From breadboarding to soldering, the way we connect our components is critical to ending up with a working circuit. Before the new-age tech startups like littleBits and innoBits came along with their magnetic clip-together building blocks, there was Elenco. Their fundamental connection idea? Snap Fasteners. You know, the little metal button-clips?
Well, Elenco took a standard electronics kit and extended all the component legs out to snap fasteners. Then, mounted them on hard plastic tabs, with the parts label and schematic symbol printed on top.
We're going to take a closer look at some of the most popular Snap Circuits and more importantly, why they are one of the best options for educating people on electronics.
Who can use Elenco Kits?
Ages 8-108 is printed on the box, meaning anyone can learn electronics with Snap Circuits. If you're looking for something for someone younger, don't go past littleBits.
What is a Snap Circuit?
To summarize, a Snap Circuit is an electrical component, broken out into plastic mounting pads. Each part differs in color and size and has the schematic diagram of the part printed on its surface. For example, a simple resistor component in the Snap Circuits world looks like this:
They can snap and stack together or to the 7x10 plastic-clip mounting tray that comes with every kit.
The kit we've got out today is the Snap Circuits 300-in-1. It has over 60 different Snap Circuit parts that guide you along a learning journey of 300 exciting projects. A few sample projects from start to finish of the 300-in-1 Kit are:
- The Classic Electric Light and Switch - To show how electricity is turned "ON" and "OFF" with a switch.
- The Fuse - To show how a fuse is used to break all current paths back to the voltage source
- The Voice Light Diode - To build a circuit that uses your voice to control a light emitting diode
- This AND That - To introduce you to the AND Logic concept of digital circuits
- Transistor Amplifiers - An introduction to the most important electrical component of the modern age
- AM Radio - To build a complete, working, AM Radio
That's just six random projects from the 300 available. Each one comes with the following support:
So you can see that not only do you receive an objective, letting you know exactly what the outcome of the project will be. There's also an image that lays out how your components need to be connected, not to mention the explanation of what's happening with the current/voltage in your circuit.
But what if I break something?
Page 5 of the included manuals has a bright yellow page, with a red heading that reads:
DOs and DONTs of Building Circuits
This page represents the immutable laws of hobby electronics for the newbie. From wearing PPE, not playing with mains voltages right through to the dangers of short circuits and the why behind them. Directly opposite these rules, you'll find the Advanced Troubleshooting steps. If you find yourself with a component that isn't behaving as intended or expected, this will be your bookmarked savior.
But even with these tools, it's still likely that you will connect something up incorrectly and destroy it. You're new; it's okay. All the parts are reused throughout the 300 projects so that might hamper your progress. It's no issue, though, head over to www.snapcircuits.net and let them know what's happened and they will happily help you out with replacement parts.
A future-proofed purchase
When you see the price of an Elenco kit, you might have mixed reactions. We have more than adequately presented the enormous value Elenco brings to the table, although it might not be enough to get you over the line. That where the upgrade kits come in. You can break down the cost of getting the full 750 project kit into incremental jumps using the upgrade kits.
Start off with the Snap Circuit Jr 100-in-1 Kit.
Once you've assembled and absorbed that kit, grab yourself an upgrade kit to the 300-in-1. All you need to do is combined the parts and start building a project from the new booklet (Projects 101-300).
Once you've assembled and absorbed that kit, grab yourself an upgrade kit to the 500-in-1. All you need to do is combined the parts and start building a project from the new booklet (Projects 301-500).
Once you've assembled and absorbed that kit, grab yourself an upgrade kit to the 750-in-1. All you need to do is combined the parts and start building a project from the new booklet (Projects 501-750).
So with the use of the upgrade kits, you've truly got yourself a gift that will keep on giving. Not to mention you'll be extremely knowledgeable about electronics and circuit building by the end of 750 electronics projects.
There you have it, Snap Circuits in a nutshell. We will take a closer look at more of the educational content they have to offer alongside some of the other educational kits by Elenco in the future. If you have any questions about these fantastic Snap Circuit products, feel free to get in touch or shout out to us on the live chat tool on the website ( <---- over there). We're here to help!