Overview of the Logiblocs Spytech kit radio designer

The Spytech kit from the Logiblocs line of radio constructor kits is an opportunity to introduce children to the basics of elementary electrical engineering, making it boring - outplaying the use of listening bugs and security systems.

• Kit Contents
• Joining parts and blocks
• “In fact, we just turn on the light!”
• The principle of playing with Logiblocks "Spytech kit"
• What would I change?
• conclusions

Kit Contents

The designer kit contains 10 module blocks and, importantly, sane and detailed instructions in Russian. Instead of a photo or text, the contents of the “Spytech kit” set will be best demonstrated by the picture from the manual:



Ten multi-colored modules of the “Spytech kit” set allow you to create a device for recording and playing a short voice clip (in other words, an MP3 player with a speaker), which is connected to the source power supply (to the battery pack) and is activated in a variety of ways - with the help of a button, a photocell that responds to light, a contact sensor, etc. - how much imagination is enough.

The color of the modules denotes their internal essence:



Actually, four modules should immediately be combined into one - in this form they are used inextricably in any version of the game with the constructor. Consisting of 4 modules, the “voice unit” - the heart of the designer - is a recording device, amplifier, speaker and microphone connected together. You can immediately assemble them into a single line and no longer disconnect them in the future:



You can also safely connect the power supply unit and the blue unit called “Explorer” once and for all - through it the “voice unit” and various types of “activator” switches are connected - photocell, button or contact wire.



The photocell does not work on the principle of detecting light or shadow, but it works when CHANGE of illumination is changed from dark to light, and from light to dark, it does not matter. In other words, if you connect it to the LIGHT circuit, it will turn on the audio module when dimming. And vice versa.



Interestingly, the simplest-looking blue switching unit is smart. This is not just a contact board for the connection, but, in fact, a waiting multivibrator. That is, it is controlled by an impulse of ANY duration (including a very short one) - a quick press of a button, a quick wire closure, a quick change of light / shadow on a photocell. But at the output, it gives power to a LONG pulse sufficient to play a voice recording of any length that the audio module allows.
Unclear? In simple terms, if you wrote down a score from 1 to 10 in the device’s memory, and then pressed the button with a short touch, just enough to play the word “one,” the audio module will still play the full recording duration.

Joining parts and blocks

How the modules are connected is not a trifle, but the most important technical aspect - the longevity of the toy and the positive on communication with it depend on the convenience and reliability of the connection node. Children's electronic and electrical designers have existed for a long time, and I have met various types of switching elements and modules. Consider how this is implemented in the Logiblocks constructor:



But the blocks-modules are unified for all components of the set connectors "father-mother." The connectors are flat, five-pin. For two of them, a voltage of 6 volts from the battery pack goes from block to block, and signals for the rest. The male connectors are made according to the USB principle - the contact part is the protrusion of the printed circuit board inside the unit with conductive tinned tracks. The connector does not have a “key” for protection against incorrect switching on - the protection is implemented the same as in USB - the connector does not fit in the wrong position. Although, if you attach a bad zeal, I think you can shove it ... The connectors are also disconnected, like USB - you just need to pull the blocks in opposite directions with little effort.
The mechanical strength of the connectors is very high - because in addition to the contact function, they also perform a “carrier” - they physically connect the individual modules into a single device. With prolonged use, of course, the strength can weaken and backlash appears, but as of "out of the box" everything is very worthy!



But you don’t need to do this - it’s worth explaining to the child in the first place! An attempt to “bend” a chain of connected blocks, or to sit on it when it is lying on a sofa, will lead to a breakdown of the detachable part of the cases - it is hardly possible to reliably repair them!



By the way, I’ll note how a ham radio - connecting with housing connectors is both an advantage and a disadvantage ... On the one hand, the connectors are convenient and simple, they do not have extra connectors, there is nothing to lose. But when connected by wires, the ends of which, say, are clamped into spring contacts (this technology is often used in children's electronic designers), a better understanding of what is happening is that the wires show the essence of the connections and the signal path much more clearly ...

“In fact, we just turn on the light!”

If the child has elementary concepts about electricity and is familiar with the circuitry of at least an electric flashlight or a doorbell, then this section of the review can be skipped and immediately proceed to the section “The principle of playing with Logiblocks”. If you don’t even have basic knowledge, then you should start with a small introductory lecture for your child. Well, if it will be supported by a practical demonstration, but you can do with a felt-tip pen with paper!

Actually, the designer is, for all its internal complexity, extremely simple! Imagine the simplest electrical circuit of three elements - a battery, a switch and a light bulb connected in series? So, Logiblocs “Spytech kit” is, by and large, such a simple chain! Only as a "light bulb" is the "black box" - an MP3 player with a speaker and the ability to record sounds. But, in the complex, he is the same elementary bulb in fact! And from the intrinsic complexity of this “bulb”, the GENERAL complexity of the simplest circuit of the three components does not change.



The game with the designer in terms of the development of thinking and imagination of the child is, in essence, inventing original ways of “lighting the bulb” - turning on the sound of a voice recording. It’s easy for a child to get bored with a simple light bulb or a simple squeaker, but turning on a device that can speak phrases is much more fun!

But it is desirable to start, I repeat, with the simplest circuit with a battery, a light bulb and a switch. If components are available - assemble this circuit, demonstrate how it works. Explain that the current source can be different (a battery, a group of batteries, a battery, an electrical outlet), that a switch can be different (contact sensor, secret contact, wall button, pedal, etc.), and, of course, thousands of options loads - talking device, lamp, heater, electric motor, electromagnet, pump and much, much more. Tell us that the table lamp, fan, electric meat grinder, doorbell have exactly the same pattern. In this case, the child will not only have fun with the designer, but will also project his work on many familiar household electrical appliances, realizing how they work,

Understanding the general structure is very important; if this is not done, the child will be absorbed in recording and playing sounds on the audio module, and there will be no complete understanding of the operation of the circuit. In this case, the designer will turn into a funny toy and will not give a learning effect ...

The principle of playing with Logiblocks "Spytech kit"

- First, 4 batteries are installed in the power supply (AA format, but AAA will go with lumps of foil!). You can immediately attach a conductor switching block intermediary to it.
- Then you assemble the audio module. It would be nice to accompany its assembly with comments, from which the child will understand how most music gadgets work. Stereo system, karaoke, portable boombox, etc.
- Next, you connect an audio unit to the power supply, and write a voice clip into it - a word, phrase, several phrases. Then you need to stop and explain to the child that it is possible to enable sound reproduction in different ways. As an activation organ, you can use a simple button that responds to light or shadow with a photocell, or a contact wire that can be closed anyway - by contacts on the door when it is opened, contacts immersed in water, etc.



Having demonstrated various options for switching on, we need to explain the role of the unit called the “inverter”, which “flips” the command. That is, if the wires connected to the contacts on the door include voice playback when closing (closing), then connected through the inverter, they will activate the system on the contrary - when opening (opening).



There are three options for switching on the audio module in the kit. Button, block with contact wire and photocell:



After the child has understood the principle of operation of the simplest battery-button-light-emitting diode circuitry, and, accordingly, has caught that the Logiblocs “Spytech kit” works according to a related principle, you can put the design kit at his disposal, leaving him to show imagination! It’s good, say, to hide the gadget in the refrigerator: “You promised not to eat after six!” - he will reproachfully tell anyone who opens the door by lighting a photocell with a light on ...

What would I change?

In this section, I will note some of the disadvantages of the designer found during the test - what I would change in the kit, be in the manufacturer's place, and also what you can easily do on your own.

Firstly , it would be nice if the kit included the aforementioned simple instructional circuit from a sequentially connected current source, load and switch, plus the corresponding chapter in the user manual at number 1, explaining the principle of operation of an elementary three-component wiring diagram. However, this is not difficult to do on your own.

Secondly,I would, in the place of the creators of the designer, make the audio module unified. A microphone, speaker, recording device and amplifier are in one unit. Honestly, its assembly does not carry special teaching aspects ... The monolithic version is stronger, more reliable and cheaper, not prone to breaking in connectors, etc.

Thirdly, I would put in a set of more different switching devices that expand the flexibility of the game and the possibility of applying imagination! A few different buttons - with flexible tail contacts combined with clothespin clips, a contact that triggers during a flip, it would be nice to have a sound sensor that responds to a pop or whistle, etc. But you can do some of this yourself, at least by extending the contact wire. With a long wire, the toy will not be so attached to the place, it will become easier to come up with application options! Well, different buttons can be bought on occasion!

conclusions

The designer is well-made and very funny from both the child and the parent point of view. Properly presented, it gives an understanding of the basic foundations of electrical engineering and develops imagination. However, if the "ancestors" of the humanities buy this kit for their child, who does not have the slightest experience in electrical engineering, then, alas, there will be no use ... Without a notorious idea of ​​the circuit of a banal electric flashlight, a child of five, approximately, years (who and oriented by Logiblocs “Spytech kit”), will not receive useful skills and will play with it without understanding the essence of what is happening.



Therefore, in order to realize the full potential of the toy, it is necessary to master it with parents who understand electrical engineering at least at the 8th grade level of the school (or where does Ohm’s law and the simplest electrical engineering go there?) Ideally, studying Logiblocks ( you can buy a constructor here ) is very It is advisable to combine with a book, like this one:



This review was prepared by Eugene Balabas as part of our program for cooperation with authors.

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