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Nostalgia: *** Smith Electronics Fun Way into Electronics

Gough Lui

A little while back, I did a little blogging about *** Smith Electronics Fun Way into Electronics series. This was arguably one of the main things which got me into the whole electronics hobby, so I thought some of you might also enjoy looking back at *** Smith when it was more than just a consumer electronics shop. If you remember these, or have any thoughts to share, I'd love to hear them image.

 

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  • Hi Gough, This looks like it was a great way to start into the electronics adventure. For me it was Heath Kits and Knight Kits. Later on we had Forrest Mims and his series of project books that were marketed by Radio Shack. I don't remember seeing *** Smith's books or kits here in the States but back then the world wasn't so wide open and available. I live in Wisconsin USA and it blows my mind but the Chinese have found a way to put an order into my hands quicker than I can get one from California. I think a site like E-14 helps take up some of the slack left by the loss of *** Smith, Heath Kits and Knight Kits in that it provides a way for all of us to learn and grow learning and making cool things.

    John

  • in reply to jw0752

    A slightly different time, being the young kid that I am - I've always heard a lot about Heathkit stuff but it wasn't something I was exposed to even in my youth. I suppose that across the pond, things were very different - we had Tandy here for a while, which worked as an agent stocking only limited lines from Radioshack. I believe I did end up having an electronics notebook by Forrest Mims somewhere, which was definitely a good reference to have, and the name has often come up in nostalgic discussions.

     

    Aside from the *** Smith stuff, I also spent a lot of time roaming around sound.westhost.com (Rod Elliot, of Elliot Sound Products) pages, where there are a lot of analog schematics and electronics theory, reading through the Sams FAQ documents at http://repairfaq.com amongst other sites.

     

    I suppose everyone has their own story - it's always nice to share and hear about them image

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  • in reply to jw0752

    A slightly different time, being the young kid that I am - I've always heard a lot about Heathkit stuff but it wasn't something I was exposed to even in my youth. I suppose that across the pond, things were very different - we had Tandy here for a while, which worked as an agent stocking only limited lines from Radioshack. I believe I did end up having an electronics notebook by Forrest Mims somewhere, which was definitely a good reference to have, and the name has often come up in nostalgic discussions.

     

    Aside from the *** Smith stuff, I also spent a lot of time roaming around sound.westhost.com (Rod Elliot, of Elliot Sound Products) pages, where there are a lot of analog schematics and electronics theory, reading through the Sams FAQ documents at http://repairfaq.com amongst other sites.

     

    I suppose everyone has their own story - it's always nice to share and hear about them image

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