Tandy Science Fair 200 in 1 Electronic Project Kit

[@chrismofer]

Had this exact kit growing up, such fun. Was able to build fm transmitters and receivers which blew my mind as a kid and led to me getting into electronics professionally.

[@nominalorbitinsertion]

This great kit also lead to a career for me... after building an FM transmitter I was hooked and eventually became a professional radio presenter for 15 years!

[@Highstrummer]

Oh man, I had one of these maybe around 1994. I loved tinkering with this! Real nostalgia trip right here!

[@EgoShredder]

I had one of these for Christmas around 1980, so its been around a long time. Infact mine is still in our loft, so I might dig it out. Capacitors will be leaking by now I expect lol.

[@addsilva26]

As kids, I remember my elder brother had got one of these from our dad for one of his birthdays. It still exists and will be passing it down to my son next week to get him interested in electronics. I think its a good starting point with so many components available in 1 kit.

[@rantalbott6963]

Thanks. I also found one of these recently at a thrift store. Coincidentally, I got mine for US$5.. When I was a kid, my father was a ham, so I got to learn about electronics by building radio-oriented kits. As an adult, I've mostly been working with SBCs, so I'm looking forward to getting "back to basics".

[@SchecterWolfe]

I remember getting one of these for Christmas as a kid! It was the best gift I ever got! Enjoying this gift so much was probably an early indicator that I'd eventually become an engineer as an adult!

[@RetroSpector78]

They’re great little kits ! Always nice to turn a hobby or something you enjoy into an actual job !

[@tobyrucker]

This is one of the best Christmas presents I ever got!

[@daviddennison4201]

I have one picked up off curb complete just had to clean up battery holder going home with cast on will be building some projects 😃

[@SimonSideburns]

I bought one of these at a charity shop (thrift store) in the UK a while ago. I just haven't had much time to play with it, but it will hopefully introduce me to the fascinating world of electronics too at just over half a century old.

[@BottIsNotABot]

I had a very similar set that I was given for Christmas, from Tandy in the UK. Learnt so much from that kit. Might have to see if I can find it now!

[@OutsiderEng]

Brings back memories!

[@PSKResearch]

Silicone is synthetic material used in some adhesives, lubricants, & plastics. It has silicon & germanium (an element on the periodic table) transistors & diodes.

[@187lockedown]

I always wanted this large set. I had the 65-1 or something similar and would see this in the catalogue and want to upgrade ;) Great stuff back in 87/88

[@arongooch]

Love the video on this. I just picked one up a mint condition one locally yesterday, first time ive had or used one since I was a little kid in the very early 90's. A fantastic piece of kit. Thanks for sharing.

[@CassetteMaster]

Classic! I had one when I was younger, but preferred solderless breadboards for making projects, so I cannibalized some of the parts.

[@reanimationxp]

These exact units were still sold by RadioShack until they shut down. I grabbed one. May have been slightly different branding (Elenco?) but they're still around.

[@andrewschannel3635]

I remember receiving that as a Christmas present. With in a day I managed to blow 3 of the Leds, and one of the transistors, very few of the projects I completed ever worked. The LEDs on the front panel weren’t protected by a resistor internally as the digit display was, so if you connected too many too many of the batteries to one led they would fail.

[@PSKResearch]

I got all of the projects I was interested in to work, but a few I had to try several times to get working. After months with experience, I was making dozens of other projects with them, not in their manual.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

​@@PSKResearch I never achieved that mastery. I wish I had... I was too interested in trying to get a big tube color TV and blasting rock music. I loved the technology, but lacked confidence and organization. I bought a used kit and and picking away at the projects with a much advanced understanding and still plenty to learn. You've probably made a career of electronics, no?

[@frunomaol5069]

Well done, I'm impressed. I still have the kit. ​@@PSKResearch

[@risbill1]

Still have mine with the original box, manual and all the parts and pieces. Got it when I was 12 back in 87.

[@angieandretti]

I remember seeing this one in RadioShack stores as a kid. I remember begging parents for it but it was too expensive. I did receive smaller kits that I played with but never this one. I wouldn't mind seeing a video where you demo some of the circuits contained in the manual. Can you build an AM radio maybe, or if not then something that uses the level meter?

[@PSKResearch]

They still make these. They're not worth over $100 though. Watch for sales on them for $60-$70 new. Don't buy used. The used ones may have burnt out, dead, or missing parts. Yeah, I built lots of AM radios with it. After a few months experience, I was building better radios than were offered in the instructions with it. There are technically no components for FM radio reception, but I was able to build a few FM radios that would clearly pick up a couple of the city's strongest FM stations anyway. Build AM radio transmitters, digital light chasers, & all sorts of other cool projects too. It took only a couple of months to build everything I was interesting in, in the manual. But I continued building other cool stuff, & experimenting with it for another couple years. They're made by Maxitronics in China for Elenco, Science Fair, & other names these days, but all the 200 in One kits are identical to the late 1960s versions.

[@TLK22]

Same story for me haha!

[@beb38138]

I found one on eBay for 40 usd. What was most interesting to me as I introduced this to my kids who are young, they were astounded by the earbud that comes with this kit. They didn't know such an atrocity could exist compared to their wireless earbuds nowadays 😆. They enjoy the games that I build for them, but they are a little too young to wire them up just now.

[@Captain_Char]

I had something like this as a kid myself, but it was more basic looking, but the same spring setup, these sets need to make a comeback in some form

[@PSKResearch]

The smaller basic ones still exist & are still sold new. They had 25, 50, 75, 150, 200, & 300 In One kits. Only the 150 In One has been discontinued. They're now maed by Maxitronix in China for Elenco, Science Fair, & other Brands.

[@lelandclayton5462]

I had one of these, used the buglar alarm circuit and some old computer speakers to keep my little brother out of the room.

[@RetroSpector78]

Hehe :) these were really cool boxes ... was really cool to see them in a thrift store ... the exact same unit I had as a kid.

[@SeltsamerAttraktor]

How do you have only 472 subscribers? I just found you and binge watched all your videos. Please keep them coming, thanks :3

[@RetroSpector78]

474 at the time of writing :) unless you have something going viral I think you just have to sit it out until you reach some kind of critical mass... but appreciate the likes / comments / shares / subscribes....

[@SeltsamerAttraktor]

​@@RetroSpector78 I think the algorithm is stacked against new channels these days. I do not get any recommendations from channels below ~10k subscribers, it seems. Came across yours and some other guys' channels by specifically searching for retro computer terms. Instead youtube keeps throwing the same videos from the big channels at me regardless if I already watched them or not.

[@TheToric]

I had one of these as a kid!

[@paulmeynell8866]

I just got one of these, struggling to fully understand how the capacitor resistor ,and transformer oscillator works. I know it’s a kids kit, but at 53 I finally have time to learn! Could just do with a little more detail.

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

The experiments in the beginning of the book are not really explained in theory. Later ones are more well explained. Radio Shack electronics books and the Forest Mimms notebooks are excellent to instruct and educate beginners. I'm reworking these experiments although I had the earlier 200 in 1 that looked almost identical. The first "Wheel of Fortune" had so many connections and little circuit explanation that I'm not surprised it frustrated me. I remember it worked, but I couldn't grasp much from it. I loved stereo and speakers and color TV's so this seemed dull to me at the time. I did all of the radio and sound type things. I'll work through all of them forty something years later just because... Good luck with your studies. By the way... There are a few general statements... Oscillators are a special kind of amplifier... Positve or regenerative feedback causes oscillation. Many oscillators can be viewed as an amplifier that is operating mostly in cut-off. The wave shape comes from the passive components that are being pulsed. Now that I've said that best consult expert educational materials and KZbin University!

[@DeBovenkamer]

I had the exact same kit back in '87, nice find!

[@RGBmode]

I had one as a kid and managed to pick one up as an adult. I changed the red LEDs to blue ones, and the big square one to white. Just for fun.

[@BjornV78]

I still have the 130 in 1 Electronic Lab version from Science Fair (Tandy), i think i bought this arround 1992 or 1993, still have the original Philips batteries (expire date 1994) inside without leaking. Now when i see this 200 in 1 version, the build quality of this version is much better then the 130 in 1. Due the years i have lost the book that came with it, but found a PDF version of the Maxitronic 130 in 1 version printed in 1999, but which seems to be the same.

[@yanikkunitsin1466]

What's that electro-quackery device at 3:13? Some kind of magnetic field panacea?

[@hgbugalou]

The original model one had an incandescent lamp where the single LED is. The numbered LEDs were there too, but the plastic bodies were exposed (as was the lamp).

[@PSKResearch]

That's another model, they still make it. The one with the lamp & numeric LED is just another model, but not an original model. Most of the different models came out around the same time, including the 200-in-one. As far as I know, only the 150-in-one model has been discontinued, & all the early 1960s & older models. The orignal early 1960s & older models didn't have any LEDs. Those with LEDs were made since the late 1960s & they still make almost all of them.

[@jordanhazen7761]

I had an earlier kit model where each component type was mounted on its own plastic & cardboard frame (one for resistors, one for caps, etc.), with a nice hinged wooden box for keeping everything together. That box is the only part I still have. Anyone remember the name or catalog number of this variant? At some point I cannibalized most of the components for use in projects...

[@BjornV78]

Search for "Allied Radio KNIGHT Kit 50-in-1 Electronic Lab" or "Science Fair 50 in 1" or "Science Fair 100 in 1" on Google. Those 3 are in a wooden box.

[@Tangobaldy]

I wanted one of them but it was too expensive and was 20 in full time work!

[@angusbrown325]

Terrific video. Great fun watching it. It would have been good to see it proven that the old LEDs did not work with the button battery and perhaps an explanation of what might have killed them. I would imagine that killing the LEDs on these kits is quite common.

[@sdgelectronics]

I think he killed them right there at 9:46. Applying 4.5V directly to the LED with only the internal resistance of the battery to limit the current.

[@guillaume8437]

Woooooooooow! I really had this one. They say for kids but trust me, some of the projects are definitely not for kids! I no longer have mine but I am seriously considering making up a new one by designing a new PCB, smaller and with other kind of connections maybe some of the wires that come with Arduino or Arduino shields!

[@frunomaol5069]

I agree, not just for kids. I brought one as adult maybe 15 or 20 y ago. Still have it.

[@guillaume8437]

@frunomaol5069 I ditched it when I had to relocate. There is still the user manual only in PDF so I could repeat the exercises with the one I am creating. Besides, now, I have an oscilloscope and can make some simulations with a Spice software which really helps understand better. 😉 Actually, I have issues in finding all the components that are used in this kit. Resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, ICs are ok for example. What is less OK is the transformers, the Antenna, the variable capacitor, etc...

[@SeltsamerAttraktor]

Did you ever have your hands on any Kosmos or Schuco kits?

[@TheToric]

does anyone know of any modern kits that are similar to this one? Im looking for gifts for my younger sister, but everything I can find is just an arduino kit, and those really dont teach the basics at all...

[@REPVILE]

Target use to sell something similar but not near as comprehensive. They may still have them

[@ahmedsleem867]

thanks >>>Can i get Gakken mykit 200 manual ?

[@dq1275]

I preferred the 1981 version which had a lid so your cat wouldn't rip out the wires when you took a break. Great find, nonetheless!

[@johnnytacokleinschmidt515]

I had that one. I imagined making something awesome in there and it being on the shelf looking rather finished. I didn't advance to that level. I recently got the slightly newer similar one used fairly inexpensively.

[@Berghiker]

What is that 4k : 2K transformer called. I'd like to buy one.

[@AJB2K3]

Please scan the dutch catalog/Pamplet and upload it for reference!

[@hubzcaps]

Had one. Made am radio

[@PSKResearch]

They still make these. They're not worth over $100 though. Watch for sales on them for $60-$75 new. Don't buy used. The used ones may have burnt out, dead, or missing parts. I built lots of AM radios, & all sorts of other stuff with it. After a few months experience, I was building better radios than were offered in the instructions with it. There are technically no components for FM radio reception, but I was able to build a few FM radios that would clearly pick up a couple of the city's strongest FM stations anyway. Build AM radio transmitters, digital light chasers, & all sorts of other cool projects too. It took only a couple of months to build everything I was interesting in as a kid, in the manual. But I continued building other cool stuff, & experimenting with it, designing circuits on my own with it for another couple years. They're made by Maxitronics in China for Elenco, Science Fair, & other names these days, but all the 200 in One kits are identical to the late 1960s versions.

[@icollided]

I had this same one!

[@agomezjunco]

I got one today at $2.50 USD!

[@Trueblackheart]

I just bought a brand new unused one and after the initial excitement that I remember what I used to plug in as a child, I prefer to keep it unused 🙂

[@giovanni545]

Revelation 14:12. King James Version. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.