Toys you had as a kid. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Homer J Simpson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2015, 11:25:04 pm
content: These were a few of my favorites.Big Trak Wiki;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_TrakSpeak and Spell Wiki;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_%26_Spell_(toy)Merlin Wiki;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(game)

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 12:24:42 am
content: Tonka trucks, Erector Set, Lincoln Logs, Matchbox cars and green army men

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 12:29:30 am
content: I guess I was too geeky as a kid. While I liked some of the standards like Erector sets and a Lego predecessor, my favorites included the spring motor out of some old wind up car. Watching the gears spin around and figuring out what that thing spinning around did (an air stirring governor) provided hours of entertainment. Or just about anything that sat still long enough for me to take apart.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 12:58:35 am
content: Started with wood Tinker Toys, Moved up to wood Lincoln Logs, and finally graduated to heavy metal Erector Set:https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5325407/il_fullxfull.275496725.jpgAfter that it was mostly just electronics for the rest of my life.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 01:31:16 am
content: lego lego lego lego and more lego.i can't remember any other kind of toys. I only wanted lego. technics kits and big boxes of parts. it didn;t have to be the 'themed' kits. just a big drum of parts. i'll create my own idea's.

author: pickle9000
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:26:22 am
content: My brothers and I went to the dump every week. I had everything I needed and started repairing tv's at 7 (with the help of a family friend). Two brothers said it was horrible, two others great, I thought it was fantastic. Tools are my toys.

author: gibbled
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:31:29 am
content: Quote from: Homer J Simpson on August 27, 2015, 11:25:04 pmMeccano, lego, a chemistry set with a Bunsen burner, batteries, lamps, motors.Had a knife in my pocket since six.

author: fivefish
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:49:30 am
content: I didn't get to own this toy. Too expensive for my poor family. When I was a kid, I really really really wanted this. And in keeping with the "Electronics" theme, it's actually called "Voltes V" (Voltes Five)Five individual toys, that you "volt in" together, and you come up with this robot.<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LLfPVAjs_mU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>So I just have to content myself watching the cartoon.

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 03:07:48 am
content: I was a Lego Fiend. Erector (Meccano for your Europeans), Lincoln Logs, HO model trains, and real electronics because of the family business.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 03:12:27 am
content: In Spain we didn't have Lego but we did have Exin Castillos (Castles):

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 05:15:17 am
content: My favorite was a ck722 transistor, and any thing that I could take apart. BTW I let the smoke out of the ck722 within hours of receiving it. than I got a 2n107 that I experimented with. (lasted a few weeks)Now here I am letting the smoke out of things I could not of dreamed of back than.

author: bills
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 05:19:23 am
content: I have a ck722 and a 2n107 in my collection. not going to let the smoke out of them.Just for nostalgia.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 07:24:17 am
content: Meccano,Minibrix and a Stanley carpenters set in a case. I still have the Stanley Carpenters set in its wood case 50 years on but the book that came with has long since turned to dust. If I could not build something with it I was not interested as a child.

author: Zucca
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 07:37:32 am
content: Quote from: free_electron on August 28, 2015, 01:31:16 amOhhh yeah... even today they are damn useful to put something quick together.Anyway How many times I saved the princess's ass in the first Mario Bros?

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 08:10:59 am
content: Wooden stick and a yo-yo, the stick was to hit my brother with if he tried to steal my yo-yo

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 08:25:27 am
content: I didn't get my first real erector until I was about 13, I'd spend all day, locked away in my room playing with it. In fact, I still do.As for toys, I'd have to say Legos, Capsula and a Soldering Iron.Sent from my Tablet

author: elex_enthusiast
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 08:39:58 am
content: Mine was not so great but I was happy playing with a car/truck made of wood and tin cans, a spintop, then suddenly shifted into playing a screwdriver (I found from my father's small toolbox) and started tearing things apart (usually electronics) which lead me to buy my first soldering iron with a wooden handle, then an analog meter..

author: Chris C
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 08:41:15 am
content: The parts connected with little rubber rivets - inserted with a little rivet gun! Unlike Lego, Erector, and so on, most of the parts had some flex, as did the connecting rivets. So you could throw the airplane you just built across the room, and although it wouldn't exactly fly, upon landing it would bounce rather than shatter.In 1978 some little idiot - that was plenty old enough to have known better - decided it would be more fun to eat the rivets, and choked. Ruining the fun for everyone else. Including me, since my mother was paranoid of everything, and upon seeing a news segment on it promptly threw it in the trash.

author: elex_enthusiast
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 08:50:11 am
content: Quote from: Chris C on August 28, 2015, 08:41:15 am..haha I wonder how it tastes like. So what happend to the "little idiot" after swallowing the rivets?

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 09:31:19 am
content: I had fallen in love with Fischer TechnikIt was a German toy manufacturer and you could build much much more than with Lego, including electronics setup with amplifier and logic gates and motors and regulators. It was just amazing!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischertechnikhttps://www.google.de/search?q=Fischertechnik&client=firefox-a&hs=yOx&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIxJzO4bvLxwIVywUsCh31fQql&biw=1333&bih=918#channel=sb&tbm=isch&q=fischertechnik+electronics

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 11:59:49 am
content: Quote from: elex_enthusiast on August 28, 2015, 08:50:11 amHe bounced instead of shattering.

author: Dave
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 01:34:51 pm
content: Legos!I have an older brother, so I had access to Lego Technic bricks from a very early age. All I ever wished for as a child were Lego sets. Birthdays, new year's eves, ends of schoolyears, always Legos. Sometimes my parents would join forces with grandparents, aunts, etc. and get areallysweet set. Man, those were the days. I would follow the instructions, built the model once and then tear it down the next day, because I needed the parts for something else. I could easily spend hours just tinkering and building stuff. Everyone thought I'd end up being a mechanical engineer.I remember this one time, my brother told me that we should both build Lego guns and then we could play soldiers. He finished his gun much sooner than I did. He made a shotgun model with a movable reload mechanism. I kept building and he kept nagging when we are going to play. When I finally finished my build several hours later, it was a real thing of beauty. I had a pin attached to a trigger, which held in place a small brick. I stretched a long elastic band and fixed it behind that small brick. When the trigger was pulled (much like a real gun), the pin would release that small brick and the elastic would fling it down the barrel, shooting it out of the gun with force. For some strange reason, my brother suddenly didn't feel like playing soldiers anymore.I think I was 8 or 9 when I got my first Lego Mindstorms kit (bought it myself!) and at that's what shifted my interests from mechanical engineering towards electronics engineering.If my kids (whenever that might happen) show an interest in Legos, they are going to get Legos. Lots of them. Daddymighttag along, you know, because someone has to show them how things should be built.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:00:52 pm
content: Another Fischer Technik fan here.Did anyone else have one of those Fisher Price record players? I rediscovered those recently and worked out that with today's "toys" (CNC mills and 3D printers) you can make your own records.http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-records-for-a-70s-toy-record-player/http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-printing-records-for-a-Fisher-Price-toy-record-/Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:34:22 pm
content: Mechano number five and one of thesehttp://www.radiomuseum.org/r/pifco_all_in_one_pocket_meter.htmlhigh end multi-meters

author: nanofrog
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:46:38 pm
content: Tonka trucksLincoln LogsErector Set (Meccano)LegosEstes RocketsA RadioShack 150-in-1 kit from a garage sale, which then led me to buy an analog meter and a firestick, and myaddictionenthusiasm for electronics has been undeterred since.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 02:56:58 pm
content: Quote from: Dave on August 28, 2015, 01:34:51 pmDefinitely Lego! I have quite a large collection. And it is good quality which lasts generations. The first wind-up Lego engine I got is over 3 decades old and it still works perfectly. Unfortunately my kids aren't very interested in Lego even though they got a bit spoiled. I could not resist myself when I saw this train set:I had to buy it and I built it together with my youngest son.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 03:55:42 pm
content: Meccano (in black and yellow). I also had a chemistry set when I was eight and an electronics set when I was ninehttp://www.hansotten.com/index.php?page=ee-seriesOnly the Meccano lasted, then I discovered my first electronics shop.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 04:09:52 pm
content: I forgot how old I was when I got my first electronics kit. I'm sure it was a Phillips EE2040:http://www.hansotten.com/index.php?page=ee2040-41-50-51

author: Tom45
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 04:27:48 pm
content: Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Chemistry Set, Crystal Radio Set.That was back when chemistry sets had "dangerous" chemicals and were fun. I drove my family out of the house one Saturday morning when I made hydrogen sulfide.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 28, 2015, 09:49:09 pm
content: One thing that fascinated me about that Philips Electronics kit was the 125uF 16V capacitor as it came in a dark blue plastic wrapping (no idea why). As a tribute to that kit which started me off so long ago everything I build has a Philips 125uF 16v cap somewhere in the circuit.

author: sdg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2015, 08:32:33 am
content: Half a dozen lead soldiers, a knife, some pièces of wood, a magnifying glass...

author: Electric flower
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2015, 09:25:03 am
content: Football ball, i loved all sorts of vehicles, really wanted lego but they were expensive.I didn't have much toys and by the age of 6 I wasn't really into toys, then i started to play video games until the age of 15.Through whole childhood I was really into mechanics, by the age of 13 i knew how to stick weld, solder, drill, tap a thread, fix everything on bicycle and it was probably most fun of everything I did. Still I don't understand why I got into electronics high school... luckly electronics are amazing, but high school education isn't.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2015, 10:10:41 am
content: Horseshoe shaped magnet, crystal set, home made electronics kit (thanks Dad) then Meccano - I still think its the best toy ever made.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2015, 10:56:52 am
content: Steam engine, assorted tools ( and permission from Dad to use his non power and non bladed tools unsupervised) and no toy or junk in the neighbourhood was safe.

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 03:55:30 am
content: Lego, a Kosmos electronics-set and PCs (DOS 6.22 - Spent hours configuring Config.SYS and Autoexec.BAT to get games running^^).Does a Boat + Outboard-Motor count too?

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 09:37:13 am
content: NES, and SNES for sure. Still my favourite consoles to this day. Now everything is all cloud based embedded computers basically.One thing I spent a lot of time playing with though was K'nex. I had tons of it, at least two roller coaster sets worth and then some. I built all sorts of interesting things including a wind powered crane, I used a fan to power it. I liked playing with the gears to give more torque and so on.I also made "high voltage" transmission lines throughout the basement. Used foil paper as the wires, and 120v from the outlet for the power. I was probably like 10 when I got my first electric shock.So many hours spent playing with K'nex... and electricity.

author: Balaur
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 10:37:11 am
content: Thanks to some exchanges and trading programs between communist/socialist countries, I had an "Optik Cabinet" set from the Eastern Germany.You can see ithere(not my site)Rather nicely made and very instructive. Multiple versions have been produced if I remember correctly.In my version, many of the set-ups called for a light source represented by a candle. My 5- years old self was very confused since a candle was clearly not enough even in the dark. In the later versions, they used a light bulb drawing (well, duh!)

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 11:42:21 am
content: In grade 3 in 1967 I got a Denshi Block electronics set. There were eventually many variations but I had this particular one ->http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/65858190/DENSHI_BLOCK_ELECTRONIC_BLOCK_CIRCUITS.htmlI just plain wore that thing out.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 12:01:07 pm
content: Not a toy but this book led to many "toys"I think it was 1975, when I got this book.The book was printed in 1970My first soldering iron looked exactly like the on on the book cover.Title: "Radiobasteln für Jungen"Freely translated:"Tinker about radios for boys"Today you could not publish a book with such a title in Germany.This was more value than any "kids toys"

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 01:26:28 pm
content: Quote from: timb on August 28, 2015, 08:25:27 am

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 03:28:38 pm
content: Computers, consoles, and Lego were all I really bothered with. All of the Transformers and He-Man stuff people got for me thinking I'd like them are still in their boxes, never opened lol

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 03:32:49 pm
content: I was big into lego and never had a TV, never got loads of sets as they were expensive. I was also into 00 gauge railway. Apparently I was scared of the intercities that roared by near our house so my dad bout me an intercity train set to show me what they were and crush my fears. It worked and he got very into it as well doing repairs and a lot of wheeling and dealing in the stuff. We also had some scalextrics but not much, masinly played with it at friends.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 03:47:10 pm
content: Quote from: miguelvp on August 28, 2015, 03:12:27 amI loved my EXIN Castillos.No, there was not LEGO but TENTE.Do you remember?

author: timb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2015, 11:12:23 pm
content: Quote from: HighVoltage on August 30, 2015, 12:01:07 pmAre you sure that's from 1970? If so, Germany was really behind the times. Look at the way the kid is dressed, his hair, the tube based radios. That picture looks like a Popular Electronics cover from the 1950's.Quote from: Simon on August 30, 2015, 01:26:28 pmSent from my Tablet

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 31, 2015, 01:12:48 am
content: Quote from: EdoNork on August 30, 2015, 03:47:10 pmNever heard of it but it seems you can build cool looking buildings with it:IMHO Lego was very late to realise specially created blocks where necessary to create life like structures / cars / etc.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 31, 2015, 08:50:36 am
content: I did remember TENTE was from EXIN too.This was my TENTE Saloon:I don't have it any more.But I remember all of that figurines.My casttle form EXIN Castillos has a witch, a ghost and a wizard. Ahhhh, good times...

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 05:36:01 am
content: You probably mean a witch, I recall that figurine flying in a broom.BTW I'm replying from Gran Via in Madrid Spain, going to visit my parents and going to Hondarribia via Burgos on a rental car later on. Taking my wife and in-laws, so we probably stop by the Cathedral where the Cid is burried.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 08:11:20 am
content: Witch, yeah.You're near.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 01:04:07 pm
content: Three toys which changed my life...

author: digsys
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 07:36:50 am
content: Quote from: DeathwishI'd have envied your yoyo !! :-) First memories, mid 50s, stuck dead center of aussie. Had sticks and 100,000,000+ fire? ants. Bastids stung like hell.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 09:30:26 am
content: Never had a single block of Lego.First memory is of a Wyn Toy grader and a conveyor/loader. Solid (sheet) metal construction, similar to Tonka in its early years. Don't know what happened to the grader, but I saw the conveyor in the garage on the weekend. Paint isn't great, but it is intact, complete and still works.Meccano - Red and green steel parts. Some plastic parts came later. After a few years, I was allowed access to my father's Meccano, which included various artillery pieces with wooden barrels - plus I also came across a large blue box with some airplane Meccano pieces. I still have that blue box - but it is in a very sad state and there is a fair bit missing inside it.Then I got the Philips EE20 - and I don't remember there being much else after that.

author: Tepe
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 12:55:19 pm
content: Fischertechnik

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 02:04:55 pm
content: I also had a Radio Shack experimenter's lab. Don't remember the exact model, but it was very similar to this one.It was a previous model, as it had no ICs, only transistors:

author: BillB
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 04:06:28 pm
content: Quote from: schmitt trigger on June 13, 2018, 02:04:55 pm+1 For the 150-in-1 project kit. I also had the 200-in-1 kit, and many of the single project kits. I played with them so much I thought I would wear out those little hook-up coil springs. I don't remember what happened to them. I did regret getting rid of them so much, that a few years back I bought them again off of ebay so that I could squirrel them away in a box in a storage room.Memories ♫Pictures of them in this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/your-favorite-electronic-toys-of-all-time/

author: Roeland_R
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 04:36:53 pm
content: This is a birthdaypresent I got from my parents somewhere around 1972

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 06:05:50 pm
content: Had almost the same one. did burn my hand rather badly with a spill of the methylated spirit fuel we used, but a good amount of spray skin ( also included a generous dose on Lidocaine as well) and, aside from having a hairless area on my hand, I survived. Was fun the next day at school writing though with a lobster red hand.

author: Gyro
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2018, 06:58:45 pm
content: I had a 'Johnny Speed' remote controlled car. I suspect that kids of today would have a good laugh at the RC technology but I was pretty impressed. BTW this video shows it off at its best - that heavy ribbon cable wasn't nearly as well behaved on carpet!https://youtu.be/XNQ4onsyYpsP.S. It was bigger than it looks - about 20" long!

author: Jerry Chew
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 07:51:45 am
content: This was something we played in Malaysia back in the 90s. Its basically distributing marbles into different holes...whoever has the most marbles in the end wins.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congkakspam link removed

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 08:05:30 am
content: We had this in Australia...Yes, that was the name it sold under.

author: Calambres
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 08:12:22 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on June 13, 2018, 09:30:26 amI too had it, but it was named "Electronic Engineer":Germanium transistors (AC126, AF116), Bianchi "mustard" capacitors, carbon comp1/2W resistorsIt was mainly the responsible for my interest in electronics. I also had its companion, the Mechanical Engineer previously cited in this thread:A very intelligent and original type of "Meccano". Much better in my opinion. There were some possibilities using both toys. Lots of fun!I have very fond memories of them.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 08:15:59 am
content: Quote from: Calambres on June 30, 2018, 08:12:22 amSo was mine. The images I used were the closest I could find to the actual presentation of my kit. The only difference is that exact text on the cover.

author: ferdieCX
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 09:46:44 am
content: A Meccano Nr 6, inherited from a cousin. I gave him it back, when years latter he became kids.A Rivarossi model train. It took 4 years to buy all the necessary pieces to put it to work.Then, I received the book for kids " Gerd y su emisora " (" Gerd funkt auf eigener Welle " from the german writer Rolf Ulrici )That made me interested in Radio, and I tortured my parents to the point that they gave me this wonderful book from Monsieur Aisberg that I still have.To the book followed the Philips Electronics Engineer EE20 already pictured in this thread.The Meccano an the electric train became suddenly boring.

author: iainwhite
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 05:23:14 pm
content: Meccano (including the Steam Engine & the Electronic control set)Hornby Dublo 'OO' railway.LegoDinky Toys die-cast model cars & trucksAirfix toy soldiers and military vehicles, tanks etc

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 08:04:44 pm
content: Radioshack 200 in 1 electronics set.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/radio-shack-science-fair-200-in-1-electronic-project-kit-manual/Radioshack remotecontrolled carsMechano sets.Busted radios / stereosBusted Hair driersBusted lampsBusted trainsBusted light dimmersBusted switchesBusted walkmans.Junk SpeakersDC motorsAC motorsBusted clock radiosThe list goes on...Most of the stuff I either fixed, modified to be something else, or, salvaged parts from to make something new...

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 09:12:09 pm
content: Highlights:- Lego,I think I was 4.- real tools and a toolbox when I was 6- Meccano, 7 or 8- Philips EE2003 box when I was 13 or 14 (like the one one the pictures I bought a few years ago on a ham fest)- at 16 the best gift ever, my uncle had an air-riffle. I wanted one too, from as long as I can remember. My parents did not allow that. At my 16th birthday I came home from school and my uncle was there with a big box, a brand-new 4,5mm BSA Meteor super. I still have it, still use it, and it still looks like new.- A marklin trainset, I made a big WW2 maquette with a few hundered plastic soldiers, houses with bulletholes, a dose tanks, airplanes above it. I painted the trains in camo colors.- tube radios, I had a working one next to my bed without the cabinet so I could see the tubes glow.- at 18 I bought my first guitar, I played several hours a day, and I still play (a lot) guitarOne toy I really wanted as a kid but never got one, a Steamtractor. I finally bought one in England 25 years ago.

author: IanMacdonald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 09:14:32 pm
content: Philips EE20 was what started me on electronics too. 2x AC128 and 1xAF116 if I recall. The radio worked surprisingly well for such a low semiconductor count. In fact all of the circuits did. Somebody put a fair bit of work into that, methinks.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2018, 11:49:46 pm
content: Yes, I seem to remember the circuits did perform rather well. The radio circuits did work without too much mucking around.The electronic organ wasn't too bad considering the resistors used. Most notes weren't too far off pitch - except one (for me). It was noticeably off - but still good enough for playing a tune.The one I remember most was one (the pilfering alarm, I think) that I "installed" in the doorway of my bedroom. Two thumbtacks each had a wire wrapped around the shank and pressed into the door jamb and door (at the hinge side) so they made contact with the door closed. Open the door and contact was broken which resulted in the circuit sounding an alarm through one of the speakers ... which was hanging at ear height on the handle side of the door. Mum was the one who found out about it. As well as being completely hidden and inaccessible from the outside, those thumbtacks worked a treat.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 02:30:21 am
content: Is that what Santa left you?

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 02:54:59 am
content: Yep, along with an orange and a walnut. I ate those.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 03:38:15 am
content: Quote from: JohnnyMalaria on July 01, 2018, 02:54:59 amI've got a rock just like that and before I had it it was dads.Had much fun with it as a kid but you didn't dare bump it when it was doing its job.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 07:39:44 am
content: Interesting how many of us got started with those Philips electronics kits.

author: IanMacdonald
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 08:34:33 am
content: Quote from: Brumby on June 30, 2018, 11:49:46 pmMain problem was that it didn't have the 'black keys' so there were very few tunes you could play.

author: Circlotron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 11:26:00 am
content: Quote from: iainwhite on June 30, 2018, 05:23:14 pmMe too. Had this one for 50 years. Hasn't run for 30. Needs new safety valve rubber ring.

author: Harb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 11:43:48 am
content: When I was a kid we didn't have a lot of money to spray around on flash toys.....mum and dad both gone now worked really hard just to get us through.....but I always had enough to eat and always had a warm roof to sleep under.......So what I used to do was go to the Local Tip and find other peoples toys and radio's etc etc and bring them home and fix them........and even today I get a kick out of finding something and fixing it up....probably why I love flea markets so much....they are just my favourite thing.......Its surprising what people throw out.......even moreso today....every council cleanup day I am amazed by the stuff I see on the footpath......I don't pick it up much anymore....unless its test gear or old radio equipment

author: Cerebus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 01:11:37 pm
content: My favourite toy when I was a kid:The English Channel. As a kid, by this time of year my normally near black hair would be bleached blond by the sun just from the amount of time I'd spent swimming.

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 02:22:26 pm
content: My favorite time as a kid, in 81 through 85ish, at summer camp, I brought a set of tools and cheap weller, few simple parts and scrap wire. This was the dawn of walkmans and stereo radios/ghetto blasters, which often broke in the camp conditions. Many of which I would repair except for the worst cases. Because of the time and high price of these items, I clearly was trusted with such expensive gear and clearly saved a tone of money in repairs for those involved. Also earned a bunch of canteen food, or, late night snacks as the counselors would leave camp on their day off and treat me with goods the day after.

author: Calambres
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 04:36:44 pm
content: Quote from: Calambres on June 30, 2018, 08:12:22 amQuote from: German_EE on July 01, 2018, 07:39:44 amI still have the instructions manual, in Spanish:

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 05:16:15 pm
content: Wait, I'm still a kid, at heart.The most memorable toys I played with were mostly old broken bits from the family and friends.

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 05:30:06 pm
content: My parents would sometimes bring toys back from Japan. The best of all was this 1:10 RC car:It came as a kit that you had to assemble, tune, and paint yourself. I can remember many happy hours on the bench and later at the park.[edited to replace huge image]

author: IanJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 08:10:19 pm
content: It was called Whirly Bird in the UK.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 09:21:03 pm
content: Sweet nostalgia!

author: schmitt trigger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2018, 11:54:21 pm
content: Is that a WILESCO steam engine?When I was very young, my granddad had a Wilesco steam engine driving a small DC generator, which in turn would power a few tiny lamps. Because of the burn hazards, he would never allowed me to play alone with it.When I became old enough to play with it on my own, he had already passed away and I never knew what happened to the unit.Thus, a few years ago I purchased myself a Wilesco D18, and I have gradually added some belt-driven accessories. I also added a voltmeter to measure the generators DC voltage, a knife switch to turn off the lights, and built a tachometer (with an LM331) to measure the speed.The meters are completely analog, of course.

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 12:16:13 am
content: I got this Tasco telescope for Christmas 1976 or 1977 when I was 10 or 11 and growing up in the UK. It's managed to follow me around the world and the photo shows it set up to look at the solar eclipse last year. The second photo is a photo taken with my phone of the image of the sun projected on to the poster board. Cool spots!

author: thermistor-guy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 02:46:34 am
content: Lego, meccano, tonka toys, matchbox cars. But also books: Little Golden Book series, like The Color Twins; How and Why Wonder Book series, like Rockets and Missiles. Those books were magic.And later, my prized possession, a Tamiya King Cobra slot car. Recently, I put it out near the sidewalk (footpath), in the original box, for someone else to enjoy. It still worked (tested with a DC source). Gone within an hour.I still have much of my original Lego. My kids have passed through their own Lego phase, and my old Lego still fits with the new, even though Lego has obviously changed the molds and pocketing. The dimensional and colour stability of the old stuff is surprisingly good. That speaks very highly of Lego's engineering and process control.Old and new Lego are now in protective storage, awaiting the next generation of little users.

author: Mashpriborintorg
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 10:29:55 am
content: Tomy "Zoids" robot dinosaurs kits. Completely unobtainium now, I have never seen anyone on a fleamarket or so.

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 10:44:22 am
content: My favorite was the 130 in one then the 200 in one electronics kit from radio shack. Kind of like a bread board with the parts already attached. I can still remember the starting wiring sequences: 1 to 29, 2 to 39. That was the output transformer to the speaker of all the radio projects. I remember using the germanium diode more then the silicon one for some reason then when doing electronics for real I have never used a germanium diode.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 11:02:03 am
content: Quote from: Homer J Simpson on August 27, 2015, 11:25:04 pmI had one of those, one of the few electronic games I had as a kid.

author: GeorgeOfTheJungle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 11:14:08 am
content: Quote from: IanMacdonald on June 30, 2018, 09:14:32 pmMy elder brother had one of those Philips too, but I was too small yet to play with it. Later on Fischer Technik had toys with filp flops, logic and timer modules and I played a bit with those, but didn't like it too much. What really caught me was the elektor and ETI magazines, learning to make your own pcbs with photoresist, ferric chloride and the dremel, preferably with many dip chips (mostly 555s and series 74) and the more seven segment displays and leds, the better. Bonus points if the circuit could, for any reason, be interfaced to the Apple II. I only dug into analog waters much later out of necessity, digital is so much easier/rewarding (as Bob Widlar would put it).

author: GlennSprigg
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 01:17:13 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 02, 2018, 11:02:03 amI had one too, in my 20's, and was quite good at it. Years later, when the wonderful & graphicallyoriented Windows 3.1 came in, I re-wrote it using 'VB3' just for fun!! (Lost now...)

author: mathsquid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 02:13:42 pm
content: Quote from: Mashpriborintorg on July 02, 2018, 10:29:55 amI've got two of them in my boxes in the basement. One is a walker and the other is essentially a robot-dinosaur sea turtle. I remember they came with little gold-colored pilots that were also the perfect size to sit in the cab of Optimus Prime.

author: Deridex
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 05:24:40 pm
content: Lego.A lot of it.Then a 286 with 2MByte RAM and 40 MByte HDD

author: girts
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 09:52:16 pm
content: Hmmm... and what's about Rubik's Cube?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubik%27s_Cube

author: innkeeper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 09:58:01 pm
content: mattel spin welderhttps://youtu.be/PnWpcwnR2YA

author: innkeeper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 10:04:43 pm
content: OMGJARTS!THE ONLY LAWN GAME WHERE YOU CAN KILL YOUR COMPETITION.banned now as i understand it... can't imagine why!

author: BrianHG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 10:46:59 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 02, 2018, 11:02:03 amThe day I got tired of mine, I took it apart!

author: helius
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 02, 2018, 11:04:11 pm
content: Quote from: girts on July 02, 2018, 09:52:16 pmWhat aboutRubik's Clock?

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2018, 01:36:10 am
content: I had a Rubik's clock. Not anywhere near as challenging as the cube.

author: Miyuki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2018, 08:11:22 pm
content: Nice kithave many parts

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2018, 10:09:51 pm
content: Very clever system!

author: RobK_NL
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 05, 2018, 07:04:33 pm
content: Lego, lego, more lego, Fisher Technic and of course the Philips electronic experimentation sets.

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 20, 2018, 11:28:57 pm
content: Quote from: innkeeper on July 02, 2018, 09:58:01 pmThat voice is kind of scary. What happens if you don't spin weld?I remember that voice although by the looks of the color and their hair cuts it looks to be before my time. Although they used to recycle commercials a lot back then. There was this Sears commercial for A/C that ran for years where at the very end they say: "It's going to be another hot one! Cool." So fucking cheesy.

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2018, 01:53:21 am
content: No wonder those of us growing up in the UK in the 70s were so envious of the US (Starsky and Hutch rule!). The boy on the right at the start was way ahead of his time fashion-wise:

author: Beamin
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 21, 2018, 03:06:35 am
content: Quote from: JohnnyMalaria on July 21, 2018, 01:53:21 amIt's Lal! Father I...I feel. I feel... pain.Stupid star fleet admiral killed Lal. I like when she says she wants to look like councilor troy. Must be nice being able to chose your sex and looks. Although if you tried to have sex with her she would break you like when she threw commander Riker.