EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => Beginners => Topic started by: daniel123 on April 26, 2016, 12:06:40 pm
-
Hi! I was wondering if anyone knows what companies make kits like diy bench top power supply and test equipment like heathkit but modern.
-
There are problems with Heathkit-type kits in todays electronics world.
First, electronics has gone to surface mount, and you cannot realistically sell kits to beginners with surface mount parts. The whole point of Heathkit is that beginners could learn electronics by building their kits.
Secondly, modern circuits with micros, fpga's, and other LSI chips are much harder for the average person to debug then the circuits of the 60's.
Third, back in the 60's, the profit margin of electronics manufacturers was so high that Heathkit could sell kits that were cheaper then the equivalent manufactured products. Today, manufacturing is so efficient that selling a kit can often be double or more the cost of manufacturing a completed item. If you want a large screen TV, do you want to pay $600 and get a TV that will probably work perfectly for 5 or more years, or do you want to pay $1800 for a kit that has a high chance of not working, probably will not be reliable and will probably be an out-of-date design?
There are still people selling kits, but you will not find much with the class of Heathkit.
You can find kits, like this one from Australia:
http://www.altronics.com.au/p/k3218-dual-tracking-0-19v-power-supply-kit/ (http://www.altronics.com.au/p/k3218-dual-tracking-0-19v-power-supply-kit/)
but it is a 1980's type of supply in a creaky unshielded plastic case. Could easily be 240V only, but you would have to check the Silicon Chip magazine article the kit is based on to find out. You probably want to do better.
-
Now that Ramsey electronics is gone , the only kits you will find are specialty kits aimed at ham radio and other niche hobbies.
Having built more than a dozen Heathkits I can attest to how sorely many of us miss the experience.
-
Ramsey electronics is gone
I hadn't realized, had to Google, :-[
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/legacy.htm (http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/legacy.htm)
-
BangGood and ebay have lots of small kits.
Recommend watching the following youtubers.
voltlog (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdXHgsCiql_78oT5ydXWvzA)
electronics trivia w/ steve wagner (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeg2L27M1bdrfnGCYuOn_eg)
julian illet (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmHvGf00GDuPYG9DZqQKd9A)
-
Yup, lots of kits (http://www.ebay.com/bhp/adjustable-power-supply-kit) on eBay.
-
As mentioned above Banggood have lots of kits available and they are all pretty cheap:
http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Arduino-Compatible-Kits-and-DIY-Kits-c-3091.html?p=2D100314686672015046 (http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Arduino-Compatible-Kits-and-DIY-Kits-c-3091.html?p=2D100314686672015046)
They have quite a range from clocks to oscilloscopes and power supplies - I have bought quite a few and they have been really fun to put together - my latest one was an inductance meter and it works really well and has been really useful when winding toroids.
-
I still am wondering if any other people make these kinds of kits
-
Wow..that is really too bad about Ramsey. I've built several of their kits and they are (were :'( ) great.
http://www.vellemanusa.com/products/list/?country=us&lang=enu&id=523008 (http://www.vellemanusa.com/products/list/?country=us&lang=enu&id=523008)
Elenco still sells a few kits:
http://www.elenco.com/product/productdetails/power_supply=ODU=/same_as_xp720_in_kit_form=NTc4 (http://www.elenco.com/product/productdetails/power_supply=ODU=/same_as_xp720_in_kit_form=NTc4)
-
Yes, Velleman, Elenco, CanaKits and Chaney Electronics are some that still make kits. Places like MakerShed, Sparkfun and Jameco also have kits for sale, and there are others. There is even a web site selling kits at (believe it or not) www.electronickits.com (http://www.electronickits.com)
Just google "electronic kits"and you'll get plenty of results. They haven't disappeared yet.