150 in One - Part 2

I promised 5 new circuits for the 150-in-One Electronic Project Kit!

[@paulholm2138]

Santa brought me a RS 100-in-1 kit for Christmas 1975. I was 7. That, along with the Alfred Morgan books in the library at school, really sent my interest in electronics through the roof. Until I found your channel a couple of years ago, I thought I was the only one who ever remembered these things!

[@robertmeyer4744]

I had many of them kits over the years. Even the 200 and 1 shown in video. that one was sold for many years . What few radio shack stores left , they have the Elenco one. They currently make a 130 in 1 kit. does look like the science fair one. Amazon sells them. Fran-lab on you tube did a video on that kit a few months back. Great hearing about that 150 in 1 kit history. I thought a HAM was behind it. I herd that many years ago . The last kit RadioShack had I think was the 300 in 1 and had a bread board that you plug the parts in. The only one I have left is the 200 in 1 kit. my clear cover not clear anymore and the side broke off the lid. the rest still works fine. I learned a lot with them. My girlfriend plays with the snap circuits one. A local hobby store has them. So happy to see kits like this still sold to this day ! Both me and my girlfriend are in our 50s now and we play with kits like that . Their is no age limit on having fun and learning electronics . 73

[@Dazzwidd]

I had one of those back in the 1990s when I was just a lad 😅 Then I started making circuits, in the shape of the schematic with wood boards and self tapping screws and washers. By my late teens (around 1997) I was building with rats nest construction. I still build that way now

[@va3ngc]

Very cool that you were able to find out info from the original designer's children. Great idea to try and add new circuits. I love the idea.

[@JCWise-sf9ww]

Thank you so much Mike, I really enjoy watching your videos. Too bad by the time these all-in-one electronic kits like this came out I was already repairing Radios and TV sets in the 1970's.

[@W1RMD]

Thanks Mike! Shows you can still learn a lot from these old kits.

[@davidcampbell6527]

Brings back many memories! I received a 10 in 1 kit for Christmas in 1975 when I was seven years old. This was in Johannesburg. When I was 12 and came to England, I saved up and bought the 75 in 1 set from Tandy. Went on to work in RF engineering.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Wow that is quite a story. The more that I look, the more I see that these things were providing critical and effective educational training, during our formative years.

[@erikburman530]

You inspired me to pick up a Tandy 150 in 1 Science Fair Kit on ebay. My first project, #1 Electronic Candle, is a failure. Nothing wrong with the components. Just me and my wiring. I think that's why there are so many lightly used kits available on ebay. The majority of kids probably opened it up at Christmas, tried working through a few projects, gave up, and banished the kit to the attic, only for it to eventually end up on my work bench to challenge my dwindling 63 year old brain. This serves to remind me just how difficult the art of electronics is. It requires some considerable natural aptitude (which I sadly lack), close attention to detail (which I also sadly lack), a high tolerance for frustration, and willingness to experiment and persevere. I will continue. I'm certain that eventually I'll succeed. Well, I'll succeed with project number one at least.

[@W1RMD]

Yep, that pretty much sums it up.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Fantastic!

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

Keep at it! It's good for your brain. You'll get very good. Enjoy!

[@W1RMD]

@@johnnytacokleinschmidt515 I agree! I'm 51, and I'm now learning more than ever before. Thanks and take care.

[@erikburman530]

@@W1RMD No worries. I will keep at it. Things are working with the 150-1 kit now. The relay was just a bit tired. Onward and Upward (KO6ABI).

[@christophernetherton9389]

I was given the Philips version of one of these and went through all of the circuits many times. As I recall, one of my favourits was a 'remote control' that used a cadmium sulphide cell that yould trigger with a flashlight to operate a relay. These sorts of kits really kept my interest in electronics alive. Thank you for this series of videos!

[@MIKROWAVE1]

I know it was hard to stay on task building a crystal set, or garage door alarm, with all of those girls milling around the shack!

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

13:00 minutes in was what my expectations of what I should be able to do at ten to twelve years of age. Nothing I tried ever worked. Good thing I could hook up speakers and learned to replace some output transistors in stereos and fix basic power supply problems. That kept me going in my early mid teens. Then automotive and grass cutting with a paper route took precedence. In the mid 1980's it was apparent even to a young man that consumer electronics was heading to the disposable approach as compared to repairable. I looked elsewhere for my future and was pushed into college.

[@michaelmiller641]

Fascinating! Thanks for that video!

[@ab1dq593]

Outstanding - what memories!

[@ALEFILES]

Greetings from Argentina!❤

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Were electronic toys like this available in South America in the 1970s?

[@ALEFILES]

@@MIKROWAVE1 Yes, and years ago, in 2008, I gave it to my nephew for his birthday one of this, it had springs to make the connections, but it hadn't so many circuits to build... Thanks a lot for this nice video!

[@mp-ov9dh]

i had one! best christmas ever about 1978. learned to read schematics and identify parts plus countless other skills.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Seemingly impossible skills unless you happened to be in a school that taught electronics courses.

[@Dazzwidd]

I had a primary school headmaster that is a ham. He contributed a lot to my education in electronics and radio

[@najroe]

I remember using an extra winding to get regenerative feedback, adjusted coupling by moving it closer or further from the loopstick, worked but was fiddly. also made a second regenerative with loopstick and grounded base antenna amplifier (my fathervsuggested the amp), loopstick was scavenged from a junk radio (found in dumpster when a neighbour moved) removed the original wire and replaced with windings to give me SW from about 3.5 to 14Mhz, regen was controlled by the pot and output volume by switching in resustors in a voltage divider fashion, not elegant but worked (better fine tuning of the regen and crude stepoed volume) more than one hour sitting listening to CW and SSB on that,

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Wow wow wow, this goes into REGEN NUT territory! - now we are talking. But that was an adventure all right. Sort of gives you respect for real circuit boards and shielded boxes.

[@najroe]

@@MIKROWAVE1 yeah, if I moved hand it started howling or detuned... But as a 8-9 year old in early 80s it was a great learning experience

[@steveroberts3512]

I still have a complete one of these. I originally had one over 45 years ago so when I saw one for sale about 15 years ago, I had to get it.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Working with the spring contacts also teaches you new words.

[@haraldlonn898]

That philips kit you had at the end is the one I got as a kid and got me hooked on electronics. It was in the mid 60'. Still have the book but it barly holds together.

[@tennesseered586]

BEST TWELVE YEAR OLD EVER!

[@jimw7ry]

Looking good Mike! 73, Jim W7RY

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Thanks for watching Jim!

[@mr50sagain55]

Thank you for another extremely interesting video series…surprised, but not surprised by the Japan Gakken connection!!...how about kits that came with home study courses from the post WW2 and Korean War GI bills offered by companies like National Radio Institute…don’t know…just asking…

[@erichkeyes5578]

This type of kits payoff for me . Fun video !

[@2100Warzone]

The lack of an LM386 is a good thing. Now you have to make an amplifier an learn something.

[@Knarfian]

Thanks for doing this series. I remember playing with my friends 150-in-one when I was in grade school. I also remember completely missing the point of the Integrated Circuit! (Why would I want that??) :) I love the way you've made the extra pages for the manual. My parents ended up getting me the Digital Logic Lab with the 7400 NAND chip on it, and the "Digital Computer" kit with the slide switches and light bulbs. Anyway, dumb question here. I remember the original spring contacts having a narrow end and a wide end, and the springs were inserted into the cardboard from the top, narrow end in. I'm not 100% sure but it looks like yours are the other way round. Is that how yours came? Am I remembering wrong? Seems like it might be marginally easier to deal with the wires if you have a little bigger radius on the spring, but otherwise it probably makes no difference. I still think those spring contacts were probably the best and easiest way to get kids started with electronics. Thanks and 73 - NQ8N

[@gretalaube91]

Some of the cardboard holes in my 100 in one got "honed out" from lots of use, so I would flip the springs and put the fatter end in the holes so it would still work, sorta. I still have it, and have some places where I glued extra cardboard to mount new/different parts. (light bulb, meter, transistor) Maybe Mike's the same. 73 de W3IHM

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Various kits show them both ways - dunno.

[@AdamosDad]

You are a good teacher.73's🎙KD9OAM🎧

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Thanks for watching these videos. Sometimes circuits work here and sometimes we have issues, that are always fun to figure out.

[@Capecodham]

I had Mr. Swan's Swan-240. Crystal radio? They make radios out of crystals? Is a serious antenna different from a funny antenna? Ground breaking? I did not see a ground?

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Stay Grounded Burt!

[@misterhat5823]

Why not use the IC as the audio amp? I think it's specifically meant for that.

[@MIKROWAVE1]

Great point. I looked it up, and you are correct, although I think it would work as an AM RF amp as well.

[@jacobboth1438]

Project 156: solid state battery tube ?

[@MIKROWAVE1]

I knew that the little teaser was going to cause issues. Solid Stating vacuum tube circuits or making tube plug-in equivalents was, and is, a thing. Why not?

[@jacobboth1438]

​@@MIKROWAVE1I was teasing you back. ;) But with a little serious undertone. Throughout the years I watched all your videos. And with every project you make an effort to mention (if possible) many tube equivalents. But in the long run all of them will become hard to get or unobtainable(s). For now, depending on who you are and where you live, it's already difficult. So in the back of my head there's always this little nag: wouldn't it be time to acquire some knowledge and background, accessible to many, to sustain the future of tubes with a little help of... As a lover of free flying electrons I wouldn't mind some solid state assistance. Jacob PE1LLA

[@TheGmr140]

😂😂

[@TheGmr140]

😂😂