People over Megahertz – Massimo’s article on Make is online
When I was a kid I got into electronics because I started reading specialized magazines on the topic. At the same time it was hard for me to learn electronics from them because the content was not really “beginner friendly” and the projects were not very exciting. They were conceived more for people who were already into the technology and loved circuits than for explaining to newbies what circuits do and what you can do with them.
The way I really started learning electronics was when I received a kit as a present. It was called the Lectron System and was made by the German company Braun. It was a composed of cubes you could snap together magnetically to build different circuits just by following some simple drawings and instructions. The cubes were transparent so you could look inside to learn about the electronic parts.
The kit was a complete experience because it also had a book with great illustrations and simple explanations designed to look very appealing and make technology less scary through hands-on experiments. The original ad said: “Hey look, I just built a radio in two minutes” and it was actually true! Here’s what the kit looked like.
The most interesting aspect of this kit was …