Can anyone recommend some beginner analog electronics kits/projects? I would like to get into building some simple circuits and would also like to get my kids (11, 13, 15) interested in this. I've done some searching but nothing has stood out so far. I did find these:

http://www.makershed.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKSL1

http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/science/mx909.htm

Any thoughts on those?

Also, I guess I would eventually need a decent volt/ohm meter and bench power supply. Can someone recommend decent ones?

Thanks,
Nick

 

I started with some of these: http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/list/?id=523008, they are sold in several stores.
I got hooked and started buying individual parts and looking up simple circuits on the internet.
To make the kids interested, buy a robot voice kit and circuitbend it and make all kinds of silly sounds and noises,
it will definately draw some attention.

 

What part of the world are you? It matters, different things are available in different parts.

Way back when I started with a 300 n 1 kit from Radio Shack. I see the same format sold elsewhere (not from Radio Shack), they use little springs that you bend and stick the wire through. I really loved mine, and it went a long way to get me started.

My brother and I had a lot of fun with it, he was 10 and I was 15.

A quick search came up with this, it appears to use the same springs, but it is pretty different. It gives you an idea what I'm talking about. Target had the same one for more money though, so it pays to shop.

http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/science/mx908.htm

 

Also, I guess I would eventually need a decent volt/ohm meter and bench power supply. Can someone recommend decent

OK, I have to admit: i'm ten. Anyway, I have been working with Electronics for about 4 years, and got my first multimeter about 2 years into that. Though I want a bench top power supply, I don't have one, and still survive. My dad taught me a lot, and he NEVER had a benchtop supply.

any digital or analog multimeter around $40+ is good (if u really wanna splurge, get a fluke multimeter, tektronix oscilloscope, a bunch of breadboards, a variable wattage soldering iron, and the most expensive power supply you can find)

 

Of the two kits highlighted, the second is 5 times the price of the first, although the same outfit offers a comparative one - the mx906.

Don't spend too much to start with the $50 job is adequate and has the sound effects suggested by others. The mx906 is also non solder which is a good way to start as you can reuse everything.

If the interest takes off you can gain extra components and a great deal of experience by stripping old/redundant equipment. And save a good deal of money too.

Kits like the Velleman ones are good when you need a functioning specific piece of kit and that you have the satisfaction of self building, but leave these until your soldering and assembly skills are up to it - the kits are not cheap, often more expensive than ready made.

I hope the new interest turn out well for you in the future.

 

This is the one I got started on. Loved it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/200-1-Elect...-9247121?ie=UTF8&s=kids&qid=1260061507&sr=1-8

Notice, no breadboard. I think that's better for absolute beginner.

 

This is the one I got started on. Loved it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/200-1-Elect...-9247121?ie=UTF8&s=kids&qid=1260061507&sr=1-8

Notice, no breadboard. I think that's better for absolute beginner.

Yes those kits are very easy to work with, I have the 500-In-One Project Lab myself. Although I would recommend having the breadboard for the op, and any trepidation you might have for breadboards should be eliminated once you construct several simple circuits.

Austin

 

This is the one I got started on. Loved it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/200-1-Elect...-9247121?ie=UTF8&s=kids&qid=1260061507&sr=1-8

Notice, no breadboard. I think that's better for absolute beginner.

That is more like what I was talking about. I think this is the best seen online so far. The local stores (mom and pop shops) have good selections too.

If they show an interest you can give them a real breadboard and a small selection of components later.

I do have a bench top supply, it is the second I've built from the ground up. I highly recommend them too. With modern high current wall warts it is a lot easier and safer too.

 

I do have a bench top supply, it is the second I've built from the ground up. I highly recommend them too. With modern high current wall warts it is a lot easier and safer too.

could you please give me a schematic for that? I REALLY WANT ONE!!!

 

I would recomend the 200 in 1 for an absolute beginer, when I first starting playing with electronics my brother lent me his, and then for following chirstmas he got me the 300 in 1 as he wanted he back. But I would say any of the many in one kits are good.

 

I started with the Science Fair 150 in 1, not the current $200+ one, a 1976 Radio Shack model picked up at a flea market. That was about 3 years ago, I'm 57. I think the key to getting the most out of these type is to ignore the wiring directions at least at first. Hooking up B34 to A29 doesn't teach much except maybe to identify components. Try to understand the schematic and wire it up yourself. After a while I got a small breadboard and hooked it up, now I've graduated to a big breadboard. A simple multimeter will help and then later a bench supply, I got mine when I graduated to the large breadboard.

The xxx to 1 kits are available on line pretty reasonably, be sure to get the manual. On ebay they look to go around $20 or less. Don't spend $200.

 

could you please give me a schematic for that? I REALLY WANT ONE!!!

I've started another thread on this subject.

http://forum.allaboutcircuits.com/showthread.php?t=31158