Electronic Project Kit Shootout! New Elenco Vs. Vintage Science Fair

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Title	:	Electronic Project Kit Shootout! New Elenco Vs. Vintage Science Fair
Lasting	:	31.06
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Views	:	52 rb

My biggest problem with the Elenco is it does not go into much detail about the how and why of things Just have you swap out a component and says this will happen
Comment from : Doug D

I have bought the 40 in 1 electro magnetic kit science fair NEW and the connections are tarnished I suspect even the wires what do I do, Please help Beautiful, spanking new and doesn't work I tried 1 lamp with new wires and barely worked So I know the components work, just 50 years old thats all
Comment from : Technical and STEM Homeschooling

I got that same model Science Fair as an xmas prezzie when I was around 10 One of my best memories along with a chemistry kit Turns out I'm more right-brained or whatever, but I loved playing with those things
Comment from : justinbrain

The green wires are for the antenna and the ground for the radio projects, Ms “I like the oscillator projects the best” 😂
Comment from : Max Capone

So cool to see your enthusiasm for these electronics kits I was a high school chemistry / physics teacher in Chicago for 7 years ending in 2014 Our school had a robotics team, and I was the faculty advisor The hands on work the student did inspired more of the team members to go to engineering school than any class Nice work, thank you
Comment from : Steve T

That $2995 RadioShack price tag is probably worth $30 now
Comment from : Ron Jon

I received the 150-in-1 kit for Christmas in 80 was the best
Comment from : Pete Corbin

Is this lab still on the market
Comment from : Ron Kiner

In the lab !
Comment from : zambot3

I have that exact 150-in-1 kit! I got it as a hand-me-down from my cousin 🙂 I already had the (very similar, but slightly updated) 160-in-1 kit that I got in the 80's (brand-new), and I remember doing some larger projects by combining the two I'm glad that someone is making similar kits again
Comment from : Derek Christenson

Mam are you a electronic engineer
Comment from : jackson dsouza

I had the Philips/ Norelco Electronics Education kit when I grew up in the 60s, but also played with the neighbor’s Radio Shack kit similar to yours hours of fun I learned my resistor color code and got me started in my electronics career
Comment from : Aram Boodakian

Hey, Cynthia linked it to me and just watched this one for the first time :)brNice vintage reissue, - like with pedals or amps, some things are better, others (like doing away with the wooden box) not really so, plus a slight circuit redesign to modernize it and make it cheaper toobrReminds me of my brother's "Elektronika" experimenting kit I played with as a kid Made in the USSR in the '70s/'80s, I couldn't understand the instructions in Russian but schematics are international, haha! The kit was a white plastic case with spring contacts just like the Elenco No 7-segment LED display coolness there, but it had your regular RC stuff, a bunch of transistors and diodes, one or two ICs with five transistors or so in a DIP package, a LDR with plug, a switch, a LED (with a hidden serial resistor making it harder to blow it up, haha), a ferrite antenna, a transformer, a speaker and a relay All the wires were white solid core Of course I took it apart in my teens and now nostalgia gets to me, haha
Comment from : Keri Szafir

I have the new kit and am making various projects I love the pencil lead organ!
Comment from : Cyndis Hunt for Knowledge

Oh my I remember the old 9V battery clasp on this kit! I also remember being disappointed when I connected the 9V to the lamp 😔 But the kit was super fun and really got me excited and hooked on electronics as a hobby😊
Comment from : Cyndis Hunt for Knowledge

This video inspired me to get the new kit It truly is amazing how the new one is similar (down to the wording of some of the projects) in many ways to the old Science Fair 150-in-1 kit The manuals are very similar I don’t still have my old kit, sadly
Comment from : Cyndis Hunt for Knowledge

Yeah, I remember having seen something like these two - at least the spring connection, but never got one, the closest we got to experiment was the old wellknown diode(X-TAL)reciever build in a empty cigarbox of wood and the aufull heavy hearingset at that time with brown bakelit - and we vere happy to hear a station
Comment from : Espen Bøgh

Hello Fran I had those kits as a kid and I have bought them again on youtubebrAbout the kit comparison, I have a strong feeling they were both made by the same company Radio shack probably had them made for them I think they were both made bybrElenco I wonder where elenco really is Are they made in china or japan or the usa?
Comment from : DrSchor SCHOR

I took my 150-in-1 project book and scanned into into PDF for "archival copy" only I can't distribute it due to it is still copyrighted
Comment from : Paul Romsky

I got a 150in1 kit but I was a bit too young for it I really enjoyed it but the explanations were totally over my head I never got into electronics but those things are a ton of fun IIRC the long green wires were for using as a ground wire or as leads for remote applications like sensors or controls
Comment from : Mr Pavone

Fran that takes me back My Dad was a dedicated Ham (Grandad was a spark-gapper) brHe bought me a kit like that as a kid and I too got hooked brWhen I looked around for one for MY son in around 1991 I could find…squat But I still had a card up sleeve My Boy said “Dad I want a playstation/Xbox/ …” whatever and I said “NO” You want to play games, build a PC So at age 8 he grabbed computer shopper and speed out a system I bought components and…well some of the parts were bad I got out the O-scope and the Ohm meter and walked him thru diagnostics We found some broken traces on the motherboard and a couple of bad cache chips He did most of the work I showed him how to solder and… Well he went on from there Crazy like a fox: Just last weekend I was at his wedding She is a double E, he is a microcircuit design and fabrications tech NEVER hand a kid a pre-built ALWAYS direct them to build it yourself!
Comment from : Grey Pilgrim

It was fun watching you enjoy this, just like you did when you were a kid Must be a visceral blast from the past
Comment from : Seth Meyers

Despite being much more a software than a hardware guy, I had several of these vintage kits I was depressingly hopeless with the analog stuff, despite my father being an electronic engineer Regarding this video specifically, I have two general comments:brbrI don’t remember seeing it written anywhere, but I am pretty sure the long green wires were intended primarily as antennasbrbrAlso, Fran mentioned wanting to leave a project wired up for weeks I remember one of the later kits actually had a tiny SoC CPU as the center of the whole thing The first project was connecting the display and all the buttons to it… and you pretty much left it wired that way for the duration The projects were basically all programming and using the SoC
Comment from : gameprogramme

Fran, thank you for your channel and doing this great comparison video, but you completely ignored the integrated circuit, relay and analogue meter of the 150 kit when you did you side by side comparison, but thank you for doing this comparison as I have both these kits (and 3 others) And it was very helpful to me that you to did a project on the 130 kit, bc mine is also new and I just haven't had a chance to try it out yet Like you, I had the 150 kit when I was a kid, but found my current 150 kit in a thrift store (Got Lucky!)
Comment from : Darren Hughes

The Science Fair 150 in one looked the same as my kit It was my first big kit
Comment from : Cyndi Corinne

Fran how hard would it be to make a code key 🔑 for the 100 in 1 science fair kit? I bought one and it was missing I don't think it would be to hard
Comment from : Redneck Ways

I have scored a couple of these "Learning Labs"! This posting is SO COOL! Thank you!
Comment from : Mt Davis

Looks like a cool tool to mock up distortion pedals and fuzz pedals
Comment from : Tim Mooney

Ahhh memories I got one for Christmas from my parents one year Had no idea what it was at first But my dad showed me how to read the schematics and hook up the wires I made so many things I remember making a small amplifier and running the included microphone into the games room so I could hear what was going on in there and even hear what TV show someone was watching 🤣
Comment from : Geoff Moore

We payed 90 euros in Holland for each one of these kits i brought 2 of them for the kids
Comment from : peter hancox

Every link to "frantone" that I see online is broken Even the one in the Wiki page
Comment from : Dan Golden

I learned about basic electronics when I was a bit older, on breadboards and by soldering simple circuts (mostly from magazines) on veroboard I think I actually missed out by not really knowing about the existance of these kits when I was youngerbrbrbr2540 - I still have the same 'problem' with things I make on a breadboard, even after I've made a perminant version of the circut!brI actually went and got a new breadboard once, just so I could keep a two tube nixi controller circut I made, just for testing how they worked, I had that kicking around for ages I still say it looked better than the veroboard version brbrI didn't finish making the whole clock though, as my wife bought me one as a present that was better than I would probably have come up with anyway May finish it some time though (probably not)!
Comment from : Garry Grierson

I got the Science Fair 150 in 1 when I was nine years old, spent hours and hours with it
Comment from : PGpilot

150 in 1 HAD IT! Got a 165 in 1 later and hinged the wooden cases together
Comment from : Scott Savage Techno Scavenger

I love these kits My folks bought a smaller one for my daughters when they were younger and they had lots of fun!
Comment from : Doug Kubash

That's neat, but do they explain why and how that work?
Comment from : BiologySoon

I have the Elenco snap circuit set It has over 300 projects I enjoy playing around with it
Comment from : Blue Storm

i had the 200 in one, blue plastic case, i think i blew up most of the components, certainly i remember popping all the LEDs
Comment from : Will Datsun

I was given a earlyer versionits 100-n-1 projects and it looks just like the 150-n-1
Comment from : Billy Pruitt

Omg the 150 in 1 was my first kit!
Comment from : Alissa Light

I got a 65-in-one for my ninth birthday and a 100-in-one for my tenth
Comment from : Miracle Tire

Well back in the day Radio Shack was still around If you wanted you could buy the parts and some perfboards and make it a permanent circuit
Comment from : kd1s

Thanks
Comment from : evilcom

Thanks Fran! Yep, lots of fun and definitely some good learning there!
Comment from : Joel Owens

I love Fran's musicso cool with that Jazzy 😎 touch!!😉
Comment from : Frank Pitochelli

Epic
Comment from : Marcio Hübner

OMG i had this
Comment from : Stay Connected with EVs

I miss kits like this and heath kit I built many over the years I had the 200 in 1 project kit from Ramsey electronics was a lot of fun ! I still have my 5 tube AM radio kit still works !
Comment from : robert meyer

Nice stuff to built yourself for your kid, nephew or other kidsbuy the components seperate and make the boxhow much will it cost that way?
Comment from : Ash Richards

I was given the Crystal Radio, and 75 in one kits as Christmas gift as a youthbrLater bought the 130 and ?200? 300? In one kits I never tried "everything" but kept me busy a while I remember going to the electronic supply shop and buying the same kind of parts that came in the kit to build projects (photo cells, LEDs, buzzers, etc)
Comment from : RetroCaptain

There is still plenty of them for sale on Ebay, most of the time in great shape and under $50
Comment from : Alex Abadi

Heyyyyy!! I had an electronics kit when I was younger! I kinda, completely forgot about that! Oof My memory should not be this bad at 22 Whatever But yea! I played around with that a decent bit I think made an am radio transmitter, there was one thing that used a photocell, there were some buzzers as well but, they were self contained mystery boxes that you sent voltages to and hooked a speaker to the other end of I always had to donit on my own as my family had no interest in helping or, even seeing the things I made, so I couldve gotten more from it but yea, huh, one of those memories that just vanishes fir years only to suddenly rush back
Comment from : Ella Banana

I love this stuff In about 1965, I built one of those Radio Shack kits that came in a plastic box -- one half clear, and the other half red with a perfboard on the bottom It was an electronic organ of sorts However, with 10 tolerance resistors for the voltage divider, it was barely musical brbrLater, I got (and still have) a Monkey Wards "Electronic Cubes" kit which is similar to what you opened the video with I also had at least one Science Fair project kit, but it was underwhelming
Comment from : blave549

I always wanted to learn electronics I'm 50 years old I should start doing a kit I relate to Fran a lot She enjoys the things I enjoy and music and guitar is one of them I followed through on the guitar but Fran's got me on the electronics I haven't started that yet
Comment from : Luis Donado

My grandfather gave me the 150 in one kit when I was about 5 45 years later, I still have 21-23 22-24 ingrained in my memory
Comment from : KingNast

Still have a couple of these kits'!I learned everything from these kits'They were great!🥂☮💙Btw; Always wondered if "Forrest M Mims 111" wrote these manuals' for 'Radio Shack'?What a 'brilliant' engineer!
Comment from : moogboy010

I spent hours with a 150in1 in the late 70's Really did not understand it, I was just happy to get the project to work
Comment from : doug johnson

I can barely remember mine It was christmas 89 or 90 I would love to get one for my kids
Comment from : Joshua MacDonald

Hi Fran I love these type of kits I had and still have a Phillips Electronic Engineer kit from back in the 70s that set me up for a life long interest in electronics I recently picked up a dinky used 10 in 1 kit but is short of the ferrite antenna Can you see the number of turns on the coil for the single and center tap winding so I can restore the set to full functionality? Love the videos by the way
Comment from : John Hughes

Great video This kit seems to not be aimed at beginners that first project appears to expect there will already be some exposure to and understanding of electronics Is there a kit you'd recommend for absolute beginners?
Comment from : Jay Cadmen

As soon as I started watching, it brought me back to my youth My first thought “That had to be “77!” Yes!! Love your channel!!
Comment from : samsamthepizzaman

As a young girl you must have been a real pioneer in the whole STEM scene
Comment from : squidkid2

I was given a Science Fair 150-in-1 kit when I was about 10 or 12 years old I became obsessed with electronics during my teenage years Now I'm in my 50's and I'm a qualified RF and IT tech :-) These kits stimulate a young persons brain!
Comment from : David Tindall

Thanks for doing that Back in the early '70s (10th grade for me) I had an electronics class and my project was a 5 tube radio from Heathkit I remember putting it all together and it didn't work That experience taught me patience and neatness The teacher said my radio looked like a rat's nest and had I routed the wires carefully using right angles where I could, troubleshooting would be a breeze On another note, sad that shop-type classes are a rarity these days
Comment from : Tom Lavin

I remember my Philips EE1050 Compact Electronic Engineer kit
Comment from : Andy Stone

I had the 150 in one also! I built all of the circuits and especially enjoyed the "big ear" as I recall it Really fun and instructional I still use some of the wires from it in my Arduino experimentsThe 150 in one was the last one to come in a wooden box
Comment from : tvtoms

I got one of those 150 in 1 Electronic kits, I got it went I was about 10, 44 years ago, I loved it
Comment from : Darrell Ellis

Would this be similar to a Raspberry Pi
Comment from : Thor Googolhammer

Fran, create and brand your own electronics board; bridge the gap from toy to genuine training tool You can advertise it demonstrating the plethora of simple projects it can create Also, make more than a single type with the ability to combine The Ben Eater channel would boost everything!
Comment from : Robert Tucker

I guess I'm part of the latest algorithm wave, but just wanted to say I am so very happy to have found your channel! Wonderful stuff!!
Comment from : StageHead

^^
Comment from : niya gentleman

When I was around maybe 7 or 8 yr old, I had an experimenter's kit not like these The springs and abillity to connect arbitrarily was great on those kinds of kits, but the thing Santa gave me when I was 8 wasn't like that I'm guessing this was around 1967 or 1968brbrIt had a gray plastic cabinet or console or whatever it ought to be called, with several parts hidden inside An array of holes in the front panel let you shove stripped solid 22g wires in to connect the parts Metal clips underneath connected to the actual parts The holes were labelled by row and column Two knobs adjusted a variable resistor and a variable capacitor One PNP transistor, a germanium diode, and a few resistors and capacitors Also a ferrite core AM antenna much like in the spring-based board kits in the video The whole thing was a kit to be put together Once that's done, you can wire up projects The manual gave list of connections to make, like connect A2 to C5, A4 to B3, something like that You could build an AM radio, an audio oscillator, a few other things, but with only one transistor (as I recall) there was no way to learn what a "multivibrator" is - that remained a mysterious magical thing described in books and magazines brbrAt the time I was thrilled, of course, as I was with anything mechanical or electronic But it wasn't the best, not just for too few transistors, but hiding the parts under a panel connected with a grid of holes isn't such a hot idea for learningbrbrI've not been able to find any photos, or any info, on this one kids' electronics kit brbrDoes this thing sound familiar to anyone?
Comment from : Daren Scot Wilson

Am I the only one who had the four-transistor Heathkit board similar to these? Red board, four 2N2222 transistors, an incandescent lamp, not digital chips or anything beyond transistors Fancy rich kids, with their fancy schmancy op amps! In any case, these types of kits are great for kids to learn basic electronics I hope such things are still on the market today!
Comment from : Daren Scot Wilson

woohoo! that was a favorite science toy, right next to the chemistry kit :D I'm pretty sure this 150 kit was the one I had it perplexed me about the time it took to put an experiment together just to get a beep or a blink still, I think I got the radio experiment to work what looks like an earpiece in the side box seems familiar even if at the time I wasn't exactly sure what those transistors were doing and how, the thing had a certain influence on my life I'm almost retired now after a nice career in IT thanks Science Fair!
Comment from : Mobile McSmarty

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 (the elenco is on back order for 3 months)
Comment from : TheToric

I loved the science fair 150 in 1 kit
Comment from : Dennis

Brings back great memories of my childhood Thats how I started in electronics too
Comment from : Adrian Head

I'm jealous I had to make do with a 50 in 1
Comment from : Larry Cook

As a kid i've blown up every component in this kit and have gone through several of this exact same kit The diodes were the easiest thing to blow out followed by the transistors I remember shorting out the "Control" once and seeing a red glow coming from behind the board On this board the LEDs were very resilient to full voltage due to the integrated current-limiting resistors; I only remember burning out LEDs once I moved onto the 250-in-1 or whatever where they don't force you to use the resistors
Comment from : Nill

Hey Fran can u do some projects with d older kit SCIENCE FAIR 150 IN 1 KIT
Comment from : AdeshManharRamkissoon AMRSTT-158HS426

In the original SF kits, the one green wire was the antenna So it was not meant to be cut up But in this kit, who knows how much interfacing they might intend for you to do with other projects? So maybe one of the green wires does get cut up
Comment from : Rob Fowler

In the early '70s, I had the 65-in-One which is component for component just about identical to the 150-in-One, the only difference is the arrangement the component and the 150 has the IC and the 8 segment LED
Comment from : Rob Fowler

Where to buy?
Comment from : Alfred Kasereka sivanzire

I loved those spring board electronics kits You learn the frustration and joy of electronics
Comment from : James Lane

If I had been given one of these as a wee lad, I probably would've felt more inclined to follow in the old man's footsteps and become an electrical engineer
Comment from : Ezio

I bought a similar board for my son after using the snap circuit kit But I still remember after he finished his first circuit involving some Leds, a motor, and speaker, I told him good job and let's try another one, he said You made me create this and now you want me to destroy it? And I have to admit that was one of those times when I was at a loss for words lol
Comment from : Bud Sak