“I bought this radio for my son who is very interested in learning how to assemble electronics. While he did really enjoy assembling this radio, the finished product did not work properly. The volume knob doesn't actually adjust the volume; it turns the radio on/off and when the radio is on, the volume is at full blast. Company included some wrong resisters so the radio does not work properly, the signal is very staticy. Would not recommend this if you are wanting a working product at the end.”
“This kit was refreshing. It uses a manual just like the old heathkits. It made me nostalgic checking off each box in each step. If you miss the old heathkits you'll love this kit. I would have given it 5 stars all around but for the issue that the circuit is not as stable as I would have liked. The Varvatos doesn't always do its job. Still I loved assembly of this kit. I hope they come out with more kits like this. I'll buy them all. It's a good way to play for a couple of hours.”
“Exceeded my expectations. The manual includes lots of great information on the science behind radio and explains the various components. The board is clearly marked and the instructions include component numbers as well as values. Hardest part was the pot since the holes are so big and the chip holder since the solder points are so close together but that is like the final exam.”
“Electrician dad who bought two of these to build with his kids.Built the first one and it was working great, handed it to my wife and an electric shock killed it. Completely dead, the auto tuning chip was probably the weak link. I had finish it over night so the kids didn't ever get a chance to see it working.No problem, I bought a second one, bad luck right?Was making the second one the next day. Apparently the PCB material is super weak, was snipping the wires off the resisters after soldering and a pad lifted off and tore the trace to the tuning chip. Unrecoverable and the kids never got a chance to use the radios. So done with this, super bummed right now.”
“Not a good gift idea or for anyone not extremely experienced that likes complicated solders. The pads on the circuit board are to cheap to use with lead free solder, period. It’s like they just switched to lead free solder and didn’t change the board to accommodate the extra heat. Lead free solder has a higher melting point and as a result requires more heat. When you add more heat to this circuit board the pads fall off the board. So most of the soldering results in either cold solders or pads falling off. I know they are aware of this because there is a description in the instructions warning about keeping the solder tip clean, there is added heat required for lead free solder but they didn’t modify the board. So for a “learning to solder” kid this is a complicated disappointment. I have a lot (years) of experience soldering and I was having trouble soldering onto the board with the lead free solder. I had to try to fix some of the joints with lead solder just to get the pads back on. (Just redesign the board and charge an extra dollar) smh…”
“I appreciate that the instruction book was provided and fairly precise; however, there were several resistors and capacitors that were not covered in the instructions that you need to pick out yourself. Not an end-all, but for practice purposes it helps to have instructions so that something isn’t soldered in the wrong place (remember that you have one shot!). The battery case was very cheap, and attempting to remove the 9V from the casing resulted in the positive side of the battery clip dislocating entirely from the plastic. Overall it’s a fun little practice set, but it’s not expensive and easily broken so take extra precaution.”
