Elenco AM/FM Radio Kit |Switch Between ICs & Transistors | Solder | Great STEM Project | Superheterodyne Designed to AM and FM Broadcasts | SOLDERING REQUIRED

With this review I hope give you some idea about what this kit does and doesn't do and how it can be a great learning tool for both young and old alike.This kit is very complete, everything needed for building a complete AM and FM radio is included in the box. All the parts are neatly laid out and placed on cards for easy identification. The construction manual is very easy to follow and it also includes tests needed to be done during the construction process as well as final tuning when complete.The radio's circuit board is laid out is with the AM section on the bottom and the FM on the top of the board. If you follow the manual you will be building the AM section first with the FM section second. This makes the construction easier as both the AM and FM sections of the radio are broken down into small sections, then a test to make sure everything is working before moving to the next section. The manual goes into how and why the circuits and other electronic parts do what they do and how they do it. This kit can be built with just a multi-meter or you can also use an oscilloscope for more complete testing and understanding of the parts and circuits, but the oscilloscope is not necessary for the build.This is kit is both a relaxing build and a great teaching tool. If you have teenagers in the house, this kit will teach how to make good solder connections of the parts onto the board. The board has more room between parts and solder pads, so the process is much easier to get the parts mounted to the board successfully. The board also has all the symbols printed on the board that you would normally see on a schematic drawing layout. This is a good way to see both symbols together and it helps in the learning process. The board also includes dedicated test points for doing the testing needed during the building process.This is one of the best kits to get your feet wet in electronics or as a very good teaching tool for young adults and adults alike. Once done you have a working AM/FM radio. Since this is a battery operated radio, its great to have around when the power goes out.I would recommend using a good 60/40 Tin Lead solder, with a diameter of 1mm, this solder is much easier to work with and make a good connection, you don't need all that heat on the board and electronic parts when learning. The provided solder is lead free and makes it more of a challenge to get a good solder joint when learning the soldering process.Fun project!

I have built hundreds of kits, perhaps a thousand. It has been fifty years since I built my first.This is the best AM/FM radio receiver I have built to date, but for some perhaps the worst possible choice. It depends on what you hope to accomplish by building the kit. If you hope to build an awesome radio there are much better kits. If selectivity, sensitivity and audio quality are important, here again you could do better. If you want soldering practice, this is far to simplistic to be any challenge. It is large, ugly, and it's design does not lend to a nice finished product.So why do I LOVE it so much? If you want to learn radio electronics, really learn what is happening inside a radio and why (to the greatest detail). If you want to learn how to optimize (tune, calibrate) a radio receiver. If you want to learn to use your test equipment, your frequency generator, your oscilloscope, then this is an outstanding kit! I have learned a great deal from this kit even after fifty years. In fact, the most I've learned from a kit in many, many years!However, if you don't own a scope or have any test equipment or the desire to learn those techniques then 90% of the printed directions are for somebody else. Find another kit! This kit is wasted on those looking for a soldering kit, many better choices in that respect (although if you want to build a truly nice radio you'd spend a great deal more as well).You will need an oscilloscope and a signal generator that will modulate your test signal at various frequencies (so the old 1000hz test signal isn't enough to perform all tests as suggested). As many reviewers have pointed out, you can build the radio without these items, but you would be paying for documentation that you won't use (the parts aren't worth ten dollars). Remember, 90% of the documentation is aimed at using these two pieces of test equipment.I would also suggest that if you aren't familiar with this test equipment then you will need additional documentation as these instructions clearly assume you know how to use the tools you have purchased. This is an ADVANCED kit with a set of beginners instructions included.

I bought this set because of the promise that there would be a booklet explaining in detail what each of the modules in the circuit do and why they are constructed the way they are. The booklet, while not super detailed (because it's not a textbook) does indeed live up to that promise.As a soldering exercise, it's on the easy side: I think with a bit of practice this can be assembled wearing mittens if need be. But it is sold as a beginners' learning tool, so that's absolutely appropriate.I work at a school where I am on duty in the Engineering Lab once a week, so this has been my time waster. Of course I won't be using it as a radio (all radio stations stream nowadays), but I'm happy with the purchase.

I bought this because I thought it would be fun to build and refresh some of my basic RF electronics skills. Kit is fairly easy to assemble but not for a total novice. The manual starts you off but then leaves you to assemble the kit without the step-by-step that other kits include. Or perhaps I'm missing some supplemental documentation. Not a big deal if you're careful and have some background in electronics and/or assembling kits like this. Another issue is all of the solder pads on the board are very shiny and smooth and solder doesn't want to stick, even if you use flux. You're going to want to rough up the pads slightly with an emory cloth or other small abrasive tool. The ferrite AM antenna coil needed to be reglued to the core.