130-in-1 Electronic Playground

This is your classic electronics kit! The 130-in-1 Electronic Playground provides a great starting point into the world of electronics. Bending springs and inserting a jumper wire between the coils is key to creating simple circuits for 130 different experiments in this fun kit! With this kit you will be able to build an AM broadcast station, an electronic organ, strobe lights, logic circuits and much more! The 130-in-1 Electronic Playground is recommended for anyone 12 years of age or older.

The 130-in-1 Electronic Playground includes a step-by-step illustrated manual for easy construction as well as a built-in speaker, 7-segment LED display, two integrated circuits and rotary controls.

  • Easy-to-read, illustrated lab-style manual included.
  • Learn basic principles of electricity, electronics, physics and magnetism!
  • Comes with built-in speaker, 7-segment LED display, two fully integrated circuits and rotary controls.

130-in-1 Electronic Playground Product Help and Resources

Recreating Classic Electronics Kits

January 13, 2014

100-in-1? 500-in-1? It's up to you when you build your own Science Fair style experiment board!

Core Skill: DIY

Whether it's for assembling a kit, hacking an enclosure, or creating your own parts; the DIY skill is all about knowing how to use tools and the techniques associated with them.

1 DIY

Skill Level: Noob - Basic assembly is required. You may need to provide your own basic tools like a screwdriver, hammer or scissors. Power tools or custom parts are not required. Instructions will be included and easy to follow. Sewing may be required, but only with included patterns.
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Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping

If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.

2 Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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Comments

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  • MarkSpeir / about 8 years ago / 4

    I had so much fun with Radio Shack's version as a kid! If you have a child showing an interest in electronics, this is a perfect gift.

  • YES!!!!! I still have my 60in1 and 200in1 Radio Shack kit from the mid 80's. Many great hours were spent on those old sprig kits developing my electronic skills as a kid! So glad to see sparkfun selling this.

  • BASIC4EVER / about 8 years ago / 3

    That remember the RADIOSHACK kits :)

  • LightManCA / about 8 years ago / 3

    Wow this great. I remember several years ago you guys made one with an arduino built in as a concept. You should totally do that, with say an arduino pro mini, to make it a little easier to use.

  • mjkuwp / about 8 years ago / 2

    sorry, but I've got a dissenting opinion here. Sure! I had some fun with a kit like this as a kid but it really was poor at teaching electronics. I had this kit and nothing else and because of my lack of progress I went to school to be a mechanical engineer. Now in my 40's and making huge progress in electronics thanks to Sparkfun, the internet, blogs, etc. I don't see how this kit could have taught me so much.

    As an example, the first circuit in the book has a transistor. Even in my college electrical 101 we did not cover transistors (separate topic actually). This topic is too advanced as a starting point. Another example, the explanation about diodes on page 7 states there are silicone and germanium diodes. Why does a beginner need to know this?

    The turning point for me was putting together a simple circuit to set a specific amount of current through an led. To get this to work you have to absorb the concept of the forward voltage drop and of course employ ohm's law. After I understood that, went to transistors for higher current and I was off and running.

    I think the kit is ok to play with but I would not rely on it for teaching a beginner.

    • M-Short / about 8 years ago / 3

      I agree with you on a lot of this. I had one of these and it was great for getting working projects. Horrible for learning why the circuits worked. I haven't had a chance to look at the new manuals, but I'm hoping things have improved. If not there are now a lot of resources online that weren't there when we were kids. I think it you are already interested finding those resources shouldn't be too hard.

      • LightManCA / about 8 years ago / 1

        This is a big problem I have with lots of electronic kits. They do very little to explain how circuits work. In fact I'm more comfortable with an Arduino board than I am a transistor. I can fathom how logic works, and so long as I have instructions as to how to hook up a sensor or whatever I can make things work.

        But figuring out how to make an led blink with regular electronic components I have no clue.

    • Madbodger / about 8 years ago / 2

      I was fortunate enough to have a Lectron kit, which did work up in a logical fashion, showing how the various components worked. I still remember the thrill of taking apart a capacitor charging circuit, looking at the capacitor, putting it back together, pressing the switch, and hearing the "click" in the earphone as the capacitor discharged. It gave me a very hands-on understanding of what the various parts actually did, and built on that to show how circuits were built from them. When I'm explaining things to other people, it becomes clear how valuable that basic knowledge is.

  • LightManCA / about 8 years ago / 2

    In fact cutting out the nand gate and putting in a pro mini would be a very worthy upgrade. Of course you would then need a new "project booklet"

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