Talking Electronics Kits - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: chris.fryer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 12:10:57 am
content: Hi Folks,I'm interested in reproducing some Electronics projects I did when I was a kid (now for my son). I'm wondering if anyone is aware of the sale of PCBs and possible bill-of-materials from projects from the Talking Electronics (Colin Mitchell) publications. In particular I'm interested in helping my son build the Voyager Mk II from '5 MORE FM BUGS'. Back in the day; we would toner transfer or Dalo-Pen the PCB designs, before using an Acid bath to make the boards and buy everything we needed from Dick Smith.I'm looking for advice on the best way to go about re-constructing these boards today, and buying parts?Thank you

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 12:15:35 am
content: Email or call Colin first, he might still have some PCBs or kits for sale.http://www.talkingelectronics.com/te_interactive_index.html

author: jpanhalt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 12:39:08 am
content: Contacting Colin is certainly a reasonable move. My recommendation would be based to an extent on how old your son is. Say 3th grade and below, a simple kit or solderless breadboard would be a good way to start. From age 10 and above, taking a published design through PCB manufacture and buying parts may be more appropriate. Custom made PCB's are so cheap today, it is not really worth making them DIY. See JPCPCB which advertises here. Some PCB makers allow submitters to put their designs in the public domain. I am not sure whether JLCPCB does that. Oshpark does. It may be worth browsing its shared files to see if one appeals to you:https://oshpark.com/shared_projectsThere are other sources.As for ordering parts, everyone is affected by the supply disruptions. There are several vendors who also offer kits. Jameco, Adafruit and SparkFun are three that come to mind; however, with surface mount taking over and many beginners having reluctance to try it, many kit makers have switched to assembled boards.

author: SmallCog
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 01:51:13 am
content: Seems to me that all the details are here:http://talkingelectronics.com/projects/Voyager/Voyager-P1.htmlAnd provided you scaled the PCB images in the link above correctly you could make your own boards using this method:Alternatively you could redraw the boards in a modern software package and have them printed, or you could use one of those $200 3018 cnc's to mill a PCB (either from the original website image or a redrawn "printed" style design)Obviously Dick Smiths isn't really an option any more (Does Dick ever come here? I know he's on other forums) but you should be able to get everything from Jaycar / Altronics (my preferred shop) or eBay

author: chris.fryer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 02:26:25 am
content: Just finished up corresponding with Colin!I'm blown away - I'm buying the kit from the living legend himself!*I think it is funny- he went from Mail order - to Email ordering*No need for that online store rubbish

author: johnboxall
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 03:17:57 am
content: Quote from: chris.fryer on February 10, 2022, 02:26:25 amColin's a champ, and a little bit mad in a good way. I used to live a few suburbs over and he delivered to us in person on a Sunday afternoon once.If you haven't already done so, watch Dave's interview series:and Karl's:

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 10, 2022, 10:26:57 pm
content: Vellemann is still in business:https://www.velleman.eu/products/list/?id=456088

author: Terry Bites
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2022, 08:40:18 pm
content: Velleman, of course!There are still loads of these things.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronics-Kit-Kids/s?k=Electronics+Kit+for+KI think the experimenter kits are much more fun.I used to have one of these wonders as a boy:https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/philips_ee_20_ee20.htmlBut it looks like some upstart "Hans" cornered the market long ago in a far off land.

author: chris.fryer
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 07, 2022, 11:24:59 pm
content: Ending up building the Voyager MkII (one with my Daughter and one with my Son).Crazy how much the high sensitivity mic picks up - In my video, I show the waveform and audio received on my Nooelec SDR. The fake laugh at the end was from 15/20 meters and another room away ~you pick up everything in a house.As you can see in the waveform - the bandwidth is pretty wide and there is a decent side-lobe - but nothing that can't be handled with an SDR.Cheers for the advice folks - many thanks!https://christopherfryer2009-hotmail.tinytake.com/msc/NjU4MDMxNl8xOTA5NzYxMA?fbclid=IwAR1LkneZy2C9Av1mxEYo-BP2k1tRxRQ0eiUjr4H-iKpx1sIlQuCcvwUTIVU