The day has finally come. It seems struggling electronics retailer . This doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the company at all in the past few years. The chain hasn’t turned a profit since 2011, and several attempts to reboot its image have failed miserably. How RadioShack reached this point is also no surprise: it failed to keep up with the ever-evolving technology market, choosing instead to attempt to walk the line between DIY hobbyist and mainstream electronics. While no one would argue that RadioShack’s insistence on keeping one foot in each world eventually led to its demise, it could also be argued that it’s exactly what kept the company around for so long. You may have seen the image above at some point in the past year. It’s a full-page RadioShack advertisement that tries to sell buyers on products like a portable music player, a mobile phone, and an Internet communications device. These days just about every single product on that page can be replaced with a single iPhone.

That’s exactly why so many people point to the rise of the modern smartphone as a key factor in RadioShack’s slide into irrelevance, but that isn’t an entirely accurate assessment. Aside from batteries, a large number of the other products in the store are pretty much useless to most people. As DIY customers tapered off, cell phones became RadioShack’s biggest moneymaker. Employees were regularly reminded of that fact by management and in turn so were customers. I spent a year working at RadioShack from 2011-2012, which provided me with an up-close look at how the business operated during its last profitable quarter. I can speak from experience when I say that the company was absolutely interested in joining the modern technology market. Unfortunately no one in a position of leadership had any idea about how to do that. You’ve probably heard horror stories from previous RadioShack employees, and I’m not going to dispute any of them. I have no doubt they’re mostly true, and I’ve got plenty of my own, but many of them come down to one basic fact: selling phones was the most important thing you could do when you clocked in.

Employees were ranked every month, and those who sold the fewest phones got the boot. The store I worked at was considered one of the best in the region in terms of sales, but we regularly went entire days with only one or two customers. ionic breeze air purifier gpAt one point—out of sheer boredom due to the lack of business—I took a look at our sales numbers for the day and discovered that the store was losing money just by paying the three employees that had showed up to work that day.storm uv air purifier That was a pretty typical situation for our store and many others—unless we managed to sell a phone, that is. oreck air purifier couponPhone sales juiced our numbers more than anything else, especially if we had a couple or a family looking to switch carriers or upgrade their phones all at once, and even more-so if we could talk them into buying a bunch of accessories.

We actually made money on those days. Unfortunately, RadioShack didn’t do a great job of embracing the smartphone revolution. Its pre-order process for new phones was so clunky and convoluted that to this day I don’t fully understand how it works (it involves buying $50 in RadioShack gift cards!), and the stock that we got was never what people wanted. Remember the HTC Status, that phone with the “Facebook button” on the front? We got a bunch of those, along with big signs for the windows advertising the availability of this incredible new handset (which we never sold). We got like four at launch if we were lucky, and subsequent shipments didn’t come until we sold those—or long after. While RadioShack was flopping on delivering smartphone, accessories and repair options to its customers, a bunch of specialty kiosks turned up in every mall in the US to deliver exactly those services. An example of RadioShack’s inability to get the littlest things right can be found in a story from about a year or so after I quit.

When the iPhone 5 launched, I bought mine through Apple’s online store, but a friend pre-ordered his through my old RadioShack (one of the best in the region, mind you). Not only did they manage to lose his pre-order device, but they never actually found another of the same model for him. After several weeks of back-and-forth they gave him one in the wrong color and told him that was the best they could do. It’s not hard to see that RadioShack had no idea how to handle the smartphone business. As the company floundered to understand how to market the latest models, newer ones were being released. Customers quickly picked up on the fact that most employees lacked up-to-date information (thanks to incredibly bad training materials) and instead went directly to carrier or Apple stores. But despite all of that, the advent of the iPhone (and the subsequent flood of similar devices) may have helped RadioShack overcome poor management and waning public interest in most of its products and stick around for a few years beyond its expiration date simply by providing a source of revenue that people actually wanted.

So yes, it’s fair to say that the iPhone replaced most of RadioShack’s products, and that the chain’s failure to fully adapt contributed to its eventual downfall, but perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the store already on the way out thanks to big financial mistakes and failures in its leadership. In reality, the iPhone, no matter how poorly embraced by the company, may have (temporarily) served as RadioShack’s saving grace, but ultimately the smartphone and iPhone in particular destroyed RadioShack’s once successful business model.We bought the   Radio Shack Composite AB Selector Switch 15-312 (15312)   for the television, to enable switching between a Comcast cable box and DVD player as viewing video and audio sources on a single television.  So I got to install and examine this two-input A/V switch extensively.  After more than three years, the 15-312 continues to function flawlessly, without loss of video or static sounds in the switched audio. 

Benefits, Pros, Features, and AdvantagesTwo inputs and one output.  Two video and audio signal inputs, switched into one output.  Each input accepts both stereo aural (left and right channels) and analog composite video signals, and, correspondingly, all three signals are switched at the output, between the A and B input jack sets.Speaker selector switch capable.  For smaller stereo amplifiers, this AB switch can provide switching between two audio sources into a single set of two speakers, or vice versa.  That is, you can route one stereo amplifier output to two sets of speakers.  To do this however, your speaker cables must be fitted with RCA-style plugs, as this unit has only RCA jacks for the audio.  Plus, this unit probably cannot handle very high current delivery from amp to speakers.  So we’d recommend not using it where audio output power exceedsComposite NTSC video only.  Works with any devices either producing or receiving composite video and stereo audio, including DVD players, game systems, video cassette recorders (VCRs), Given its low cost, you could also use it as a good-quality audio exclusive switch, to connect two computers to a single set of speakers, and then switch which one is actually connected to the speaker system.

This Radio Shack composite video and audio A/B switch cost only $20 roughly.Simple hookup and operation.  containing two push-button style switches on the top, and nine RCA-style ports on the back.Three plugs per input set.  Each input on this composite video switch includes one video jack and two audio jacks (for stereo left and right channels).  The single output includes the same jack compliment.This switch is fashioned from black plastic and sports light gray labeling of the jacks and buttons.Just two buttons sit on the top of the unit.  These are its only controls.  This is definitely a no-frills A/B video switch that is thus, a king of simplicity to learn and use effectively.Easy to see current input selection.  Visual indication of which input is currently active is given by a brightly colored bar that appears above the currently active input button.  This is mechanically established; no electric lighting present.The case appears quite thick and the unit feels rather heavy for all the more that’s inside of it, which gives the impression of a durable, rugged piece of electronics, and I definitely like that.

Comprehensive Installation and Users Guides provided in the packaging.Self-sticking cable labels provided as well, to tag cables from various devices, coming into this video / audio switch.Needs no batteries or power adapters.  Requires no external power sources or batteries.  In fact, this is a completely passive input switcher, and so, adds no distortion or noise to the composite video or stereo audio signals it handles.90-day limited warranty. Disadvantages, Cons, Limitations, and ProblemsThis AB source selector switch supports neither component video, s-video, nor HDMI signal sources; just the traditional composite video ones (yellow RCA plug).  Thus, no high-definition HD video; only standard definition (SD) analog source signals can be switched.High tension spring loaded controls.  Must press the buttons harder than seems normal to select the correct video source.Plus, if you press the input selection buttons too weakly, this leaves this switch in a neither-A-nor-B (no video) state. 

This means that neither the A input nor the B input is connected to the output.  This can cause confusion and concern, as the desired video source does not display when the switch is in this state, and the user may be left wondering why his VCR or DVD player is not working.Warranty offered but not required.  Strange that the sales person offered a two-year extended warranty for this low-priced switch box, for $3.49 (I think).  I just shook my head and grinned.This box weighs very little. So it can easily be pulled off a table or any smooth surface that is any distance above the floor.  Be sure to place it where it will not fall.A/V cables not included.  You must supply all required audio / video cables needed.This signal switcher works with line-level audio, and is probably not intended for lower impedance speaker level outputs, although as mentioned above, you can use this device as a speaker selector switch in a pinch, for lower power speaker outputs, such as found on book shelf stereo systems.

No HTMI or other digital format support.  No switching of optical digital inputs either.  This is strictly an electrical switch that works with analog signals.No VGA computer video handling capability.  Switches only composite video (yellow RCA connector) signals.  It is incompatible with computer VGA signals.  Product RatingThis video and audio switch is simple to connect up and operate, and can cheaply be replaced in the event of problems.  So I’d highly recommend this AB switch  to people who only have two A/V sources in their home entertainment systems to toggle between.  However before you buy, make sure that your television does not have the additional inputs you need.  I’d rate this device at 96 out of 100. Where to Buy the Radio Shack Composite Switch Box 15-312 15312 You can find this home theater accessory exclusively at Radio Shack stores nationwide.ReferencesProduct   Users GuideRadio Shack   Web SiteWhere to Buy the   Radio Shack A/V Two-Position Selector Switch Revision History2015-12-12: Added more appropriate tags.2015-01-08: Added pictures.2014-12-14: Added mention of usage as a speaker selector switch.2014-10-28: Added the References and Revision History sections, and additional description of this A/V switch product.2011-06-20: Originally published.