The very first kit I remember was housed in a metal project box about the size of a large dictionary. This was the early 80's or possibly the late 70's. I was

The very first kit I remember was housed in a metal project box about the size of a large dictionary. This was the early 80's or possibly the late 70's. I was very young at the time, but I still remember it fairly well. The heavy box was open on the bottom, and contained a homemade DC power supply (transformer, voltage rectifier, etc) to power the "project area" on top of the box. The project area contained 3 different-sized breadboards, maybe two dozen red and green LED's, some sort of buzzer, a couple of toggle switches, and a push-button switch. Dad supplied me with some wire (with stripped ends). I could place one end of the wire into a slot on the breadboard, and connect it to another location, and then manipulate the switches/buttons to either light up an LED or cause the buzzer to buzz...or both. This may sound simple and boring, but to me it was pretty awesome. Years later, when I was in middle school, I made a homemade project that would deliver a harmless, but painful electric shock to my friends fingertips. It was nothing more than a transformer, a push-button switch, and a battery, mounted in a small box. On top of the box were two square metal pads that I had cut from an old Crisco can. My victim would place their index and middle fingers onto the two metal pads while I pressed and released the switch.