“I bought this kit to kill some time assembling it. When I accidentally ruined a couple of headers, I emailed the company and within a couple of days had free replacements. Terrific customer service.As for the kit itself, it is fairly easy to assemble if you have a good soldering station and use leaded solder but the pads on the PCB require too much heat for lead free solder.Also, if you are a novice to electronics, forget about learning much circuitry from the instructions. Basic radio knowledge is assumed from the beginning. You can assemble the kit without it but won't learn much about how it functions.”
“El artículo lo recibí y todavía no lo he ensamblado. Espero una vez lo yenga ensamblado y funcionando logre usarlo para los propositos que me motivaron pedirlo.”
“So I got one for my wife, teaching her electronics, soldering, etc. She has already made (Extra) in amateur radio license, but soldering practice was needed. Anyway we had a short that popped up while doing this project. There was one set of instructions that didn't seem clear to me, and while trouble shooting, I thought this might be the problem. I didn't have the time to pull out the meter etc, and shot off a quick email on a Saturday to the Mfg. On Monday I already had a reply, and a offer to call with any questions or trouble shooting help needed. Excellent customer service. we will get this licked ourselves but makes a big difference to me and my wife knowing that if we did need help, it would be there in a prompt, friendly manor. Thats why without a completed kit yet to review, I have already decided to give them a thumbs up and at-a-boy! Thank you! -Doug-”
“This is my 3rd kit from Elenco and I expect this one to be like the first two. The instructions are very good and easy to follow. The parts are all of good quality. The packaging is well put together for access to the parts as you build the kit.”
“There are 2 spots that have areas that solder can spill over to the other wire. A wick won’t pick it up not even a sucker. I burned the board trying to get it off, I’d suggest if you are in a similar situation just use a sand paper and hope for the best.”
“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!”
