This brought back a great memory for me. When I was very young, less than ten years old, my dad would bring home little kits like this from work in a little cooler that was his lunchbox. He started with the most simple ones that did not require solder, and worked up to more elaborate kits. We would work on them in the basement shop together. He let me mess up, and let me explore and experiment. This was the early 80's, and we powered these little kits with a DC power supply that he had built...from a kit.
Great memory that I had forgotten. My dad died in February of this year after a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis. He could fix anything. He could build anything. With these little kits he taught me so much. Thanks for the memory!
My 6 year old just got very interested in a very basic electric kit, but he more or less exhausted its possibilities. I am trying to forge a path forward, maybe with switches on a breadboard or something. What are electric kits that do not require solder?
The very first kit I remember was housed in a metal project box about the size of a large dictionary. This was the early 80's or possibly the late 70's. I was very young at the time, but I still remember it fairly well.
The heavy box was open on the bottom, and contained a homemade DC power supply (transformer, voltage rectifier, etc) to power the "project area" on top of the box. The project area contained 3 different-sized breadboards, maybe two dozen red and green LED's, some sort of buzzer, a couple of toggle switches, and a push-button switch.
Dad supplied me with some wire (with stripped ends). I could place one end of the wire into a slot on the breadboard, and connect it to another location, and then manipulate the switches/buttons to either light up an LED or cause the buzzer to buzz...or both. This may sound simple and boring, but to me it was pretty awesome.
Years later, when I was in middle school, I made a homemade project that would deliver a harmless, but painful electric shock to my friends fingertips. It was nothing more than a transformer, a push-button switch, and a battery, mounted in a small box. On top of the box were two square metal pads that I had cut from an old Crisco can. My victim would place their index and middle fingers onto the two metal pads while I pressed and released the switch.
Great memory that I had forgotten. My dad died in February of this year after a long struggle with pulmonary fibrosis. He could fix anything. He could build anything. With these little kits he taught me so much. Thanks for the memory!