150 In One Electronics Projects Kit & More- Mailbag Monday

[@videodistro]

My dad designed and wrote the 150-in-One project for Tandy. I developed the black and white photos that he took with his Canon camera out in the sun (um, that may have been for his books). My brother drafted the schematics. It was a family event! :) Glad to see so many young people enjoyed it so much! My dad was always a teacher.

[@MkmeOrg]

Nice!

[@RonanCantwell]

I had one of those 150-in-1 kits as a kid in the 70's and learned a LOT from it. The instruction manual for this particular kit was fantastic at explaining how the circuits functioned, way better than the later versions (200 in one etc). Brings back lots of memories of stringing up long wire antennas in the back garden and listening to fading radio stations......

[@MkmeOrg]

Agree 100%. I can remember countless hours at our cottage (in the bush) playing around with various circuits and listening to the radio I had made by campfire light. Learned more with this than 2 years of formal schooling :) Cheers

[@garykuovideos]

I had the 65 in One! It was awesome and inspired me enough to design the circuitry in the electric violin I eventually made as a teenager. Thanks, Radio Shack!

[@jerrysimeone]

Definitely brings me back to the early to mid 70s with my 60 in 1 kit. Countless hours of making and modifying and inventing more stuff. I built a electrical career of the foundation of this thing. Also got the 200 or 300 in one later on. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing

[@TheBreamer999]

Oh man, I had one of these in 1976, they had them in Canada as well. I loved it

[@Kryptocode215]

Wow! 28-248 Vintage Science Fair 150 In One Electronic Project Kit (1976) Original MSRP $29.95. I found one of these sets listed on E-Bay. My set does not look as good as yours as I had to change out many bits in it . I think one can still find most of the bits that go in this set. Use 2N652A in place of the 2SB56 Germanium Transistor, and ASY27 or 2N1305 in place of the 2SA52 Transistor. I don't know where to find the obsolete integrated circuit, but most of these bits can be found in You Do It Electronics Centre me favourite store or listed on E-Bay.

[@MkmeOrg]

Nice!

[@mikecoughlin7407]

I had that exact kit growing up my father bought it for me I played with it for countless hours.i have since lost my father and seeing that kit brought a tear to my eye. the funny thing is that now In my late 30s I am trying to peruse electronics as a hobby and maybe more. thank you so much for that video and plz let me know if you still have kit and would be interested in selling it. I am from the Niagara region Ontario so close to where it was built lol

[@skullvicious]

Sure did love to create with the ones I had. Should have learned a lot more. Now having to go back and research to teach my son.why don't the produce something like this today? Not so popular in these days of instant gratification maybe. Thanks for the memory.

[@BryGuy2001]

Wow - great trip down memory lane. I think I had all of the Radio Shack kits from the little "Build you own AM Radio" to ht 200-in-1 kits. Thanks for the reminder... surfing ebay now. :)

[@MkmeOrg]

Good stuff Brian. Hope you find one :) Cheers

[@techthirteen]

I had every one as a kid. I had an uncle who is an engineer who would buy me them. We were poor so that's basically all I had. I love using the light sensor to trigger an alarm or making an am radio. I am trying to remember some of the projects in that book. I remember making an oscillator and tweaking it, the beginning of synthesis. Oh, I used to listen with the amplified microphone and make an alarm for my bedroom door. I was 10. Lol! Still love science today.

[@B250R]

Thanks for posting, I had the same exact one that you have the 150 In One Electronics Projects Kit. I sure had a blast with mine and I'm still in Electronics 35 years later. Thanks Brian Sandefur

[@MkmeOrg]

Thanks Brian. Sure brings back many fond memories for me :) Cheers

[@markvolstad9380]

Very cool! I had one circa 1974 that was almost identical. I was living in Canada at that time. Mine did not have the 7-segment LED, and my solar cell was larger. My favorite project was the AM transmitter. It eventually (many years later) led to an amateur radio license: AI4BJ.

[@Islandwaterjet]

Had the same one you describe. VA7IWJ.

[@thinktech2go]

OMG! Born in the 80s I remember asking for the bigger models every bday or holiday. I ended up with what i remember being the 500 in one. My son now is thinking of taking up electronics in a vocational school as i did. I actually got to show him what i use to play with as a six to ten year old. Thanks for the Vid we were both stoked

[@MkmeOrg]

thinktech2go That's fantastic :) Glad to hear it. Hope he enters the field or at least plays around a bit. The skills last a lifetime and the basic concepts will always remain the same. I was lucky to have mine. I have zero doubt the skills have served me well over the years. Cheers!

[@mmmbbq]

I was asking my dad if he saw mine anywhere in the house, as I hadn't seen it for years. No dice. Then I visited yesterday and dad wanted me to see something else in the attic, and there, buried under some stuff, there it was! Just like I left it. While I hooked up some cool stuff as a child, I never really "learned" anything . Now I regret that. Wonder what I'll learn as a mid 40's guy now!

[@MkmeOrg]

The nostalgia will be epic!

[@TheBreamer999]

I'm 54 and I miss mine and the chem lab set, for get which and my old tacky Tasco telescope

[@kg2nc]

I remember getting one of the 150 in One project kit. I also remember building a 4 band short wave radio if I remember i pickup a shortwave radio and that's what got me into Ham Radio. Then I started to study for my Ham Ticket. Thanks for sharing.

[@MkmeOrg]

Funny how a lot of people got a start on one of these :) Cheers

[@markpage5485]

I got one of the 150-in-1 project kits when I was a lad and kept it for years and years. I then gave it to my nephews thinking it would have the same effect on them as me, and when I visited next they had ripped the whole thing to peices - guess kids have different values today.

[@MkmeOrg]

Mark Page I want to give this one away but I fear it could meet the same fate. Ugh

[@turbobrick9073]

I had one. I think my mother threw it away when I was in the Navy. I made an intercom with it, the remote was at my friends house which was about 500 feet away. I will never forget one night he left the remote on and I heard his mom who was mad at him for being up late.

[@MkmeOrg]

Turbo Brick Hahaha good times

[@IRTheBorg]

I still have both of my 150 in 1's - one used to the point of being worn out the other sealed in the box, for hard times you know :-) I I also have the 200 in one and the 300 in one. You could build some real nice (and LOUD) AM receivers with the supplied parts ( that IC in the 150 in 1 to be sure :-) Such memories and learning back then! -Larry

[@doughy67]

just watched your video. that took me back. i had one of those kits in 1981. i was 11 years old. im now 47. it was an ace kit and i made every project whether it worked or not.

[@MkmeOrg]

I really need to do a new video on this. Takes me back as well

[@Kazzlin1]

Man, I loved this thing. I was never able to get "Electronic harpsicord and bells" to work though. I tried many times.

[@MkmeOrg]

+D Lee I have many fond memories playing around with various circuits as well. Cheers!

[@KentuckyRanger]

OMG!!! I got one of these for my 12th birthday!!! Lord, what memories I had with this!

[@rick420buzz]

Christmas 1977 I got this kit. I remember the year because it was when Blue Oyster Cult released the "Spectres" album, which I also got that same Xmas day.

[@MkmeOrg]

Richard Edwards Its quite remarkable how many people have so many memories of these. They truly changed many lives. I didn't get one till well into the 80's but the effect was the same :)

[@p71collector]

I just took mine out today to look at, it is in great condition still. Bought it new in the late 70's. I wired up the electronic siren and drove the cat crazy!

[@MkmeOrg]

I am planning on pulling this out again for a Christmas project. Such a fun piece of kit

[@jonathanmauer]

I had one of these 150-in-One Electronic Project Kits... sparked my interest in electronics. Definitely do a project with it for you tube! - Thanks

[@MkmeOrg]

Yep for sure! Thanks

[@SpeccyMan]

I had this one but I actually started out with their 30-in-1 kit and (hopefully) I've just found one on eBay.

[@chrisattwood1919]

I've just picked one of these up without the manual for £1.00 Wow memories are flooding back and I feel like a kid again, just need to find a manual now.

[@hamradiomanoz9448]

i just bought a 200 in 1 on ebay old school too but just so much fun my video will be done when it arrives later this week I can't wait :)

[@EarlGray_kd7sjt]

I have my original one. I have a number of others as well. Very cool to see this video. Thank you for making this.

[@roadrunner_meepmeep]

Tandy Leather Shack was a leather belt company store, that branched out into selling electronics.... as Tandy Radio Shack. And now you know the rest of the story ;-) I had one of these, but gutted a lot of parts later for my own projects. I'm going to try and restore mine to give mine to a little girl that wants to become an engineer. It kind of sucked as a project board because everything you built ended up as a rats nest of wires... hard to be proud of. I think the coolest project was the one that made various sound effects. Better to get your kids one with the white breadboard plastic type.

[@MkmeOrg]

+Prescious Cheeks The chirp/warble sound effect was fantastic :)

[@KristaAchorn]

Thanks much for posting the video, I also have fond memories of the 150 in one kit that my father gave me for Christmas. What a wonderful gift, I'm sure my father saw in me the spark or interest in electronics. It was so much fun to play with. In watching the video, memories of the various parts of the kits flooded my head. The crystal ear piece is truly from a different era. :-)

[@MkmeOrg]

Krista Hill Thanks for the great comment. It's funny how the reaction is almost always the same- fond memories flooding back :) Cheers

[@NeedSec]

Loving the videos. Excellent production quality and interesting. Keep up the good work. Loving the LearJet 45 Home Cockpit build.

[@MkmeOrg]

Thanks very much! Unfortunately the Lear has been neglected a lot this year. I am going to try to video a fun mess around flight this week while I'm still on vacation :) Cheers

[@TimNortonGuru]

Still have mine with the manual (in a shabby condition)

[@MkmeOrg]

Yeah my old manual was early destroyed :)

[@rcworks9762]

I had one of those but 8 segment displays and an IC chip was not part of the package. I was on that thing from the time I got it(Christmas Eve) till schools stated again... Then it was a regular daily play thing for a long time. Mine was about 1968 vintage... As I said some stuff wasn't on it yet. I did like the wooden box it comes in, if you see a kit like this today I would be a cardboard only item... These were great gifts I had a couple different ones. I told my son he's getting a USED Christmas gift, he about had a caw until he seen one on KZbin and found you can't get them new. I told him never knock used, most of my trains were used and I would have to say the most fun toys I had growing up were used, and most were rare finds that I got cheap. It was the mid 60 to mid 70's in a throwaway culture. :)

[@MkmeOrg]

RCWorks So true in every way. Anything like this today would be trashed in 4 minutes. I was lucky to find this one but truthfully I am thinking about a giveaway or something so that someone much younger might have the opportunity we did. Cheers!

[@rcworks9762]

This got me to thinking of making a top quality product on a hunk of 1/4 in thick Plexiglas, placed in a wood tray... All the component mounted on individual perf boards... instead of springs the perf board mounting screws could be used and those alligator clipped test leads could be used for hookup, or wires with loop tope crimp connectors... But for right now I am looking at the 150 in 1 set for my 10 year old, after seeing that I and other older people like it he thinking used isn't bad...

[@youtuberocks8397]

Wow that brings memories back.

[@MkmeOrg]

:)

[@sonnyleach5647]

My Dad asked me one time if I was interested in one of these (150 in 1) back in the 80's. At the time I wasn't interested, but I wished I said "Yes" now. Does this item teach you how the electronics work? How to repair? I'm seriously thinking about buying one now. Looking to learn something new-

[@MkmeOrg]

Depending on your skill level- you can definitely learn some things.

[@maiden_1967]

Do you still have this 150 in 1? Looks amazing, reply if you want to sell. Thanks

[@doughammer7589]

I loved my 150-in-1 project kit, bought it from swap meet for like $5 or $10 dollars back in the late 80s but i threw it away when I moved. That was a bad move......

[@MkmeOrg]

+doug hammer Doh!

[@BmwCarbonM3]

funny i had one of those when i was a kid also lol :)

[@nickhill9445]

I still have my 150 in 1. Not in as good condition as yours. Over the years I gave it several mods, including replacing the 7 segment with an 8 pin IC socket so that I could experiment with Op Amps and 555 timer etc. The integrated circuit is a BA306. The circuit on there never seemed to make too much sense as a standard function, but now understand it is an audio amplifier configuration. Shame they didn't put an op amp on there instead. Would have been more educational.

[@MkmeOrg]

You took yours far further than I took my first one :)

[@plumcrazzzy]

Hi do you know were I could find a file or pics of a 150 in 1 manual been looking and can't seem to find anything. Had a 150 in 1 years ago and used the parts off of it saw one on ebay and bought it but no manual any help would be great. Thanks

[@MkmeOrg]

plumcrazzzy Sorry I'm afraid I don't. Best of luck though! Cheers

[@midnightrizer]

i have a 200 in one and a 160 in 1 in the wooden case. :)

[@MkmeOrg]

Nice!

[@raccoon874]

*EDUCATION DISGUISED AS A TOY*