After our parents got tired of us kids taking apart perfectly good radios to see what was inside, junior mad scientists like me got to test our evil genius on Tandy’s Science Fair Electronic Project Kits.
These kits were sold at Radio Shack and came in many shapes and sizes; anywhere from 10-in-1 all the way up to 300-in-1 and more. My first was the 100-in-1 given to me by my aunt one Christmas. The kit had an ingenious system of “solderless connectors”, in the form of metal springs, to connect the various electrical components together. Pre-cut, color-coded wire was included in the kit. Along with your plethora of transistors and resistors, the kit also had a small solar cell, cds “electric eye”, relay, meter, and speaker.
The kit included a giant instruction booklet with a different project on each page. Each project page provided a description of the project, an explanation of how it worked, a wiring diagram and table to connect the various components together, a schematic, and assorted cartoon “spokespeople” to bring it all together. All in all a very clever way to teach electronics. I built many of the projects, including radios, AM transmitters, electric eye and solar projects.
The centerpiece for the 100-in-1 kit that I had was the “Space-Age Integrated Circuit” as described on the box cover. Hardly space-age by today’s standards, this 60′s piece of silicon wonderment contained a transistor, diode, and few resistors.
Clockwise from left to right are the color-coded wires, telegraph key, magnetic pickup (great for tapping phones), crystal earphone, and 50 feet of antenna wire.
Updated Feb 16, 2009: Due to popular demand, I have been working on getting the manual in PDF form to make available for download. So far I have a few projects from the manual scanned. You can download the PDF here. Check back as I will be adding more over time.
Click image to download manual.
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dear website maker,
I have a question: I have a science fair box, but I don’t have the manual. Can you scan your manual and send it to me, please?
Greetings from Nienke
Unfortunately, I don’t have a scanner large enough. The pages of the manual are an irregular size and very large. I only have a normal letter-size scanner.
I would also love to get a copy of the manual for my old set that my son is nearly old enough to enjoy but unfortunately my manuel is long since lost.
Maybe if we paid you a few dollars each, we could buy you a new scanner ??
Here’s what I think I can do: I’ll take a picture of each page with a camera and post them. Maybe I can then combine them into a single PDF. Let me work on it and I’ll post some results on this page soon (maybe just a couple of pages to start), so bookmark this page and check back in a couple of days.
I too need the manual and am looking forward to you posting the manual.
It’s a big job, so I work on it when I can. Have you checked ebay for the manual? You’d probably have to buy the whole kit, but they are cheap.
Where can I obtain replacement springs for these kits? The folks at Radiation Shack could not locate any replacement parts.
I have the Science Fair 200 in One electronic project lab with the wires, unit and book if you are interested.
Bruce Curry
Fantastic! When I was a kid I loved those electronics sets… I had a 10-in-1, a huge 150-in-1, and a 25-in-one focussing on solar power. Still at home somewhere….
Jason, I also have a 10 in One, but have lost the manual. Any chance of getting a copy sent to me PLEASE!!!! I’ve been scouting the net for the last 18 months trying to find a manual or someone else with the 10 in One kit.
My email is gcfisho at bigpond.com ( replace the at with @) …. hoping you can help me out.
Cheers
Heath
I have the Science Fair 160 in kit and manual
I also have a Gakken 15 in 1 kit and manual. Is this like the 10 in 1 above?
Also 2x Science Fair Junior Electronic Project Lab Kits
1 is 28-153 Related to computer/logic circuits with manual
the other is 28-151 and related to radio circuits.
I am in desperate need of a manual for this.
Thanks
Andrew
I WANT TO SEE A PROJECT TO MAKE NOT A KIT BECAUSE I HAVE A KIT
Download the manual using the link above. And don’t use ALL CAPS. It makes it seem as though you are YELLING.
Desperate researching manual for 28-277 50-in-one Radio-Shack Science Fair…
I’m ready to pay for it!
How is the manual comming along ? are you still working on it ?
No, I haven’t done anything with it. But, it’s always helpful to get a poke every now and then to remind me that there’s still a need. I’ll whittle away at it, but it’s a time-consuming process because I have to take photos of the pages (don’t have a scanner large enough for its oversized pages).
Do you have the schematic/pdf for a cat meow? I don’t recall what kit it was in 50/100/200 in One. Ty.