Arduino Kits - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Michael Kuzie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 05:41:49 am
content: Hi sorry if this is in the wrong place i'm new to the forms! I have been doing electronics for a year now but have never had my own equipment for home, I'm now finally buying my own tools and hardware and i'm interested in buying an Arduino starter kit and latter a Raspberry PI. I don't have any previous knowledge in coding and I will be buying books with the kit I choose (Arduino Cookbook and maybe Makes book). Anyways I've rounded it down to two main kits, the official Arduino kit, Makes ultimate Arduino micro controller pack. I can't decide which to go with because the official kit is official and has good reviews but the projects bore me, on the other hand Makes version has better projects but doesn't even come with a usb to usb b cable! Anyways if anyone can give suggestions on which is the best kit of the two or which other kits are better that would be great!Thanks,Michael Kuzie

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 06:07:51 am
content: Quote from: Michael Kuzie on June 30, 2014, 05:41:49 amNot clear exactly what is the great value of "official"? The only thing unique about the official kit is the book full of projects that bore you.QuoteWow. Do you live in some isolated part of the planet where you can't get USB cables? I have seen them for sale in little kiosks in the middle of Africa where they don't even have electricity.

author: GeoffS
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 06:11:22 am
content: Just pick up a cheap Arduino clone from eBay - $15 - $25 depending on model.Get a couple of USB cables while you're there.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 06:14:30 am
content: I was going to suggest the same thing that GeoffS recommended. However, if you are starting from scratch with nothing at home, getting a kit where all the parts and bits and bobs are bundled together may be a significant leg-up. Especially if you aren't familiar with all the components and where they might be available, etc.

author: bwat
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 07:26:56 am
content: Quote from: Michael Kuzie on June 30, 2014, 05:41:49 amThose books will not teach you how to program. Do yourself a favour and buy:B. W. Kerninghan, D. M. Ritchie. "The C Programming Language. 2nd Edition." 1988, Prentice Hall.

author: Rasz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 07:32:45 am
content: click 'buy it now' on thishttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Mini-atmega328-5V-16M-Arduino-Compatible-CP2102-USB-2-0-to-UART-TTL-module-/310941830171?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item486593cc1bwhile you are evaluating other options, it will show up on your doorstep in ~2 weeks, but is probably the cheapest arduidiotino you can get right now and will be enough to blink a led

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 01:56:34 pm
content: Quote from: Rasz on June 30, 2014, 07:32:45 amYup, you can even get em cheaper, I have four or five that I got for a $1.25 each or so, and if you search for arduino kit on ebay and organize from price lowest to highest you can probably find some stuff people are trying to clear out with an acution starting at a couple bucks, or even a cent for a knockoff mega.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 03:01:16 pm
content: If you start from scratch, don't have components laying around and can afford it, a kit that includes components, circuit diagrams and sample code is a good choice. The official Arduino kit look reasonable with a large selection of componentshttp://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoStarterKitGalleryand sub $100 price on Amazon. You will be able to have plenty of progress with this kit alone.http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoStarterKitGalleryIf money is an issue, you can buy just the stuff you need and cut the cost using clones from ebay (the ones I got did work, only problem is that you wait 2-3 weeks from delivery). For example an Arduino UNO, a compatible LCD, LEDs, sensors, resistors, solderless breadboard, etc. This will give you ideas for Arduino peripherals and projectshttps://www.sparkfun.com/categories/20(most are also available on ebay).Once you master the basics you can move to bare bone boards (e.g. Arduino Nano or Pro Mini) or design your custom Arduino based PCB's.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 03:35:59 pm
content: I got a seeedstudio kit a while back but their web documentation was incomplete with sections like "making music" that were completely empty. Pretty much everything in the kit could be bought at Tayda for much less (except for the servo)http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/Sidekick-Basic-Kit-for-Arduino-p-775.htmlThe resistors and capacitors can be bought from Tayda for a penny each.The LEDs are 2 to 3 cents each. They have a picture on their side of the resistor chart so you could print that.Leaving you with this:The breadboard they have usually goes for a dollar or two on Aliexpress, or you can get a much larger one for $4.59 from Tayda.http://www.taydaelectronics.com/830-point-solder-less-plug-in-breadboard.htmlJumper wires, $3.99 from Tayda, but you can get cheaper from Aliexpress or ebay most likely.http://www.taydaelectronics.com/premium-jumper-wires-male-male-300mm-pack-of-40.htmlThe LDR, Potentiometer, thermistor, and RGB LED all can be purchased at Tayda for about a dollar total.Anyway, you get the idea.I'd much more like to see an Arduino kit with shift registers, 74series logic, I2C I/O expanders, sensors etc. Stuff that is pretty cool to play with.You can also pick up some ultrasonic distance detectors and PIR sensors from Aliexpress for really cheap and those are fun to play with on the arduino.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 03:44:10 pm
content: As for the 16x2 LCD in the kits, you can get them for a few dollars on ebay or find some piece of electronic equipment and pull it.Also keep an eye on the Noritake VFD sample thread in the buy/sell area of the forum and grab one of those if they have a free one again. Those sell via retail for 50 to 80 dollars each and Noritake from time to time samples them. I've got 2 of those (different items).Also keep an eye on the TI site especially on their Launchpad kits (MSP430 and TIVA C particularly) They are similar to the Arduino but TI frequently sells them for much cheaper. You can program them using Energia which is a port of the Arduino software for the TI microcontrollers. The MSP430 is most Arduino-like as it is a DIP packaged chip that can be removed and put on a breadboard. The TIVA C is more like smaller version of the Arduino Due in that it has an ARM processor on it.You may also see references to a Stellaris launchpad, it's basically the previous version of the TIVA C and the name was changed due to copyright issues or something like that. If you hold them side by side, they are nearly indistinguishable and all the Stellaris source code should work exactly the same on the TIVA C. (A few features were added on the TIVA C)

author: Rigby
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 03:49:10 pm
content: Quote from: bwat on June 30, 2014, 07:26:56 amehh, that's a fine book, but he should start with the wiring "language" / platform, first. Then, when the need arises, learn C. Nothing will throw a person off of programming faster than throwing them "read the Kerninghan Ritchie book, that's all you need."

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 03:57:02 pm
content: Actually, discovering what you need (from experimentation), deciding what you really need (comparing different parts and approaches), and then testing the parts purchased (did I read the data sheets right?) are part of the funnest and part of the education of playing with it.

author: XOIIO
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 08:24:51 pm
content: Quote from: Stonent on June 30, 2014, 03:44:10 pmAnd hopefully they use the Hitachi controller, or serial (I found one that used serial once)

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 10:09:36 pm
content: Quote from: XOIIO on June 30, 2014, 08:24:51 pmI pulled one from a desk phone before that was just glass with a strip of ribbon cable bonded to it. Wherever the controller was, it was elsewhere in the phone.

author: kingofkya
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 10:32:55 pm
content: You might want to check out theses kits fairly good value. But you will always want the shiny new chip/sensor etc so you maybe better off buying parts specifically for what you want to do.http://www.elecrow.com/arduino-compatible-c-109.htmlAlso for low cost components thees guys are fairly good.http://www.taydaelectronics.com/Also in my experances to the us DHL will get parts to the door in 2-3 days for both sites.

author: aroby
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 10:55:04 pm
content: I bought a kit a couple of years ago from Amazon which I thought was pretty good value to get startedhttp://amazon.com/Arduino-Ultimate-Starter-Includes-Instruction/dp/B00BT0NDB8. The booklet that comes with it is decent, and my kids can follow it which is a bonus. There is no programming tutorial though - everything is downloaded and only a few commands are discussed.There are plenty of C tutorials online. You really don't need to have a lot of C knowledge to get started, so K&R would be overkill for what you need (although it is a great reference).Anthony

author: Rick Law
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2014, 11:58:07 pm
content: One appeal of kits is when the buyer/user yet not know enough to determine what is necessary and what may be good to have at hand.If you fall into that category: now you know the content of this kit, you log into Tayda, as others already pointed out, you can get everything except the motor and the plastic box from them for much much less.I am sure other member on this forum will help complete this list by altering or adding to this:Resistors:300 - 360 ohms500 ohms1 k ohms2 k ohms3 k ohms10 k ohms22 k ohms47 k ohms100 k ohms220 k ohms470 k ohms1 meg10 megEach is 10 for 12cents.Trimpots (I like 3296, you can use that on your breadboard)100 ohms1K2K5K10K100KCeremicaCapacitors22pf (need to if you want to put an ATMega on the bread board, get a 16Mhz crystal also)100pf (get more than 10)Electrolytic Capacitors (get a couple each)1uf 2.2uf 4.7uf, 10uf22uf, 33uf, 47uf220uf, 330uf, 470ufDiodes1n914, just one or two to play with, then you can decide what else you may need as you learn more.Rick

author: Michael Kuzie
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2014, 04:39:21 am
content: Thank you for all the replies and not being to harsh on me! There where a lot of good things mentioned but I would prefer to buy a really good kit for more of an ease of use thing which you don't necessarily get from cheaper kits. The suggestion to get C programming language was very useful and I will most likely be purchasing it with the Arduino Cookbook.Thanks again,Michael Kuzie