19.08.16

What can you please a growing radio amateur with, of course, a new electronic toy. And if the child already has a desire to do something himself, and not just do it, but solder it, connect it, and even make it work. Well, then this is what you need.

Thanks to the campaign of the Dadget company and the Master Kit trademark, we became the owners of such a set, for which we thank them very much!

Looking ahead, I’ll say that my eight-year-old son really liked the set, who had been asking to learn how to solder for quite some time and, in addition, had been eyeing his dad’s multimeter for a long time.

But let's talk about everything in order.

Package

The young electronics engineer's kit is a colorful cardboard box measuring 308 x 253 x 38 mm.

The first thing that attracts attention on the front side of the box is 2 boards: a flasher - “Chameleon” and a “Voltage Level Indicator”. These are two separate radio construction kits that are included in the set as teaching aids on which your child can learn how to assemble and solder radio-electronic components. In my opinion, it's not too bad for a start.

The second side of the box reveals information about the rest of the contents of the set, but not completely, leaving room for the child’s imagination and a pleasant surprise after he looks inside.

What's inside?

In small slots there are:

• a multimeter is not bad for an entry-level, the DT 830B model has long been popular and not only among beginner radio amateurs;
• wire cutters - with their help, a young radio amateur will be able to bite off the leads of components that are too long; the quality of the cutters is pleasantly surprising;
• a soldering iron with solder is the second radio amateur tool after a multimeter, also of very good quality and even with grounding;
• 2 starter sets “Chameleon” and “Voltage Level Indicator”, which have already been mentioned;
• 2 wonderful brochures that will help your child learn to use a multimeter, understand the intricacies of installation and soldering, and also assemble their first electronic devices;
• magnet from Master Kit as a gift. It's a small thing, but nice.

Checking the soldering iron

When you turn it on for the first time, the soldering iron heats up with a characteristic smell, but not much. It is enough that the room is ventilated so as not to feel discomfort. The soldering iron tip included in the kit is ready for use and does not require pre-tinning. I was a little disappointed by the lack of a soldering iron stand in the set. You need to purchase it or make it yourself so that you can safely install the soldering iron without fear of accidentally melting something or, worse, starting a fire.

There are an endless variety of coasters, the choice is yours. We made something like this:

Well, then, we install the tip, put the soldering iron on the stand, turn it on and wait until it heats up, we control the degree of heating using the “rosin method” - i.e. periodically touch a piece of rosin with the tip and see if the rosin melts, it means the soldering iron is heating up. The operating temperature of the soldering iron is about 270 - 310 degrees, this is the optimal temperature for soldering. Our soldering iron has a temperature regulator that allows you to set the tip temperature in the range from 100 to 400 degrees. We set the operating temperature “by eye”. If the rosin evaporates intensely when touched by the tip, the soldering iron has become hot. We touch the solder with the tip and make sure that the heating temperature is sufficient to melt it. You can start soldering.

In addition to the soldering iron, the kit would also benefit from a simple stand and a special sponge for the soldering iron. I hope that our wish will be heard by the manufacturer of the “Young Electronics Engineer Kit”.

Checking the multimeter

The set, as mentioned, includes the very famous DT 830B multimeter. You can find quite a lot of reviews on it on the Internet, but despite this, one of the brochures includes instructions for beginners on working with a multimeter. It’s nice that the multimeter comes with a Krona battery already installed; there is no need to purchase it separately.

After studying the instructions, we measured the voltage of the batteries in our home watches and toys, then checked the polarity of the LEDs and the resistance of the resistors from the Chameleon set. The multimeter passed the test for 5 plus. Its readings in these measurements did not differ from those of a professional multimeter. As others have said, this is a very good entry-level multimeter.

Chameleon set

After all the checks and preparations, my son could hardly wait to start assembling this radio set. Well, naturally, the first thing he wanted to solder was the “Chameleon” kit. Below are some photos of the work in progress.

The boy really liked the gift. He was simply delighted! I wanted to finish everything quickly and see how the “flashing light” would work.

This radio set, like the previous one, was assembled in one go.

All that remains is to figure out where to adapt the finished voltage indicator. There is an idea to install it on a car to indicate the status of the battery and control the operation of the generator.

This concludes our review. We hope you find it useful.

In my opinion, this is a great gift for a boy who is interested in electronics! With his help, in the future he will be able to assemble more than one radio constructor, and over time, quite possibly, he will invent something on his own.

The “Radio Amateur TV” channel, as part of the “Kits from China for amateur radio” section, reviewed 5 “Do it yourself” kits. Suitable for self-assembly for beginners and experienced electronics enthusiasts.

The first set is the simplest audio amplifier on the LM386 chip. You can buy it in this Chinese store for less than one and a half dollars. And it includes everything you need for work: a printed circuit board, resistors, capacitors, a variable resistor, a gain control knob, connectors. And, of course, a 3.5 mm jack to connect headphones and speakers and hear amplified sound. A good solution if you are assembling a radio receiver.

Iridescent light

The next set is a simple circuit for beginner radio amateurs. "Iridescent light from LEDs." It only costs half a buck. It contains a breadboard, LEDs, resistors, two microcircuits that set the operating mode, and a variable resistor with which you can regulate the speed of light flow. Sold here.
A good practical example if you are starting to learn the basics of digital electronics.

Frequency generator set

Frequency generator set

It will not only be interesting to assemble. It will still be a quite useful device in our business. Capable of generating frequencies from 0 to 200 kHz. The output is sinusoidal signals, rectangular, sawtooth, arbitrary shape, which you specify.
This device is powered by a voltage of 15 V, and the output voltage range is from 0 to 10 V. In general, it is a useful thing. And putting it together without much difficulty.

Adjustable power supply

Sound module

Sound recording and playback module for just a couple of bucks.
It is easy to assemble. What you can do with it is record a sound lasting 10 seconds and play it back using a speaker.

Such a device is suitable, for example, for an audio postcard with a recording of congratulations or music. Or come up with something for jokes and various practical jokes.
The circuit works like this: press and hold the record button. The red LED will light up and you will be recording audio for 10 seconds. After recording, click the play button and the recording will play.
Subscribe to the “Radio Amateur TV” channel.

Aliexpress literally blew up the Russian market with cheap Chinese goods. And, of course, for us electronics engineers, this is a huge plus. Cheap radio components, devices, consumables - Ali has it all. In this article you can even read what I recently purchased from this Chinese online store. But today we’ll talk about something completely different.

I think it all started when the Russian company Master Kit began producing kits for beginner radio amateurs. You were given a ready-made printed circuit board and a set of corresponding radio elements in a bag in order to assemble a simple device according to the circuit diagram. Novice electronics engineers with straight handles and a soldering iron with flux could easily assemble the device. In the end, both sides won. Master Keith did not have to solder radio elements and look for a housing for an electronic trinket, and a novice electronics engineer could practice soldering and assemble a fully functioning device for a minimum price. But knowing our Russian business, you can guess that our prices, as usual, are inflated by two or even three times the original cost of the goods. To be honest, I wouldn't say that Master Whale's kits are cheap.

But I wonder if the same sets are available in China? I opened the site, entered the phrase “electronic diy” into Ali’s search, which translates to “electronic craft”, and the site gave me very interesting results. I decided to try it. I ordered a kit for making a watch. The goods arrived in just a month.

The set included a scarf with detailed drawings on it showing where to solder what; stitched AVR microcontroller with a crib, three two-digit seven-segment indicators, a circuit diagram for the device, and of course, a bunch of different radio elements:

After sitting with a soldering iron one evening, slowly, I soldered this miracle:

I trimmed the corners. Below you will find out why.

I'm still a solder)

To prevent the watch from being reset when the power is turned off, I bought a coin-cell battery for it, since it was not included in the kit:

To power the watch itself, I first bought a 9-volt Krona battery for it, but the watch consumed it in 3 days). I took an old mobile charger:

The power supply range for the watch is from 6 to 12 Volts. What do we have here? 6 Volts, just what you need:

He inserted the wire, tying a knot so that it would not be torn from the board, and threaded it through the case.

Since the scarf didn’t fit a little, I had to cut it off). But then it fit very tightly and neatly:

Now I always have the exact time down to the second on my desktop;-) The time is adjusted using the S1 button.

There should have been LEDs between the two-digit seven-segment switches, but I removed them because they just gave a dull light, which was annoying. Now you can even wake up in the middle of the night, check the time on your watch, and then fall back to sleep with a clear conscience, because it’s too early to get up) The indicators shine beautifully! Time is ticking right.

Why am I even describing this watch that I didn’t even design? So, let's remember how much this watch would cost me if I made it entirely myself from scratch:

1) Buy foil textolite and all radio elements

2) Run a trace on your computer

3) Do

4) Write a program for the microcontroller

5) Flash it

6) Assemble the device.

Okay, I won’t count the time spent on labor anymore. Let's do the math. At the time of writing:

– microcontroller AT89C2051 – 89 rubles in Chip Deep

– two-digit indicators 3 pcs. – for Ali 1 pc. = 50 rubles, which means 150 rubles.

– small things (resistors, transistors, diodes, button, terminal, quartz) well, I think for everything it’s still 100 rubles.

– textolite, iron chloride, well, let’s assume you have them. Let's add another 50 rubles on top.

Total: 89+150+100+50=389 rub. Almost 400 rubles, and this takes into account the cheapest radio elements and consumables.

And my set cost... (there should be drumming, fanfare, dancing naked chicks) only 250 rubles! This is back when a buck cost 60 rubles. Now this watch costs 190 rubles (!)

- Yes, well, what is it? Nowadays you can even buy a simple Chinese electronic watch for a hundred dollars in a case and with a normal LCD monochrome display, you say. Yes I agree. But how much fun and practice you will experience if you collect this set ;-)

Ali actually has various sets, ranging from simple blinkers to entire instruments. You can even assemble a full-fledged multimeter. Some guys took the kits and were quite pleased. Everything worked fine. The quality of the scarf is, of course, so-so. When I connected the device for the first time, the first two indicators started working with problems. As it turned out, the coin accidentally overheated and it moved away, breaking the path.