DIY Radio Kit, Icstation FM Radio Kit 76MHZ-108MHZ Soldering Project Radio Module DIY Kits Electronic Solder Practice Kit for Back to School STEM Labs Physics Science Educational

No instructions, but board is labelled. The integrated circuit is tiny, flux helps a lot. If you are only getting static it's likely you accidentally bridges some pins with solder on the circuit, a magnifying glass and bright light helps.This was really fun with my 9 year old. Next up is adding a power led and a mini solar panel to it.

Fun project for my teen to complete. Soldering of most components was easy, but the very small IC (integrated circuit) on the back of the board was a bit more challenging, due to it's small size. It took a few tries of reflowing the solder on the IC to get it working. But, it was very satisfying to get the radio working and pulling in local stations with music!Overall, I would say this is a good project for a beginner if they have a little bit of help with the small IC, or someone with beginner-to-intermediate soldering skills. A fine-tipped soldering iron really helps for the smaller solder joints. The photo in the PDF instructions was helpful to figure out component placement.This had fewer components to solder than the clock kit from the same supplier that we previously worked on, so it was quicker to complete, and more rewarding because it played music!

This unit was advertised as a soldering project. However, the item arrived fully assembled. When checked, the item did not receive any radio stations. Not really functional as a radio.

I purchased two of these. I was planning to give one to a good friend's 10 year old grandson, but decided it would be too difficult for a beginner. It is actually a lot of value for the money. The components are good quality, but quite small. Magnifying glasses are highly recommended for assembly. The circuit board is excellent. The battery holder could be a little better quality. The most difficulty in assembly is soldering the surface mounted integrated chip U1 (SMD) to the circuit board which requires a very small soldering iron tip. There are not that many components, but an inexperienced builder might have difficulty telling the small 30K resistor from the inductors and getting the integrated circuit oriented correctly on the board could be confusing. It does not come with an actual case. The circuit board is just attached to the battery holder with plastic tie strips after the circuit board is completed. There are push button switches for power, tuning and volume control. There is no frequency indicator. You just have to keep pushing the up or down tune buttons till you find the station you want. When it is turned back on it comes up on the last station it was tuned to. I assembled one of the kits and it worked as soon as two 1.5 volt AA batteries (not included) were installed. I live 40 miles south of Toledo, Ohio and receive quite a few local FM stations as well as Toledo stations. Sound Quality is adequate with plenty of volume .You have to supply your own inexpensive earbuds. The earbud wires also function as an antenna for the radio.I enjoyed assembling the kit which took about an hour. Assembly time will vary based on experience of the builder. I would not recommend the kit for a beginner unless they have someone fairly knowledgeable to guide them. It is definitely not a Heath Kit, but for $8 it is not too bad at all. It was much better than I expected. You could not purchase the components alone for the cost of the kit.

I Carefully soldered the kit together and it did nothing , didn't work went over the entire assembly and checked for loose or cold connections found nothing incorrect. It just didn't work. Given the nature of the item I didn't try to get a refund. I left a review stating this, and they contacted me offering solutions, I was very impressed this is a quality company to do business with and I will do so In the future.

The media could not be loaded. Skeptical? So was I. After all, this project only uses a dozen electronic components and a handful of push button switches to pump loud FM stereo through your favorite headphones/earbuds. This project does specify a recommended age to build, the biggest reason would be the small surface mount integrated circuit (IC chip), of which I recommend the use of soldering flux as it is imperative to keep the solder from clumping up between the pins on the IC chip (Watching a YouTube video on surface mount devices (SMD) is very helpful). What a great project this is to learn electronic build techniques that keep you up to date with modern components and circuitry, and if you are curious, you could even look up the main chip and see that it employs the newest technology in receiving, decoding, and amplification of the signal. Build time was just over an hour while I was texting a friend. I have built previous projects that this company puts out, the quality of the circuit boards, the clear layout, and the components have been consistent, I have had a pleasurable build each and every time. As with any radio you are at the mercy of the signal strength, while walking around tuned to a strong station it works great, when I tuned to a weak station some 30 miles away it would fade in and out as I walked. This wouldn't be considered a defect, it teaches radio wave propagation, how they are affected by the environment. I thought that it might be hard to determine what station I was listening to without a channel display, but it added the sense of adventure for a short time before I recognized where I was and which direction button I wanted to push.This is A  kit for making learning fun, it has some challenge that makes it interesting, the rest is set up to improve soldering techniques and give confidence to try something harder next time.

I purchased to look for a kits that would be good to teach scouting merit badge dealing with soldering. this one was a bit too much and ended up using another kit. The kit would be great for someone that knows how to solder but just needs more time. Would use again for older kids that have done some work before.