The year was 1975 because I had just started secondary school (in the UK). A friend of mine had this cool electronics kit from which you could make maybe 40 or 50 projects using a common circuit board. The components were mounted on…well…mounts with studs that screwed though the circuit board. Placing different components in different locations created different projects.
The circuit board was not a ‘breadboard’ that you can find in Radio Shack etc. Rather it was a 10" x 10" (guess) PCB with real tracks on the surface that ran between the various holes for the components studs.
I remember making a crystal radio, an AM radio and a motion detector.
I believe that there were two versions. One that made about 25 projects and one that made about 50.
Despite eBay’s vast listings, I have been unable over the past year to find the kit. It doesn’t help that I have no idea what it was called or who made it although Sinclair and Phillips seem to keep popping up in my memory.
This was a popular toy although quite expensive. I think it was 35 to 40 pounds sterlingin 1975.
Any ideas? I would pay a lot to get one in working condition.
That’s not the kind I remember. When I was a wee one, I had a kit which consisted of various resistors, capacitors, a relay, an incandescent lamp, a speaker, and some other stuff, all of which was mounted to a piece of masonite hardboard. Using an assortment of pieces of stranded wire with tinned ends, you would connect the components together via spring clips at the component ends. One could make 25, or 50, or more different circuits, depending on the size and assortment of components. Mine was made by Heathkit, and that style is still available.
If you’re anywhere near Baltimore, I saw them at Baynesville Electronics on Joppa Road, west of Loch Raven Blvd. Via mail order, I’d try MCM Electronics.
Not quite what you describe, but: Electronic Snap Kits
I picked up the ‘750 in 1’ at Radio shack for $79 before christmas. My SO is enjoying the heck out of her present.
I got my daughter one of these for Christmas. 200 projects including radios, etc. Components are connected using spring terminals. I had one like it as a kid and loved it.
I remember the thing. Components mounted on plastic blocks with threaded studs passing through them. I might even still have mine in the attic somewhere, I’ll have a look around tomorrow.
I got one of those for Christmas when I was around 12, sometime in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. I believe it was just a Radio Shack version – “200 in 1” or something along those lines.
Hmm, come to think of it, it looked very much like the one in Sam Stone’s link. Guess that wasn’t what the OP is talking about. They are pretty dang awesome, though.
ETA: If anybody is able to find images of the kind of kit MrFloppy is talking about, I’d love to see what it looks like. Sounds quite fascinating.
So I tracked down the old friend of mine in the UK, found his phone number and called him.
It was called a ‘Radionics’ kit but he couldn’t remember much more. He doesn’t have it any more. He could not remember the manufacturer.
My Googling hasn’t found much and ‘Radionics’ on eBay brings up a bunch of wierd looking crystal things for sale that apparently will enrich your life.
So it is a Radionics kit. I’d appreciate anyone finding anything at all about it.