I Wonder How Many People Here Have Used These, Probably on a First Electronics Project?

[Visitor]

I'll bet a lot of people probably used some of these on a first electronics project long ago. I did, and you may be able to guess what the project was.

Got any stories?

These are still available today, out of cheaper material of course! Newark has nearly 2,000 in stock, at 33 cents a piece. The drawing shows some vestige of a tab, but the pictures I've seen don't show a tab.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

I thought they were use in the Radio Shack sets such as these:

But they used springs.

I actually can't remember what I used them for or what they came in.

 

[Visitor]

The Radio Shack kits had cheap imitations....little coiled spring posts. They sort of worked, but not nearly as well.

 

[unclejed613]

my grandfather had an older version of the "project kit".... not from RS.... EICO i think, that had tubes and tube sockets, and lots of other parts mounted on a heavy piece of cardboard with the Fahnestock clips for making connections, and yes they were much more reliable connections than the round springs.
the round springs tend to build up a little bit of corrosion in damp climates.

 

[Visitor]

Yep, Fahnestock clips. I first used them (and maybe the only time) on a Cub Scout project.

On the project, I also learned how to make Western Union splices from my dad's friend the TV repair man.

 

[schmitt trigger]

I also had a similar 150-in-one electronics experimenters kit.

It used springs though.

 

[Visitor]

One of my first projects was building a crystal radio in the Cub Scouts. Fahnestock clips were used for the antenna and ground connections and to connect the earpiece. It looked a lot like the picture shown here.

 

[Pommie]

Never come across those before, the inferior spring type yes. I'm guessing pushing it down allows you to place wires in the loop which are gripped when the pressure is released. I built a similar crystal radio and listened to the first moon landing on it - showing my age now.

Mike.

 

[billybob]

I checked these on eBay/Amazon, pretty expensive for what they are. Are they discontinued?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I checked these on eBay/Amazon, pretty expensive for what they are. Are they discontinued?

I presume they are American only?, I've never even seen or heard of them until this thread.

 

[Visitor]

I'm surprised, based, on the name, that these are a US invention, patented in 1903 and revised in 1907.

In the 1905 edition of the The American Telephone Journal, there are numerous ads for Fahnestock clips. Here are but a small sample of the ads.

Fahnestock clips are a product of the vacuum tube age. I guess they are still used in some school science programs.

 

[sarahMCML]

I had a kit for Christmas back in the early '60s where each component was mounted on a plastic carrier. The kit was supplied with paper overlays which each had a particular circuit on it. This was laid onto a perforated board with holes in about a half inch grid, and each carrier was linked with wires using clips very similar to those Fahnestock ones. I'm in England, by the way, and it had OC44, 71 & OA81's in it!

 

[LegoTekFan486]

Those kits you all mentioned were before my time. However, I can't help but think I've seen these before, somewhere. Unfortunately, I can't for the life of me remember where I saw them.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I'm surprised, based, on the name, that these are a US invention, patented in 1903 and revised in 1907.

Why?, America is full of names from all over the world, due to their (wise) early immigration policy - whereas in the UK you expect 'Smith' and 'Brown' etc. I never expect anything so pedestrian from the USA. And of course they imported some serious brains over the centuries - Einstein, Tesla etc.

To be fair, I wouldn't even have a clue where Fahnestock originates, and the USA would probably be my first thought - without cheating (and using google), and noticing the NY address, I'd 'guess' at Dutch?, from New Amsterdam.

 

[Visitor]

I might have thought it a German name, but they are not named after the inventor Mr. Schade.

 

[unclejed613]

Fahnestock clips are a product of the vacuum tube age.

just a simple piece of tin plated stamped metal can be SOOOO useful... pure genius... saw in one or more ads there they were giving away free samples...

 

[MalcolmZA]

I also had a similar 150-in-one electronics experimenters kit.

It used springs though.

Springs and wire clips shaped a little like a a narrow OHM symbol?
All pushed through a peg board.
Was the Philips Electronic Engineer Kit.
That got me started.

MalcolmZA

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Springs and wire clips shaped a little like a a narrow OHM symbol?
All pushed through a peg board.
Was the Philips Electronic Engineer Kit.
That got me started.

Likewise, if I recall correctly it had an AF116 and an AC126? - basically an RF and an Audio, both Germanium.

 

[Lo_volt]

Lionel and American Flyer train sets had them for connecting wires from the power supply to the rails. A specialized clip would clip onto the O or S gauge tracks. The clip would have Fahnestock clips that you would clip the wire to the transformer onto.

This pic from the product page on Amazon. Lionel called them Lockon's.

 

[Visitor]

I read that Lionel had used them, but I didn't know it was a gizmo the clipped on to the track. Very cool.