Wonderboard Solderless Circuit Cards

I should have google'd it : ) Just found some more info, that explains it a bit better:

Source: Electronics and Radio Constructor, December 1978

shabaz said:

really old - 1978

Dang. I’m ancient  

Really cool prototyping board! I’m guessing they were just not cost effective compared to the alternatives, but it looks like a handy way to build little circuits.

The small one is around £18 in inflation adjusted cost.  I don’t know how much a breadboard would have cost in 1978 but assuming their price would have adjusted for inflation the same way, then I’d say they were very expensive.

Their claim of it being the most economical prototyping method is quite ridiculous : )

Looks like the normal plug-in breadboards were around then, you're right, probably that was way more cost-effective.

(Image source; Practical Electronics Nov 1978).

Still, it got me thinking, if there were a PCB with larger diameter holes (say 3mm) then each hole could be plugged with a small piece of silicone tube (it comes in such small diameters from memory), so that a user would just push in wires between the hole edge and the tube, i.e. so that it's forced against the inner conductive surface of the hole. It could be completely impractical for integrated circuits, but maybe feasible for discrete parts. But then one may as well use a normal breadboard! 

Did that advert have any prices?  I think breadboards are so cheap, easy to use and ubiquitous that it’s easy to put up with the occasional issue and any alternate technology for prototyping would really struggle.  Veroboard is probably the next best alternative.

Still, these adverts are interesting to see the path of technology advancement.  I’ll have to dig archive at the museum to see what they have.

It didn't have prices, but I found another advert from the time. Jjudging by some of the prices in these ads in 1978, I think it must have either generally been really high cost to buy electronics stuff, or at least in the UK back then. Can't see how they are suggesting the watch prices below are "low-cost" for that time. Still, VAT was just 8% versus 20% now, and postage and packing was typically 25p, versus the £3-5 or even higher that is normal nowadays everywhere : (

Adjusting even vaguely for inflation, the Quick test and Protoboards look very very expensive!

Neil

Interesting discovery, thanks for sharing. I wish I had a speedwire board just as a collectors item https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speedwire  

This was the best photo I could find after a quick search

https://docs.rs-online.com/e9b7/0900766b800270c2.pdf 

You’re right.  £179 in 1978 is worth around £1100 now!  Inflation calculator here: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator