# can someone help me identify this 80's "toy"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 1, 2012, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654 "2012-12-01T05:47:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/21 "2017-07-10T22:11:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I have a Radio Shack 100[and something]-In-1 electronics kit around here somewhere. As I recall, the speaker is missing. Loads of fun when I was a kid, but I wonder if some of the transistors, resistors, etc. are even being made nowadays. I had the 150-in-1 kit and just had to poke around eBay looking at the pictures to see how well I remembered it. There’s nothing on the board that isn’t easily obtainable on Amazon for cheap. Or from Aliexpress for even cheaper. I’ve recently picked up a bunch of Arduinos with the hope that I’d (re)learn all the lessons I supposedly worked through back in the day. Most of those components are pennies or less. The most expensive item I think I have picked up was a five meter long reel of addressable RGB LEDs and that was maybe 20 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2017, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/22 "2017-07-10T22:56:14Z")
😮 I never had one, but that looks like it was one of the best toys ever. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/23 "2017-07-11T02:03:25Z")
I never had one of those, but I built a lot of stuff from Popular Electronics. Even etched a couple of circuit boards. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/24 "2017-07-11T02:22:05Z")
There’s a good old fashioned electronics store in St. Louis that specializes in connectors, capacitors, vacuum tubes and all that classic stuff. It’s a great favorite among ham radio operators and hi-fi enthusiasts. They still have a few of those kits for sale. [Looks like they’re still being produced somewhere.](http://www.canakit.com/electronic-kits) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/25 "2017-07-11T02:44:26Z")
I had one in my youth that was a collection of computer circuitry, at a very basic level. It had a clock that cycled about 1 Hz, some lights, and a handful of gates – AND, OR, NOT, and the like. You could couple two NANDs back to back to make a flip-flop. That was just about the limit of its capacity, but it was a really spiffing logic instruction toy. (Heh. I still have it. I wonder if it would still work?) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/26 "2017-07-11T04:22:01Z")
And my 200-in-one is still at Mom’s house. If I knew any kid who’d actually appreciate it, I’d give it away in a heartbeat, but I can’t bear the thought of giving it to someone who wouldn’t appreciate it, or of just throwing it out. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/27 "2017-07-11T07:35:14Z")
I had one of those Radio Shack kits—I think it was the 100-in-1 model. However, I also had a [Lectron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raytheon_Lectron) set, which was also very cool; instead of wires, you’d create circuits by lining up blocks like dominoes. Anybody else remember those? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/28 "2017-07-11T13:00:22Z")
[Moderating] Now that I think about it, this thread really isn’t about any art form. And it’s not a game, either-- We don’t have a specific forum for toys. There was a General Question (what was this thing called), but it was answered quickly, and most of the thread is general reminiscing. I guess that makes IMHO the best fit. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/29 "2017-07-11T20:55:19Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > However, I also had a [Lectron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raytheon_Lectron) set, which was also very cool; instead of wires, you’d create circuits by lining up blocks like dominoes. Anybody else remember those? Later versions of the Heathkit Electronic Workshop [are similar](http://www.oldtuberadio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Heathkit-JR-36-Electronic-Workshop-JK-1033.jpg). Never had one of those myself. ---
**Author:** ![Murph1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@Murph1111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murph1111)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/30 "2017-07-21T16:47:00Z")
The current equivalent of those “learning” kits are the arduinos - little $3 computers which can be combined with various other mostly inexpensive items (anywhere from simple switches and thermometers up to motors, GPS sensors and inertial navigation stuff) and then programmed using a regular computer, laptop, or tablet. Unlike the kits from our childhood, these really are for kids 8 and UP - with no limit on the upper age. They are surprisingly fun to play with even for old guys like me who’ve been involved in electronics all their lives. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/31 "2017-07-21T18:59:00Z")
> [@Murph1111](#): > > The current equivalent of those “learning” kits are the arduinos - little $3 computers which can be combined with various other mostly inexpensive items (anywhere from simple switches and thermometers up to motors, GPS sensors and inertial navigation stuff) and then programmed using a regular computer, laptop, or tablet. While it’s true that Arduinos are awesome fun for all ages and appropriate mindset, there are still true “kids electronic experimentation” kits. My 11-year-old has had [Snap Circuits kits](http://www.snapcircuits.net/faq) since he was 9. They’re marketed for “8 and up.” And they are very kid- and experimentation-friendly. For instance, battery packs appear to have inbuilt current limiters; my son didn’t even notice a dead short he had in one of his made-up circuits until I pointed it out. Do that with the old Tandy 150-in-One kits and you’d have sparks (and maybe melted wires). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/32 "2017-07-21T20:20:42Z")
Just stopped in to say I HAD ONE TOO!!!:eek::eek: Mine was a 99 in 1 kit I think. Good times.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/33 "2017-07-21T23:20:07Z")
I had one of the Radio Shack kits in the late 80’s, too. What I remember most about it was my frustration with the fact that one of the projects was supposed to be a radio (whether FM or AM, I can’t remember) but it would never work for me. I followed the instructions to the letter, and it just didn’t pick up a signal. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/34 "2017-07-22T04:32:20Z")
Always wanted one of those. A neat vintage item I did have (though I didn’t much know what I was doing with it) was this kit with modular tubes (like clear pvc pipes) and you could make a vacuum or a race car or a crappy robot with. I wish I knew what those were called. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/35 "2017-07-22T05:00:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > . . . You would then learn about electronics by going through the X-in-1 book, creating X amount of projects by interconnecting various electronic components via springs and short wires. . Yes–I remember this. I had the 100-in-1 kit. The projects had names. My favorite was the one called “The Big Ear”: a basic amplifier in which the input signal actually came from the speaker, serving as a microphone, and you hooked up a mono earphone to listen. I actually used that particular project to bug the bedroom of my three sisters. I got a separate little speaker, and about 100 feet of wire, which I doubled up to run outside and into their window. I planted the speaker in the curtains. Using the 100-in-one electronics project (“The Big Ear”) I could hear everything they said. But there was another project which essentially just reversed the signal, so I also could use the little speaker I’d planted in their curtain to make weird little noises in the middle of the night, which freaked them out tremendously. I later used the “Big Ear” to tap into the household telephone, but moved on from that to using a walkie-talkie that was patched into the phone lines directly and just transmitted the signal to my receiver. Thank you, Radio Shack. I learned a lot from that kit. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/36 "2017-07-22T05:22:23Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > I had one of those Radio Shack kits—I think it was the 100-in-1 model. > > However, I also had a [Lectron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raytheon_Lectron) set, which was also very cool; instead of wires, you’d create circuits by lining up blocks like dominoes. Anybody else remember those? Yes. I had one of those when I was about 12. I built an AM radio with a speaker. The antenna was a ground wire that I attached to the metal stop on the dial of a rotary phone. It worked perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/37 "2017-07-23T19:56:14Z")
I remember something where you got these small cylindrical components with various patterns of colorful stripes on them, and a wires coming out of each end. You’d bend those and instert them in holes as instructed and a light would come on, etc. But I don’t remember a big board, just smaller set-ups. Maybe they were sold as separate experiments. This would have been mid/late-70s. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/38 "2017-07-23T20:07:11Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > Always wanted one of those. A neat vintage item I did have (though I didn’t much know what I was doing with it) was this kit with modular tubes (like clear pvc pipes) and you could make a vacuum or a race car or a crappy robot with. I wish I knew what those were called. [Capsela](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsela)? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/39 "2017-07-24T03:39:24Z")
> [@Win\_Place\_Show](#): > > If I remember, it was supposed to be sort of a “kid’s introduction to science and electronics”. > > Does this ring a bell to anyone? > > Thanks for any input, or wild-assed guesses. Did it go “zip” when it moved and “bop” when it stopped and “whirrr” when it stood still? [The Marvelous Toy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cSiKns1zHI) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654/40 "2017-07-24T12:38:47Z")
When I was ten to about thirteen, my parents had a subscription for [Things of Science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Things_of_Science) for me. I got the 60s blue boxes, like [this guy](http://ecg.mit.edu/george/tos/) reminisces about. I think they helped spark a life-long curiosity in me especially things STEM\* but also softer subjects like history and biographies. \*Well, math not so much. I ran aground with trig and never studied calculus. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-help-me-identify-this-80s-toy/642654.md?page=1)