FM Radio Soldering Project Kit for Physics Teaching, PEMENOL 65-108mhz Great STEM Project for Students, FM Electronic DIY Suits College High School Education

Love this FM radio kit!This FM radio kit is both fun to assemble, to use, and to learn about the internal workings of FM radio technology. The instructions are detailed and include pictures and text so there is no ambiguity or misunderstanding due to language translation. The PCB is top-notch and not the kind where you lose a pad after just one soldering session, components are well-spaced and properly sized for the holes on the PCB, and there is plenty of access for probes, testers, etc. (more about that later), the silk-screening on the PCB was accurate and easily readable, and all components were included in the parts bag, minus the 18650 battery which you have to purchase separately (I used an 18650 battery from an old, crappy, flashlight I purchased on Amazon years ago, so I pulled out the battery and used it on this kit, and then tossed the flashlight case. I mounted my battery holder to the front side of the board instead of the back of the board, opposite to what is shown in the picture on this listing because I I thought it looked better that way and t is causing no problems when mounted that way.So why are well-spaced components necessary? Well, if you plan to use this kit for educational purposes too then this is where this FM Radio kit stands out(literally). You can get multimeter, scope, and analyzer probes into the board without shorting anything out which is an excellent feature. And the PCB also has a built-in stand which means you do not have to have three hands to hold everything together while you connect your probes. Very handy!Initially I had an issue with the instructions and one incorrect component on the board, so I contacted the seller, and the issue was immediately resolved, so no issues with customer support.The finished unit looks great and gets more attention than just a simple box-style FM radio sitting on the shelf. It has decent sound quality, good sensitivity, and functional and accessible channel, volume, and power controls too.

I do not consider this kit suitable for beginners. It requires mounting a surface mounted Integrated Circuit (IC) which is challenging. Instructions are not clear. One confusing issue was one of the resistors was referred to as a 1K resistor in the instructions but the one supplied was 2K. I decided to just install it and realized it was printed on the circuit board as 2K. The 18650 Battery costs as much as the kit. Once assembled it did not work. I can barely hear some static in the speaker and the tuning and volume buttons do nothing. As an admitted beginner I cannot tell if the problem was my assembly or a flaw in the kit. The instructions provide absolutely no trouble shooting instructions or advice. I am purchasing the Elenco FM Radio. The instructions for that one provide trouble shooting and testing steps.

It's ok as something your going to make work and then throw away.

This item is useless there are missing parts. I started to lay things out and noticed I was missing a ceramic resistor and a nut for one of the screws. No big deal for a missing nut but a resistor missing means the radio will not work. Lastly All the parts came floating in a bag. DO NOT BUY POOR QUALITY, MISSING PARTS!

This was an easy to assemble kit. Because it has a SMD (Surface Mount Device), I would not recommend it for a beginner. All other components fit well and it looks nice once it is assembled. Instructions are good and easy to follow. One problem that I found was that R10 is listed as a 1K ohm resistor in the parts list and on the assembly instructions but it is a 2K ohm resistor that was included and marked on the PCB. The schematic is not exactly as the PCB is laid out and there are a few duplicate names. But it is close enough to enjoy.Sound quality is not as good as I was expecting, but it works well and tunes well.After further evaluation, the sound quality is with the speaker. Replacement speaker fixes the problem.

It was a fun project to put together. Some of the solder points melted away to easily with a cheap solder iron which caused broken traces. When you get to the surface mount RDA IC you need solder paste and a heat gun. I pressed the IC into place with electrical tape and my finger powered the unit the speaker gave dead air static. volume and chanel control seemed to do nothing. I'm going to try assembling the parts off the pcb to see if it will work.

There is no way the elderly or a child can assemble this. It came in a zip lock back with parts all over the place and no instructions. They claim it is a "great little radio project for students". They forgot to mention it was for MIT engineering students.

I purchased this item to practice soldering. The parts of very small and you need a magnifying glass to determine which pieces go where. But if you follow the directions to the letter you’ll have no problem putting this item together. Don’t purchase this item if you were expecting stereo quality sound.

The QR code links to a VERY helpful set of instructions. Soldering went smoothly if you can handle the surface mount 16-pin FM tuner IC. All of the other soldering was laid out with plenty of space. The battery holder would be much better if it used two bolts instead of just one to keep it in place. When completed, the radio tuned in most of the usual stations in this area. But the minimum volume was too loud, and other volumes were excessive. The speaker mounts so close to the PCB that the diaphragm cannot move correctly and the sound is muffled, so some space must be created between the speaker and the PCB. Even with a better speaker mount the audio was still muddy and not very clear. It's a functional radio, but not great for listening.