Electronic kits
Encyclopedia
An electronic kit is a package of electrical components used to build an electronic
device
. Generally, kit
s are composed of electronic components, a circuit diagram (schematic), assembly instructions and often a printed circuit board
(PCB) or another type of prototyping board.
There are 2 distinct types of kit, those that will construct a single project, and those that can construct a range of projects. The latter are primarily aimed at children, and include a solderless construction board of some type, such as;
The first type of kits, those for the construction of a single device, normally use a PCB on which components are soldered. They normally come with extended documentation describing which component goes where into the PCB.
People primarily purchase electronic kits to have fun and learn how things work. They were once popular as a means to reduce the cost of buying goods, but there is usually no cost saving in buying a kit today.
Some kits used to be quite complex devices such as color television
sets, oscilloscope
s, high-end audio amplifier
s and even computers such as the Heathkit
H-8, and the LNW-80
. Many of the early microprocessor
computers were sold as either electronic kits or assembled and tested. Heathkit sold millions of electronic kits during its 45-year history.
Today, building devices from scratch for hobbyists and beginners has fallen in popularity due partly to the emerging complexity of miniature electronics and embedded software. People still build custom devices and special-purpose electronics for professional and educational use, and as a hobby.
Also emerging is a trend to simplify the complexity by providing preprogrammed or modular kits and this is provided by many suppliers online often. The fun and thrill of making your own electronics has shifted in many cases from easy to comprehend application and analog devices to more sophisticated and digital devices.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
device
Machine
A machine manages power to accomplish a task, examples include, a mechanical system, a computing system, an electronic system, and a molecular machine. In common usage, the meaning is that of a device having parts that perform or assist in performing any type of work...
. Generally, kit
Kit
-Animals:* kit, a young ferret* a short form of kitten, a young cat* Kit fox, a relatively common North American fox* Kit, a group of domestic pigeons trained to perform together in competitions-Companies and organisations:...
s are composed of electronic components, a circuit diagram (schematic), assembly instructions and often a printed circuit board
Printed circuit board
A printed circuit board, or PCB, is used to mechanically support and electrically connect electronic components using conductive pathways, tracks or signal traces etched from copper sheets laminated onto a non-conductive substrate. It is also referred to as printed wiring board or etched wiring...
(PCB) or another type of prototyping board.
There are 2 distinct types of kit, those that will construct a single project, and those that can construct a range of projects. The latter are primarily aimed at children, and include a solderless construction board of some type, such as;
- Components mounted in plastic blocks with side contacts, that are held together in a base, eg Denshi blocks
- Springs on a card board, the springs trap wire leads or component leads, such as Philips EE electronic experiment kits. These are a cheap and flexible option
- Professional type prototyping boards, (breadboardBreadboardA breadboard is a construction base for prototyping of electronics. The term is commonly used to refer to solderless breadboard ....
s) into which component leads are inserted, following documentation of the "kit".
The first type of kits, those for the construction of a single device, normally use a PCB on which components are soldered. They normally come with extended documentation describing which component goes where into the PCB.
People primarily purchase electronic kits to have fun and learn how things work. They were once popular as a means to reduce the cost of buying goods, but there is usually no cost saving in buying a kit today.
Some kits used to be quite complex devices such as color television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sets, oscilloscope
Oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
s, high-end audio amplifier
Audio amplifier
An audio amplifier is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power audio signals to a level suitable for driving loudspeakers and is the final stage in a typical audio playback chain.The preceding stages in such a chain are low power audio amplifiers which perform tasks like pre-amplification,...
s and even computers such as the Heathkit
Heathkit
Heathkits were products of the Heath Company, Benton Harbor, Michigan. Their products included electronic test equipment, high fidelity home audio equipment, television receivers, amateur radio equipment, electronic ignition conversion modules for early model cars with point style ignitions, and...
H-8, and the LNW-80
LNW-80
The LNW-80, released in 1982, is the first computer built by LNW Research. The computer is 100% compatible with the Tandy TRS-80 Model 1, but has some hardware enhancements. Most notable are the high-resolution color graphics, which could also be used for a 80×24 screen, with a special software...
. Many of the early microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
computers were sold as either electronic kits or assembled and tested. Heathkit sold millions of electronic kits during its 45-year history.
Today, building devices from scratch for hobbyists and beginners has fallen in popularity due partly to the emerging complexity of miniature electronics and embedded software. People still build custom devices and special-purpose electronics for professional and educational use, and as a hobby.
Also emerging is a trend to simplify the complexity by providing preprogrammed or modular kits and this is provided by many suppliers online often. The fun and thrill of making your own electronics has shifted in many cases from easy to comprehend application and analog devices to more sophisticated and digital devices.
Examples
- The Altair 8800Altair 8800The MITS Altair 8800 was a microcomputer design from 1975 based on the Intel 8080 CPU and sold by mail order through advertisements in Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics and other hobbyist magazines. The designers hoped to sell only a few hundred build-it-yourself kits to hobbyists, and were...
, (the first home computerHome computerHome computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
), was also sold as a kit, as were the Sinclair ZX80Sinclair ZX80The Sinclair ZX80 is a home computer brought to market in 1980 by Science of Cambridge Ltd. . It is notable for being the first computer available in the United Kingdom for less than a hundred pounds...
, Sinclair ZX81Sinclair ZX81The ZX81 was a home computer produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Scotland by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and was designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public...
and Acorn AtomAcorn AtomThe Acorn Atom was a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982 when it was replaced by the BBC Micro and later the Acorn Electron....
computers. - Many S100 bus system cardsExpansion cardThe expansion card in computing is a printed circuit board that can be inserted into an expansion slot of a computer motherboard or backplane to add functionality to a computer system via the expansion bus.One edge of the expansion card holds the contacts that fit exactly into the slot...
were sold only as kits. - Building a Robot kitRobot kitA robot kit is a special construction kit for building robots, especially autonomous mobile robots.Toy robot kits are also supplied by several companies...
, most often with a micro controller inside, is now in fashion. - Lectron electronic kits (magnetic modules)
- Denshi blocks used by Gakken EX-SystemGakken EX-SystemThe Gakken EX-System is a series of educational electronics kits produced by Gakken in the late 1970s. The kits use denshi blocks to allow electronics experiments to be performed easily and safely...
Further reading
- Dostál, J. Electronic kits in education. Olomouc, EU: Votobia, 2008. 74 s. ISBN 978-80-7220-308-6.