New into Electronics and Robotics! What Kit Should I buy Next?

I first would like to say hello, I am new to the forum and new the world of electronics and robotics, I've always been more in the Software side of technology and its really exiting to learn something new, I hope I can learn something and maybe someday help someone :slight_smile:

Now to the chase,
Like I said I am basically a noob when it comes to all this about electronics and such, I recently got interested because my dad was an Engineer and he has a lot of cool pictures of robots that he built years ago, and he was teaching me the basics when I was younger but plans changed when he passed away.
To start myself into electronics I went to RadioShack and I bought the Arduino Starter Kit with the Arduino Uno Micro-controller, I've been learning the basics from it :slight_smile: and I also have the most recent edition of the book "Getting Started With Arduino"
My friend noticed that I got really exited about all this and he got me as a present the "Basic Stamp Activity Kit" thinking that he bought me a robot kit lol
So I already opened it and it is really informative and I think I am going to learn a lot from it (Or at least I am going to have a good Base to start into a more Intermediate Level)
After I finish the Arduino "Getting Started" Book and the Basic Stamp Activity Kit I am planing to buy a Robot Kit (The Reason of this Thread) but there are SO MANY OPTIONS! I have no idea which one to get! (I would buy the parts and build it myself from scratch but I don't think I am ready for that yet)
This are the ones that I find more Appealing to me:

http://letsmakerobots.com/start?page=1 < They Basically have a Tutorial in how to build a robot and they give you the webpages of stores that sell their Kits
Lego Mindstorms < I think that legos are really awesome and I would like to try it maybe
Shop Our Online Store or Find a Robotics Retailer Near You - EZ-Robot < This thing looks AMAZING and I think this would be my first option.
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Robots/AllRobots/tabid/128/ProductID/302/List/0/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName <The Boe Bot! it seems a really cool project to start off and I even read that you can add an arduino shield to make it compatible with and arduino microcontroller!
Search: 3 results found for "rovera" The Rover Robot from Arduini and Makershed!! I think this one is pretty good too!

and well those are my favorites! what do you think? which one should I get after I get more experience?
and do you have a recommendation? or maybe another kit that you can recommend? Thank You everyone. :slight_smile:

(I am sorry for my grammar, English is not my native language)

I'll suggest the EZ-Robot kit if you're interested in making robots.

jeffmorris:
I'll suggest the EZ-Robot kit if you're interested in making robots.

Thanks for your Answer :slight_smile:
Great, but why would you choose it over the other ones?

If you're going to build a robot that uses a lot of servos, EZ-Robot kit is better than other kits because it has 20 servo ports. Lego Mindstorms kits have only three or four servo/motor ports. Arduino and BASIC Stamp kits have a limited number of servo ports.

jeffmorris:
If you're going to build a robot that uses a lot of servos, EZ-Robot kit is better than other kits because it has 20 servo ports. Lego Mindstorms kits have only three or four servo/motor ports. Arduino and BASIC Stamp kits have a limited number of servo ports.

Ohhhh thanks I didn't know that.


Any other thoughts? anyone? :stuck_out_tongue:

Hello and welcome to the forum!

There are so many things you can do the options are almost unlimited. I suggest you first press on with doing the examples in the "Getting Started" book you mentioned. Ideas may spring to mind from that.

I would formulate a clear idea (not necessarily today) about what you want to do, then the appropriate purchase to achieve that may be clearer. Do you need wheels, tracks, hands, sensors, radio control, battery power, etc.?

Some pretty cool projects are made with minimal parts (TV Begone for example). Others involve music (eg. MIDI), graphics (eg. LEDs), motors, controllers and so on. Maybe you have a cat. Maybe you want to automatically feed it when you are away for the day. The exact things you need to buy depend on what you really want to achieve.