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Heathkits were good for learning physically working with electronics. Soldering irons, pin identification, mechanical assembly, but didn't really teach theory.

The 150 and 200-in-1 radio shack kits actually did a fairly good job of this. They started you out with "connect the numbered terminals, here's a picture", to later replacing the picture of the parts with a schematic. They encouraged you to experiment, and there was accompanying text for each project later on that described what was going on in the circuit so you understood what all the parts were doing.

It didn't teach you electronics theory formally in any kind of structured way, but it was an excellent crash-course in basic electronics. It was also a very quick way to teach you how to read, use, and create schematics. There are still 200-in-1 kits available but not by Archer anymore: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/epl200.htm

There really are 200 different projects in that kit, ranging from very very basic, "press the switch to turn on the light" all the way up to "a divide-by-2 counter" and "build your own one way telephone". It teaches the basics of digital computing at the gate level which is interesting. Also there was a very wide variation in the projects. Something interesting for everyone. Photodetector alarms, simple games, noisemakers, just all sorts of variety to keep a kid interested.

Once you want to really start fiddling, this is something you should have. It doesn't teach you anything in itself, but lets you play more: Heathkit ET-3100 electronic design experimenter: http://providence.craigslist.org/ele/696855286.html

I had one of these and it's very basic, but by this point you should have some spare parts around already, and having adjustable voltages and signals and a breadboard takes you to the next step of design. Actually I think it did come with some projects, it's been awhile. This was a kit, so you had to assemble it properly for it to work. I used to spend my free time at school planning out schematics of things I wanted to tinker with, sometimes preplanning how to lay them out on the breadboard when I got home.

Google: "Z80 kit", third one down.

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/sc01.htm

Here is what you need: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/epl200.htm

That kit is almost identical to my 200-in-1 kit. They moved the batteries up topside and added binding posts but that's the one. There is NO BETTER way to teach kids about electronics. The link on radio shack's page should be named "15-in-1 kit". Doesn't look like there's enough to make jack with it. I wonder how many projects are in that book they ship with it.

They must have bought it from Tandy. Nice, they even posted a list of the 200 projects here: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/kit-files/epl/epl200.pdf Many of the projects are to teach you about how digital circuits work, like how AND and NOR gates are actually assembled from smaller parts. Sort of like the difference between learning assembly and C++. Sure C++ will get it done faster but if you know assembly you can kick butt and know more about why things work. Too bad they didn't post one or two pages of the kit like oh, #94. An actual, working, AM radio transmitter. Somewhere in that list is a circiut that makes a working intercom. I had a lot of fun with that one.

I believe I have a gift idea for someone I know now. But unfortunately I don't think this is a gift for everyone. I was a major self-starter on these sorts of things, and unless you have some committment to it I don't know, it may end up as parent says, in the clothset after a few weeks.

Some of these projects used almost ALL the components on the kit. There is simply no way to make a kit that allows physical assembly of such complex projects that can match the structure of the schematic. Also, if you wanted to "insert" some circuitry in a fixed position kit, that would be a nightmare. This kit is just a matter of moving a couple wires.

I can't believe how cheap that thing is. I smoked two or three transistors and both chips and had to replace them, and some of those parts were hard to come by. Try today to find a non CMOS RS232 NAND chip...

The 150-in-1 kit was similar in size to this one but was in a wooden box instead of a plastic case. Almost as many parts to use, but not as big of a project book.

Here's another good link: http://www.retrothing.com/2007/01/a_modern_descen.html - looks like a rework of the original 150 in 1 kit.

And here's one of the ones I don't like: http://www.laserballs.com/teb.htm That was radio shack's upgrade to the 200 in 1 and was as I expected, a miserable flop. Again trying to use a peg board approach to assembly, severely limits flexibility and creativity.

More kits available here: http://www.laserballs.com/tee.htm

Here is what you need: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/epl200.htm

That kit is almost identical to my 200-in-1 kit. They moved the batteries up topside and added binding posts but that's the one. There is NO BETTER way to teach kids about electronics. The link on radio shack's page should be named "15-in-1 kit". Doesn't look like there's enough to make jack with it. I wonder how many projects are in that book they ship with it.

They must have bought it from Tandy. Nice, they even posted a list of the 200 projects here: http://www.quasarelectronics.com/kit-files/epl/epl200.pdf Many of the projects are to teach you about how digital circuits work, like how AND and NOR gates are actually assembled from smaller parts. Sort of like the difference between learning assembly and C++. Sure C++ will get it done faster but if you know assembly you can kick butt and know more about why things work. Too bad they didn't post one or two pages of the kit like oh, #94. An actual, working, AM radio transmitter. Somewhere in that list is a circiut that makes a working intercom. I had a lot of fun with that one.

I believe I have a gift idea for someone I know now. But unfortunately I don't think this is a gift for everyone. I was a major self-starter on these sorts of things, and unless you have some committment to it I don't know, it may end up as parent says, in the clothset after a few weeks.

Some of these projects used almost ALL the components on the kit. There is simply no way to make a kit that allows physical assembly of such complex projects that can match the structure of the schematic. Also, if you wanted to "insert" some circuitry in a fixed position kit, that would be a nightmare. This kit is just a matter of moving a couple wires.

I can't believe how cheap that thing is. I smoked two or three transistors and both chips and had to replace them, and some of those parts were hard to come by. Try today to find a non CMOS RS232 NAND chip...

The 150-in-1 kit was similar in size to this one but was in a wooden box instead of a plastic case. Almost as many parts to use, but not as big of a project book.

Here's another good link: http://www.retrothing.com/2007/01/a_modern_descen.html - looks like a rework of the original 150 in 1 kit.

And here's one of the ones I don't like: http://www.laserballs.com/teb.htm That was radio shack's upgrade to the 200 in 1 and was as I expected, a miserable flop. Again trying to use a peg board approach to assembly, severely limits flexibility and creativity.

More kits available here: http://www.laserballs.com/tee.htm

When I was younger I had this 200-in-1 kit which I am amazed to see is still being made! The manual for this one was good, at least in the edition I had. It included circuit diagrams for everything along with some explanation. Early circuits included wiring instructions - later on, you were supposed to figure those out from the circuit diagram. The projects start simple: by the end, you're using almost all the components on the board.

I see that the same company makes a 500-in-1 kit. Assuming this is of the same quality, it would be worth considering.

The problem with the 200-in-1 kit is probably common to all such kits. The transistors, ICs and LEDs are real - they are easy to damage by incorrect connection. You can replace the transistors with a bit of effort, but some components are soldered directly to a board. It's a real pain if you damage anything. I also don't like the use of batteries as a power source. I suppose that's a safety thing, but I'd prefer a good quality low-voltage PSU with an electronic fuse.

I think the next step after a kit like this is making your own circuits from 74-series logic ICs, which provide basic logic functions and some more complex devices like flip-flops, registers and counters. You can make all sorts of fun stuff with this, and you really only need a data book that covers the 74 series, a breadboard and a 5 volt PSU. This is great fun. Especially when you add a microcontroller!

According to this site, a 40x40mm peltier device consumes 33.4 watts and drops the temprature 69 degrees C.

You could cascade three together for 100 watts and a 207 degree C drop.

But 40x40 mm is about 4 square inches, and if a chip needs one that's 3x3 inches (9 square inches) then it's probably take about twice as much power. But still not likely over 100 watts. 100 watts to move 100 watts of heat. Sounds right.

I see from your response that this comment isn't a decent troll which was my first thought.

If the accused wanted to "play" with the worm, he could have just seen what it did on his own network. But by releasing it in the wild, he was knowingly putting something out there to cause others grief. The arson analogies are a bit much but the potato gun one is a good one. Most of us did spend a lot of time with Lego and 500 in 1 kits but we didn't put them to destructive use, nor would (most of us) ever consider it.

I have a few rootkits I have salvaged from compromised Linux systems and they are interesting to analyze but I sure as hell am not going to use it on someone else's machine.

Unfortunately, there's absolutely no way to move heat from anywhere to a warmer place.

Using the Peltier effect you can. By connecting a high conducting material and a low conducting material to a battery, the high conducting material becomes cold, without even getting hot. The heat transfers to the low conducting material regardless of the ambiant temprature.

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~jsnyder/thermoelectric s/history_page.htm
http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3066.htm

I use this little beauty:

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/3145data.htm

It's serial, but I'm fairly certain it would work with a USB-Serial converter. Also, it allows you to use up to 4 sensors and you can locate where you'd like (Dallas Semiconductor DS1820 3 wire chips).

They also have linux drivers, sample code, etc.

I did some research for a robot project some time ago, here are some cheap, small, light cams:

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/cmos_cameras.htm
http://www.mars-cam.com/frame/optical.html
http://www.supercircuits.com/

cheers
mike