Feb 14, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: This 1973 RadioShack Catalog Is a Bonanza of Nerdy Treasures

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View the gallery in full screen to read more about this Radio Shack catalog.
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The best way to wirelessly communicate with your friends in the 1970s was via walkie talkie. With three separate channels and three watts of power, the TRC-99C could be used by three different groups of friends.

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Semi Conductors! – Pg 66-67
This was the Maker Faire catalog before there was a Maker Faire. You could order diodes, LEDs, resistors, transformers, switches, and nearly anything you needed to take that next step to building your own hardware.
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Mark VI Dual Track Label Maker – pg 87
The Mark VI Dual Track Label Maker could create labels with horizontal and vertical text. Even better, it resembled a Star Trek prop.

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Record Supplies – pg 118
You could order nearly all the supplies you needed for your turntable and record collection from Radio Shack. It was a record collector’s dream come true.
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Photo-electric Light Control – pg 135
The Photoelectric Light Control switched whatever was plugged into it on when the sun went down. It was the light-controlling Internet of Things before there was an actual Internet.

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100-in-one Electronic Project kit – pg 144
The $33 100-in-1 Electronic Project Kit let you play mad scientist without electrocuting yourself or your younger siblings. Thanks to this kit, a generation of tinkerers was born.
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Lie Detector Kit – pg 152
The Science Fair Lie Detector was a party game meant to determine the kissability of your date. Now we have the Lulu app to judge gentlemen on their date worthiness. Both probably offer the same results.

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Smoke sensing semi-conductor – pg 153
The Disaster Alarm Kit let you go to sleep at night knowing you'd be alerted by a loud buzzer in the event of a fire. It’s essentially Nest Smoke Detector without the soothing voice.
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Radio Medallion – pg 166
The Realistic Radio Medallion was a tiny wearable AM radio with a message on the speaker. Your necklace was now the life of the party.

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Instant Weatheradio – pg 170
Stay up to date on the local weather forecast with the Realistic Weatheradio. The $20 box got one channel: The National Weather Service. Push a button for the latest update in a monotone voice.
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Morse Code – pg 174
–. . – / .- .-.. .-.. / – …. . / … ..- .–. .–. .-.. .. . … / -.– — ..- / -. . . -.. / ..-. — .-. / .- / — — .-. … . / -.-. — -.. . / … -.– … – . — .-.-.-

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