Electronics learning kit/lab from the 90's - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Buriedcode
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2022, 02:13:53 pm
content: I'm getting to the age where I'm becoming more nostalgic (guess its a 30's thing?). I remember my first real electronics kit was a pretty cool one from the 90's, it was the first time I'd used IC's - I believe it was mostly centred around a 741 and a 555. Pretty sure it was from the early 90's, but could have been old stock from the 80's. I'm in the UK, but I can't remember if it was actually a British company or American or what.Now I've checked here:http://www.zpag.net/Electroniques/Kit/But it definately isn't there.It was blue plastic with a matrix of holes in the centre - exactly like a breadboard, except it was moulded into the blue plastic housing, all one piece, and the kit had the metal buss strips you get inside solderless breadbeards that you had to insert yourself, making a rather large prototype area. It also had a variable capacitor and pot mounted onto the back. It's hard to gauge the size as I was about 10 at the time, maybe 25cm wide, 20cm deep and 5cm high? THe entire think was a single piece of blue plastic, and it didn't have those spring contacts that the more basic ones had (had a few of those too!).It was from a random mail order catalogue my dad got (other goodies from that christmas were various motors, gear kits, bulbs, robotic stuff etc..).I'm going to check some stuff I got in storage as I can't image my folks threw it away, but thought I'd post here as theres people of all ages and backgrounds - and I'm sure you guys have all had kits at some point!Cheers

author: 807
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2022, 05:31:08 pm
content: I can still remember my first electronic kit from the late 60's when I was around 12 years old. It was a Philips Compact Electronic Engineer kit 1050. Cardboard templates with spring connectors. Great fun. No IC's, but amazing how many circuits you could build with just 2 transistors.There were add on kits 1051 & 1052, but I didn't have those.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2022, 05:41:16 pm
content: Quote from: Buriedcode on December 28, 2022, 02:13:53 pmIf this thread eventually draws a blank, and you don't find it in storage. Another method of finding out about these things, is to try and very accurately choose, a narrow (as practicable) range of dates/years, where you had it or first encountered it.Then search through some of the (often freely available on the web), electronics magazines of that period. Especially the ones most likely to apply, to what you want.Both in the adverts and/or magazine pages.I've found thing(s), that way, previously.Sometimes, things are in the new products announcement sections. Sometimes it gives clues, as to other sources of information.E.g. For one such thing I was looking for, I found a similar, but different version, of apparently the same item. But that gave me the manufacturers name. Which can then be further searched, via google etc.

author: AndyBeez
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 28, 2022, 06:00:38 pm
content: Check out eBay and search for "Vintage Electronics Kit". There's a ton of stuff there - some in mint condition. Be sure to check thecompleted listingsbox.From your description of a blue plastic matrix board, a candidate kit might be a "Philips EE Elektronik Labor 2" series. Happy hunting.

author: HobGoblyn
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 29, 2022, 08:56:19 pm
content: I had one of those 200 (think it was 200) in 1 kits in the mid 70s with the spring connectors, unlike the more recent ones, mine was in a nice wooden box

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2022, 02:05:30 pm
content: For me, it was the Philips EE20 kit...