[antiRepublicrat]

I remember when tinkering with hardware meant designing your own processing logic, and etching and wirewrapping and soldering your own circuit boards.

When I was a kid I made a binary calculator (add, multiply, XOR, etc.) using the basic parts (transistors, switches, LEDs, etc.) from Radio Shack. I went by one a few years ago, the first time in over a decade, and I found out they don't carry that kind of stuff anymore. Sad, really.

[HAL9000]

Was it the SF-5000?

There was another one I haven't found on Google yet - it was some sort of mechanical contraption made of plastic.

[HAL9000]

I found the older kit - the Digi-Comp. It is still made today!

http://www.mindsontoys.com/kits.htm?dc1_main.htm