ElencoRegulated Variable Power Supply - 0-15 Volts (Assembly Required)

This is a basic kit that doesn't require a lot of expertise in soldering or electronics in general. The included instructions are very good -- but unlike other Elenco kits -- it would have been nice if they included more detailed section-by-section analysis and possible testing areas. I understand this is a very small project but the extra lessons would have been appreciated.Now this is not a very complicated design and the circuit board is quite small. I think there's probably less than 15 components to assemble. The soldering is only a small part of the kit. Without rushing I built the board in about an hour. Now if only the rest of the kit would have gone as smoothly. Grrr.I found the soldering to the be the easiest part of the entire kit. My parts went in quite neatly and [for once] I cleaned my soldering iron tip regularly so the solder would flow perfectly -- in which they all did. However, the external components were not as smooth. I had issues with the case screws. The nut that holds the pot down did not fit the threads on the pot. The nuts that fit over the posts were also difficult -- but at least they did fit.The worst part of the kit was the quality of the solder traces. They are extremely fragile. My LED somehow got stuck in the case hold and was ripped off the board (with hardly any force.) The pot solder pads were also very fragile. The weight of the pot was too much for them and they started cracking.I really wanted this kit to work but it didn't end up that way. I managed to piece it together but never did get a stable voltage output.I think anyone interested in building kits like this should still purchase this kit. My advice would be to finish the board work but DO NOT assemble the kit in the case. Set up the transformer and binding posts along with your circuit board in a safe testing jig.A couple of suggestions: use test points on the circuit board & 'teach' users about each section of the circuit board. It's explained in text but a more detailed walk-through would have really helped. There was no mention of any filtering on the primary side of the transformer. In the schematic diagram, you show LM317 as a 3-pin package with Pin 1 being in the center and pins 2 & 3 on the sides; however, the reality is that Pin 1 is on the far left of the actual part. [Note: I see online that this drawing is common for this regulator chip -- seems rather confusing to do it this way.] Include simple solder-type ring terminals or forks for the binding posts. Test fit the nuts to their respective parts prior to shipping.

The power supply when assembled is excellent. Actually looks like a guitar pedal from afar, nice small size. I've built this kit, as well as the Elenco XP-720 kit. The XP-720 is obviously a little more involved, and takes a lot more time to build (but well worth it). This kit took less than an hour to build, even with the problems I had. A manual that I found online for this kit was for an older version, which showed everything soldered point to point with no PCB. My kit, to my surprise, had a PCB (printed circuit board).The reason for 4/5 stars is because of missing/wrong parts.First off, one of the binding post nuts had messed up threads. I didn't notice this until I had tried to thread it on. I ended up having to re-thread the plastic binding post and use the applicable nut. Luckily I had one laying around that worked.Second, one of the capacitors was completely missing. 220uF capacitor didn't come with my kit. So I ended up using a 470uF that I had laying around. If you don't have spare parts laying around, you would have to call Elenco or make a run to radioshack.The manual mentions a 470uF capacitor, which was no where to be found. Instead, there was 1000uF capacitor in the kit. Not a reason to knock stars off, but it seems like someone was not paying attention when they put the parts in the box. I had no such issues with the XP-720 kit.I used a blue LED instead of the included red LED, looks cool.One thing to mention, turning the POT to zero brings the output into the mV range, but it doesn't actually turn the power supply off. You must plug and unplug it. A future modification might be to add a switch, but I don't mind it for now. The case is made of plastic by the way.

This Elenco "Variable Voltage Power Supply Kit" is a decent practical starter kit and is overall good quality. I have been teaching my teen son electronics and have looked for projects to help reenforce the theory with practical applications, so this kit was an easy choice.The kit has 19 electronic components (transformer, capacitors, resistors, IC regulator, etc), printed circuit board, various connectors (screws, washers, etc), a decent case, power cord, label, solder, and instructions. This is more than just a "Insert Part A in location B1" type kit as it actually teaches what each part of the circuit does and includes both a lesson and quiz to test your knowledge. Another useful section shows the wave forms that should be seen on an oscilloscope at various locations on the circuit board, which is good if you don't have one (we do, but it is not needed to build this kit).The kit does not have a display, so you will need a multimeter to confirm the output voltage along the adjustable scale. We are adding  New 2 Wire Blue DC 4.5-30V LED Panel digital display Voltage Meter Voltmeter By Buyincoins  so we know at a glance. It also does not have an On/Off power switch, so we are adding  SPST Rocker Switch RadioShack 275-0694 (Red) . Both of these additions will be easy to put in and will be a good confidence building experience for my son in learning how to modify existing circuits.Overall, this is a surprisingly good kit that makes a worthy beginner's project.CFH

no problem to assemble it and works great

Decent product. Fun DIY project. The PCB traces are very low quality and burn easily, be careful not to ruin the metal contacts with your soldering iron.

Instructions were very good and easy to understand. Basic solder skills required. easy to assemble. Finished assembly and used a meter to check output...actually goes up to just over 18V DC.

Was very happy to do this project it was so simple to assemble

Loved putting this together! Works well to :)