I have spent the morning between the Farnell, Digi-Key and Opitec websites, suffering from the paradox of choice before the range of input sensors and outputs which are available. Does anyone have a recommendation for a beginner's electronics kit that contains a range of stuff one might want to put together an electronics project - perhaps with inputs like accelerometer, proximity sensor, pressure sensor and outputs like a 7 segment display, some LEDs, etc. I have the basic kit which I got with my Arduino Uno (the "Make: Getting started with Arduino" kit), and I've exhausted it at this point. I've been raiding old kids toys to get motors, sensors, speakers and that kind of thing, but I'm still very much in learning mode. And I'd like to show the kids the range of possibilities out there.
After buying my initial Uno kit from Jaycon systems, and just getting a bag of parts with no labels and sparse howtos on the site, I have switched to generally buying only from places that have complete sketches and such. I recently bought some stuff from yourdunio.com because one of the owners (Terry King) hangs out here and helps people. I see he has two kits that you might be interested in:
In addition to yourduino, I like the following sites, which are USA based, so I don't have the long wait time for shipping from China (obvioiusly if you are located in a different country, try to find a supplier that is local). They are mostly geared towards robots, etc. so they have a lot of selection in motors and gears, and have a lot of robot kits if you are interested.
Rather than general-purpose kits, with just a bunch of components and a breadboard, you should also consider the more advanced, ready-to-build, kits, like my own Wise Clock 4.
Thank you all for the suggestions! I already have an Arduino Uno, otherwise the arduino-direct and sparkfun kits looked great! And I may well end up shopping there for parts, if shipping is reasonable to France.
dneary:
Thank you all for the suggestions! I already have an Arduino Uno, otherwise the arduino-direct and sparkfun kits looked great! And I may well end up shopping there for parts, if shipping is reasonable to France.
Many thanks for the feedback from everyone!
Dave.
Having two uno's will allow you to experiment easily with uC 2 uC communication with SPI, I2C, and serial...
I have my own favorite store with the best prices I've seen ANYWHERE... and I shop a lot... Electrodragon go and just look at the prices, I've spent several hundred dollars there and there's nothing I ever felt a rip-off about. All high quality and prices that truly reflect the REAL Value of the parts not some Shenzhen Thief that thinks it's easy to get rich off the "Yanks"... Some complete ... was selling 2N3772's for $5.00 ea.... when they are 2.72 on Newark/Farnel... Great replacement for a 2N3055 (Direct drop in part that truly has the ratings claimed by the '3055) I shop everything... I might well look at a half a hundred 'offers' before I make a purchase. I found a Dremel "like" tool for "28.00 (US Shipper) and bought it, I found a tool of Excellent Quality, as good as Dremel used to be 20 years ago (I wouldn't buy Dremel on a bet, they're crap today... didn't used to be though) It's a Great little hand grinder with a cable extension and a hanger for the workbench that makes using and storing the tool nice... The trick is in 2 parts... Don't place your self in the "Need" for a part so you Have to have it and second plan your projects so you can work with the long lead times. I do and for a week every month Every Day is surprise day. I chuckle at what I've saved by shopping carefully. I found 5V 16 Mhz Pro Mini's for $10.00 ea, They're really nice with those Stackable headers and a cheap FTDI Card makes a nearly full Uno... but better. They even come with the "Blink" sketch loaded and working... I live about 20 miles south of Los Angeles California and I found out that the Major issue is Customs, much of what I purchase stays there for up to two weeks... If it is shipped to San Francisco it gets here in 8 to 10 days from time of purchase. I can now buy and do all I dreamed of when I worked for a living... even Sleep ALL Day If I like...
I've built and designed many elctronic circuits in my life.
I bought my starter kit from Sparkfun last year and that was all I needed to get me started with Arduino.
Later on I bought my second UNO and a Mega2560. I've already deployed one of the UNO's (pleonasm) and the Mega for controlling my model railroad layout. The remaining UNO is for experimenting & prototyping.
I definitely Sparkfun's Inventor's Kit. Many parts, 14 Lessons, well explained, scripts and templates included, more scripts available online. A must for Arduino beginners.
I'm sure there must be equivalent starter kits at Adafruit and other stores.
