Monday, January 27, 2014

In Progress - Article: Arduino Starter Kits

I know I've said that I am new to Arduino, but I don't think I mentioned that I got my starter kit (I am purposefully not saying which one) just about three weeks ago, Jan 3rd. At that time, I searched for a comparison of starter kits, but either there does not seem to be one, or I couldn't find it. Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to write a comparison for my blog. However, it's turned into much more of an ambitious endeavor than I thought. I am going to write it, but it's just going to take a while. I hope when it's completed that it will be good enough to share in other places, rather than just my "newbie" blog.

The starter kits I am currently planning on reviewing (in no particular order) are:
  1. Arduino - The Arduino Starter Kit
  2. Makershed - 
    1. Getting Started with Arduino Kit v3.0
    2. Ultimate Arduino Microcontroller Pack
    3. Microcontroller Quick Launch Pack
  3. Seeedstudio - ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino
  4. Sparkfun - Sparkfun Inventors Kit v3.1
  5. Adafruit 
    1. ARDX - v1.3 Experimentation Kit for Arduino
    2. Starter Pack for Arduino
    3. Budget Pack for Arduino
  6. Fritzing - Creator Kit, available in America from www.seeedstudio.com.(Note: I originally dismissed this kit thinking it was childish, but after giving the Fritzing Creator Kit a second look I decided it deserves a spot on the review list.)
  7. Sainsmart
    1. Uno R3 Inventor Kit with Joystick
    2. Uno R3 Starter Kit
  8. Osepp
    1. 101 Basic Starter Kit
    2. 201 Arduino Basics Starter Kit
    3. Arduino Basics Companion Kit
  9. Sunfounder (ebay) Various flavors of kits (with and without SunFounder branded Arduino)
  10. Sintron (ebay) - Various flavors of kits.
12. Assembling your own. With some thoughts on whether to  purchase an Arduino branded board, a domestic clone, or clone from Asia??

If you know of any other kits out there that you think should be on the list please let me know.



Projects in Progress:
Writing:
         Picking an Arduino Starter Kit for Newbies (5% completed)

Arduino:
         Mailbox Notifier (25% completed)
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2014 at 10:55 AM

    I am pretty sure you also evaluated a 300-1 project kit from radio shack purchased in the 90's? It may not have been an adruino kit and it probably did not have microchips but I think the theory of capacitors and transistors is the same across platforms?

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2014 at 8:08 PM

      True, I did evaluate the 300-1 project kit. A wonderful way to learn beginning electronics! But the title of the article is Arduino Starter Kits, so unfortunately the project kit does not make the list.

      For anyone interested in learning electronics I recommend "Make: Electronics" by Charles Platt. This is a Learning by Discovery book so each chapter starts with a shopping list of items easily found on-line, and then teaches by doing. This book is the project kit for today's internet age.

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