So you want to learn to wire? Check this out!

[Cancer]

Radio Shack sucks, I know. I work here. I work here a lot. I've worked here for three years, I'm a store manager and when it comes to actual electronics, Radio Shack is the most useless fudging store ever.

That being said, check this out!! This item has been around for FOREVER and frankly, I'm a bit shocked that no one's mentioned it before:

Radio Shack part #28-027
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=3814337

This thing is a breadboard, it's a power supply (with varying voltages available), it's got speaker leads, it's got LED support! Need a potentiometer to get your RGB's just right? IT'S GOT THREE! Push buttons (SPST), DPDT Switches, resistors, transformers, books worth of information on reading wiring diagrams with detailed instructions for actually building them!

Now here's the kicker, most Radio Shack stores will not carry this item on hand because they do not have to. Most Radio Shack stores won't carry parts like this unless you DEMAND it. This item retails for $69.99, stores can pick it up at a cost of exactly $41.34. Knowing that, lever these meatsacks into cutting you a deal! You can do it!!

[Bothrops]

Heh... That's an updated version of one I had many years ago as a kid. I looked at these just before the holidays in Dec, pondering whether my 6-yr-old would get much out of it. I did see one on the shelf at the local RS, but decided not to pay that much for it. I can't help but wonder how to approach a manager with the kind of offer you suggest.

Just as an aside, that spring-connect design is used in a series of kits by Elenco, which are easily sourced from a bunch of places online.

[Cancer]

Just start haggling! I don't know how most corporate Radio Shack's handle policy, I just work at a solo franchise store where we pretty much just carry their junk and make our own rules ... and there's still enough HAM/CB radio operators in this neck of the woods that it's actually still relevant for us to carry stuff for the every-day DIY repairs rolled up with that.

I just thought, because I actually ordered one of these through the store for myself, "what an amazing resource. I could actually learn all of this stuff without asking a TON of annoying questions all the time on the forums!"

Pro-active and at the same time, the testing feature of this educational device easily turns it into a life-long tool.

[Bothrops]

Pro-active and at the same time, the testing feature of this educational device easily turns it into a life-long tool.

Yes, in fact using the springs to test out stuff, even saber electronics, would be pretty convenient. I'm considering finding some similar springs and laying them out on a grid just for that purpose.