduate Chess

Radio Shack Model 60-2168 LCD Graduate Chess (1981) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2213 - 1996

Master 2200X

Radio Shack Model 60-2213 Master 2200X (1996) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2217 - 1998

Master Chess Computer

Radio Shack Model 60-2217 Master Chess Computer (1998) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2441 - 1994

Mega 2050X

Radio Shack Model 60-2441 Mega 2050X (1994) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2428 - 1994

Partner 1680X Version I

Radio Shack Model 60-2428 Partner 1680X Version I (1994) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2428A - 1996

Partner 1680X Version II

Radio Shack Model 60-2428A Partner 1680X Version II (1996) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2256 - 1993

Pocket Chess 1100L

Radio Shack Model 60-2256 Pocket Chess 1100L (1993) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2252 - 1991

Portable 1650L

Radio Shack Model 60-2252 Portable 1650L (1991) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2444 - 1996

Portable 1750L

Radio Shack Model 60-2444 Portable 1750L (1996) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2426 - 1993

Sphinx Madrid Model 1300

Radio Shack Model 60-2426 Sphinx Madrid Model 1300 (1993) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

Drawing of two young people playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer.

Drawing of two young people playing with a Radioshack portable chess computer.

Picture taken from a Radioshack chess computer box.

60-2255 - 1992

Talking Chess Tutor 1900L

Radio Shack Model 60-2255 Talking Chess Tutor 1900L (1992) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2709 - 2002

Talking E-Chess Version I

Radio Shack Model 60-2709 Talking E-Chess Version I (2002) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2846 - 2002

Talking E-Chess Version II

Radio Shack Model 60-2846 Talking E-Chess Version II (2002) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2160 - 1980

Tandy Computerized Chess I

Radio Shack Model 60-2160 Tandy Computerized Chess Version I (1980) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2175 - 1983

Tandy Computerized Chess II

Radio Shack Model 60-2175 Tandy Computerized Chess Version II (1983) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2219 - 1999

Travel Chess & Checkers

Radio Shack Model 60-2219 Travel Chess & Checkers (1999) Electronic Travel Chess Computer

Travel

60-2253 - 1991

Super 1680L

Radio Shack Model 60-2253 Super 1680L (1991) Electronic Chess Computer

Table Top

60-2427 - 1993

Go Chess Computer 1650L

Table Top

The Spacious Mind
Tournaments
Tests
Computers
Emulators
DOS Chess
Engines
Links
PDAs
Windows
Books
Consoles
Collection
Ratings
The Spacious-Mind Homepage