150-In-1 Project Kit
I’m a techno-geek by trade… it’s part of my job, obviously, but even as a kid I was fascinated by doodads, gizmos and gadgets. One of my favorite Christmas presents ever was a Radio Shack 150-In-1 Electronic Project Kit. This totally cool product was comprised of a big board loaded with electronic components already soldered into place and spring-loaded terminals for connection points. You got a bunch of wires of different lengths with the kit, along with batteries and a project book.
Basically you followed the instructions and by inserting various wires into the terminals and running them amongst the components, you could build stuff. A basic AM receiver, a short-range FM transmitter, a light detector, a simple lie detector… all sorts of neat things that did cool stuff. The book also showed the actual schematic diagrams for each project and a brief explanation of how and why each project worked. Read the rest of this entry »