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If you or the Geeklings have been interested in electronics, but you haven't yet worked up the nerve to pick up a soldering iron, Jameco might just be able to help you. The company is a well-known supplier of electronics parts, including a number of educational kits that are perfect for the beginner. Jameco was kind enough to supply a demo kit to me and my family, and my youngest son was happy to tackle the assembly as his first soldering project.
As you'll see below, things worked out pretty well...
As you'd expect, the kit includes all the parts you need to assemble the project, along with extremely clear and easy-to-follow instructions. This particular kit included a circuit board, LEDs, resistors, capacitors, momentary switches, DIP socket, and a pre-programmed 16F84A PIC. (Note that the kit does not include the soldering iron itself, but Jameco has a selection of these.)
The instructions were very well done, and the Geekling was able to follow them easily...
After demonstrating a couple of sample soldering joins, he was on his own...
The final result looked good (the black paper was suggested in the instructions in order to provide more visual contrast for the LEDs).
The final result was a "Persistence of Vision" device that produces an image when waved around. The PIC controls the LEDs to produce the image, though it's up to the user to wave it around at the right rate to have the image show correctly (no active motion sensor). It's a little tricky, but a neat effect. The video below gives you the general idea:
Based on my son's reaction, I'd rate the effort a great success overall. The kit was perfect for a beginner, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone else looking for a first-time project.
If you're interested, head over to Jameco for this or one of their other kits...
