Christmas Gifts

Thread Starter

tindel

Joined Sep 16, 2012
936
So it begins...

Part 1:
I want to get a gift for my nephew that is electronics related. A ##-in-one kit is what I'm thinking. I'm not sure what one though. I did find this one which intrigued me because it looks like a good building block from the legos that he loves so much. He really likes instructions and has a hard time diverting the instructions, so the instructions have to be good. He's about to turn 8, so I think this is a perfect time to get him into this hobby to see if he enjoys it - or not. I'd also like to have something flexible enough that when he's ready to divert from the instructions then he can experiment.
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1835057/Elenco-Snap-Circuits-Jr-Kit.jsp?pfm=rrrecs-pdp-gtab1

Any other ideas?


Part2:
Any ideas for what I can ask for for my home lab? I was thinking some better probe tips for my multimeter.
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/inen/accessories/Test-Leads-Probes-and-Clips/TL80A.htm?PID=56757

Different soldering iron tips would be a good addition too, although I've found that I only use about 4 different tips... a super small, medium, and large chisel tip and a J tip... I use the J-tip for most of my work. At home I only have a medium tip... so that's another place I could improve the lab.
http://www.hakko.com/english/tip_selection/series_t18.html

Any other ideas?
 

GopherT

Joined Nov 23, 2012
8,009
I've seen this set up close and played with it. It is very limited and, I don't know how to say it but, it is super simple in terms of the 100 'projects' but a pain in the ass to actually get each project assembled if you know the circuit but just want to to assemble it - the resistor is the wrong length or 90-degrees to the circuit. It is essentially a puzzle at the same time it is trying to teach electronic. In the end, you can only follow directions from the book. I didn't think it taught much of anything except following instructions.

Electronic kits are like tools, I would much rather have a tool that does one thing well than a 10-in-1 tool that does ten things poorly.

Try one decent electronics kit - a line following robot and a couple of sheets of paper (large) and a black marker to make patterns for the bot to follow (or electrical tape).

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_386708_-1
 
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