Klutz - Gotcha Gadgets product reviews

As soon as I first saw this I knew that this was a useful tool to annoy parents with. I thought, hey! I could build my own machine complete with motion sensors and door alarms. I took a look through the book to check how hard it was to build the machine. As I expected the instructions were relatively simple. However when I opened the pack the bits and pieces of the machine were already ready-made. But I still got to change the settings and fiddle with the wires. I also got the case and case covers that countered this.

When I had finished the simple machine and made it a motion sensor I discovered a few problems in the speaker. When the gadget was triggered the speaker would continue to make sounds endlessly until I removed then replaced the battery. The device didn't work properly until I put it into the dark and then it wouldn't work at all! The door alarm setting worked well until the metal started to bend and it went on for 3 times. The push button setting barely worked at all and often went off without anyone pushing the button. However I still enjoyed using this gadget to annoy my parents and sibling.

The book explained all the science of the different modes and how they work in a simple way. The gadget itself is a little disappointing because of its malfunctions but is still rather fun to mess around with. The book is very detailed yet is so in a simple way without all the complex scientific stuff. I recommend this kit to any budding trouble-maker interested in how electrical currents work and who is over 8 years old.

OK, when I looked at the kit the first time I thought "Wow, finally a kit where I can assemble the bits and make a gadget!", so there was a tiny bit of disappointment when I found out that the circuit board and everything was all assembled, but the fact that I could switch a few wires around and put them in different casings countered that disappointment. I took a brief flick through the pages of the book at first to assess the difficulty of the instructions, but, as expected with this being a kid's book, the directions were fairly easy.

When I first made the "simple gadget" which is the starting piece for any gadget in this book, I found that the sound player had a bit of trouble, sometimes the sounds wouldn't play, then other times the sounds would cut off after a few seconds, and other times they played perfectly, so that was a small problem. I also found that the door alarm worked well, but every time it activated, the sound went on 3 times instead of 1, and the light sensor and push button hardly worked at all!!!!

The facts in the book were informative, they described how the gadgets worked in a simple and fun way, but that was about the only good of this book, unfortunately. I have to say that now I am very disappointed in this book, and that's saying something, as this is the only negative review I've written in ages, so I do not recommend this product, it costs a bit to much for it's value, and it doesn't work properly, therefore lowering the fun factor. All I can do is give my honest opinion, and this is it.

Well I took one look at this set and thought how perfect it would be for Miss Six who loves this sort of stuff. She is a bit of a "looking with her hands not her eyes" girl so this is right up her alley. It is not mine so perfect for a bit of one on one time with dad!

This kit comes with a great little instruction booklet, though it was a bit confusing for Miss Six who thought she got to make cars! Anyway once they had got into it Miss Six loved it. She was very proud showing me all the sounds and lights she could make with it and all the different ways to use it. Dad thought it was great and a good way to see how electrical currents work. This is a great science tool and certainly a lot of fun. I think when Miss Six is a bit older she will love using this to play tricks on us.

This is recommended for ages eight years and up and I would recommend it for this age. Because it is electrical it is best not left around for younger siblings so we have had to get this up high out of the little misses reach. It wouldn't take much for it to get broken. A perfect gift for an inquisitive young boy at Christmas or if you want a good way of explaining and demonstrating electrical currents and how things work.