Make: Electronics Components Pack 1

The Make: Electronics Component Pack 1 includes all the parts to complete the experiments in the first two chapters (experiments 1 - 11) of the Make: Electronics book (sold separately). If you look it up at MakerShed.com (the online store for Make: ) they have a nice bulleted, easier to read breakdown of what's included. I don't know whether or not it's cheaper to buy the components pre-packaged this way vs. individually, but it seems to at least be a wash. Buying the Component Pack(s) will definitely save you HOURS of parts hunting, you won't miss stuff, and everything comes in a nice storage box. So, in my opinion, it's definitely worth it if you're serious about doing the exercises.The parts are decent enough quality overall and guaranteed to work with the exercises. The breadboard is quite nice and includes posts and an assortment of jumper wires. The batteries (which are included) are all Energizer brand alkaline. I was a bit annoyed that Maker Shed packed the 17 different types of resistors (times 10 each) into 5 unlabeled bags (3 - 4 types to a bag). Sorting does force you to really understand resistor color-coding and you can use a multimeter assist / confirm your readings, but tracking down the right resistor became needlessly time-consuming. It would be nice if they included a card with the color codes, though they are covered in the book and you can find a chart online easily enough. The power supply is switchable to various voltages (1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9, 12) and also has a polarity switch. The output is a little high and unstable (bounces a bit), but that's expected with an inexpensive wall transformer. (I did test it under load, as the book suggests.) The power supply also doesn't fit into the storage box (lid won't close) once the breadboard is assembled, but I only considered that a minor annoyance and I do think they found the most appropriate case they could for the money.Be aware that this pack is the first of two. When you're done with chapters 1 - 2, you'll need to buy the Component Pack 2 for another ~$100 to complete the rest of the book (chapters 2 - 4). You'll also need some tools to do the first half of the experiments, including:* Needle-nosed pliers* Small wire-cutters (side-cutters)* A wire stripper (e.g. the Tektron 3797 for ~$9 or the Ideal 45-121 for ~$12)* A digital multimeter (e.g. the Elenco M1000E for ~13, the Mastech MAS838 for ~$18 or the Extech MN26T for ~$45. The cheaper, manual Elenco or Mastech are arguably better for the course as they will force you to think more about what you're measuring than the more expensive, automatic, compact Extech.)* A set of both minigrabber leads and alligator clips for the multimeter leads is REALLY REALLY nice to have (e.g. Elenco TL-12 Banana to Mingrabber Set and the Gardner Bender RTL-107 Accessory Alligator Clips for Leads. Each cost ~$6).* Some alligator clip patch cords (e.g. Amico 10 Pcs Meter Colored Insulating Alligator Clip Test Lead Cable 10.8" for ~$6.) will also help preserve your sanity.* I found a Helping Hand with Magnifier very useful. Using one of the hand's alligator clips made constructing the early circuits a bit more user-friendly than fumbling with just the little alligator clips included and the glass is helpful when looking at tiny resistor color bands and the like. A basic one costs ~$8. (It will also come in useful if you continue on to chapters 2 - 4 / Component Kit 2, which covers soldering)Not much more to say about the Component Pack 1. I recommend it and would buy it again with hindsight. I can't imagine purchasing all of the components individually. For anyone still trying to get a handle on the whole Make: Electronics thing, feel free to read on.Make: Electronics by Charles Platt is a HANDS-ON self-instruction book / introduction to electronics tutorial. It is a well-designed self-study at home, at your own pace, program that is aimed at young teens on up. It starts out at quite an elementary level and progresses in difficulty as you work through the exercises. For it to work, you have to invest time as well as money for parts and tools. Neither investment is insignificant. When you start, be aware that you're signing up for a full-fledged home-study course and will need to shell out $300 or more, depending on the type and quality of tools you get, by the time you're done. The book is broken into 5 chapters with 36 "Experiments". Each chapter starts with a shopping list telling you what tools, parts, components you'll need, along with manufacturer and part # suggestions, followed by the hands-on tutorials and theory. This is a good entry-level program and you'll learn a lot from it if you follow it through. Just know what you're getting into. It should not be an impulse buy. I checked the book out of the library before deciding to take the plunge. If you search for "Make: Electronics pdf" on line, you will find some (partial) preview copies that give you the flavor. One can buy the book as a hard copy or a .pdf or both. I personally think having the physical book is worthwhile and a bit more flexible when doing the experiments, though I could see using the .pdf with a tablet.If you want to get your toes wet with circuits, but don't want to dive straight into Make: with its time and expense requirements, look at Mallison Electrical's "Electronic Projects Starter Kit" for about $20.If you want to go further than Make in your understanding, search YouTube for "ELEC 110" and you'll find the entire Lake Washington Technical College Introduction to Electronics course (videos of each lecture). It's a good intro course, but is many hours (it's a full college course). ELEC 110 is followed by ELEC 120.Good luck.

First some background so that you can measure my review against your own old child's abilities. My 8.5 yr old is very good with building items with his hands and also coding and writing computer programs. He taught himself some simple electronic experiments via youtube, like making a charger for his own ipad by using some wires and a 9v battery. I was eager to buy my son something that would feed his interests in electronics and building. I read several reviews before I made this purchase and the related book. At the end of the day, I really like the idea but the actual product isn't that great. The product pieces are very small and flimsy. So, when you try and attach wires to various conduits or other pieces the wires often come lose with the slightest movement. Also, some of the experiments are supposed to light up green or red lights, but not all the green and red bulbs work, so you spend a lot of time double and triple checking if you followed the instructions only to find out that the bulb didn't work. After my son went to sleep I tried a few experiments on my own to see if my son was being careless or lazy, and i ultimately had the same out come as my son. Unfortunately i have to say the item, and the book, look really cool, but it's a real waste of time, energy and money.

This at first doesn't seem like a great value for $92, however when I bought what I thought would be the same thing from the vendor that the author of the books recommends for $50 I was very disappointed. I sent this one back before I got the $50 one, but really this is a very nice kit in a nice case with EVERYTHING you require including a switchable DC power supply. I would say by the time you get done adding everything back to the $50 kit you probably end up paying more.

I guess this is more of a review of the seller than the pack.Sold by: Family JewlSold As New. Yeah right. I guess in the factory they put their coffee cups on it and spill coffee on the cover. Next they add this heavy putrid cigarette smoke smell that makes me want to vomit. My sister with asthma would have had an attack. I leave it open in the garage hoping that the stench will go away. It hasn't yet. My kids hate the smell and don't want to do the projects. I should be grateful that it isn't covered in animal hair. I found the extra components as they were cover with some sort of goo.There are bags with letters on them. But there isn't a list that matches letters to the components listed on the front. One bag of LEDS doesn't light up. But I am not sure what they are and what it takes to light them up.As for exercise 3 the first real project, it took forever to find the 3 resistors in the random resistor bags. Some resistors are banded together some are loose. I was hoping the box would be tight enough the loose resistors wouldn't go all over the place.I guess my review might improve as I work my way through the book.

It is what it says it is. It arrived 3 days faster than expected, and everything was very much in tact. Some of the components are not the best of class, but all are good and while I did not test every item yet, all look well protected in the case. I look forward to going threw the experiments and am confident all will work well.For what it is you are paying a premium. It is a collection of items for experimenting from a book. But for a beginner like me, I am willing to pay the 15~20% premium that this provides to paying for each item individually. That said the Price on Amazon is good. You might find it cheaper on e-bay but this was new in package.