What's a good Arduino starter kit?

[smugtronix]

As a beginner, I have mixed feelings about Arduino.  I am far more comfortable with hardware than I am with software, so I would never use the Arduino shield system for final projects, nor would I buy a new devboard for every project I start. I would much rather design my own PCB, concentrating more on the hardware side. The Arduino software library, however, is conducive to the kind of work I do (audio electronics), as there are often excellent building blocks for commonly used subsystems . I would rather modify an existing MIDI control stack than write a new one from scratch. I realize that there are many instances when using the Arduino libraries are completely inappropriate, and I also realize that I will eventually need to learn to write proper code.

[jancumps]

As a beginner, I have mixed feelings about Arduino.  I am far more comfortable with hardware than I am with software, so I would never use the Arduino shield system for final projects, nor would I buy a new devboard for every project I start. I would much rather design my own PCB, concentrating more on the hardware side. The Arduino software library, however, is conducive to the kind of work I do (audio electronics), as there are often excellent building blocks for commonly used subsystems . I would rather modify an existing MIDI control stack than write a new one from scratch. I realize that there are many instances when using the Arduino libraries are completely inappropriate, and I also realize that I will eventually need to learn to write proper code.

you would require a similar amount of software if you didn't use an Arduino. Once you go with a programmable device, you end up coding - with or without dev board.

[smugtronix]

I'm aware of that. By "learning to write proper code", I mean completely writing something from scratch.

[perfect_disturbance]

Personally I've never bought into the arduino (platform or dev board) is to high level for "real engineers" argument. To me it sounds an awful lot like the real programmers argument. http://xkcd.com/378/ . Personally I think arduino is a great tool for alot situations. My general rule is use the highest level of abstraction possible. If you are programming with butterflies you better have a really good reason.

[dentaku]

I guess I just feel that I'll actually get something accomplished if I can work with something that I can control with software because that's more my kinda thing.

I still haven't gotten anything. This weekend I was going to go buy an OSEPP basic starter kit at a real store but they weren't open on Saturday. It's 3 hours away so I guess I'll have to order online because I probably won't be in the city any time soon.
Something that comes with an LCD and some shift registers with some good documentation all in the same package would be nice.

[MrAureliusR]

Best Arduino starter kit? Any kind of Arduino and a hammer.

+2. It's true that we started out "using" other things, so yes we were originally "users", but that's not the point. As someone else mentioned, Arduino users never seem to move on. I'm not even that experienced and people who use Arduinos always seem to have the wrong attitude... instead of getting out the soldering iron and some veroboard "Is there a shield for that?" "When I grew up, I loved LEGO... now using an Arduino is like learning electronics, but it's like LEGO! Awesome!" 

[MatCat]

Best Arduino starter kit? Any kind of Arduino and a hammer.

+2. It's true that we started out "using" other things, so yes we were originally "users", but that's not the point. As someone else mentioned, Arduino users never seem to move on. I'm not even that experienced and people who use Arduinos always seem to have the wrong attitude... instead of getting out the soldering iron and some veroboard "Is there a shield for that?" "When I grew up, I loved LEGO... now using an Arduino is like learning electronics, but it's like LEGO! Awesome!" 

Basically why I said what I said earlier, but you can't discount the learning because of it's format, and then there are those that only want a lego experience too.  Personally I am the type that when I decide to get into something I am going to learn from it to the fullest extent, and I wouldn't be happy or satisfied if I did not feel like I learned exactly how what I was messing with worked, but not everyone is like that either.   I know for me personally I don't think I really would of gotten into electronics without the arduino, I mean I always had a back of the mind interest in electronics, and it took something like the arduino to finally get me to take that step from back of the mind interest to actual hands on, and ultimately it wasn't even the electronics hardware itself that got me, but the programming part of it, since my profession was programming, I always wanted to learn to program hardware but didn't have the knowledge, hardware, or money until the arduino to make it happen, and of course what good is programming a chip if you have no idea how to interface it to something, so bobs your uncle I found the door to electronics .

I think having the semi-mainstream things like arduinos are only a good thing in the long run, sure your mainstream customer base really doesn't get it more then the lego concept, but thats ok because for some statistic of those there are those like me who really open the door into the full world behind it, and not just to electronics, but programming too, there are plenty of people I see with plenty of electronics experience but are just getting into MCU's with no programming experience, and for those things like the Arduino IDE have it;s place to get people up and running and not barraging someone with no practical programming experience with assembly or straight up C/C++ code.

[jancumps]

I wonder how many mechanical engineers have been inspired by Lego in their youth...

[madires]

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but, is the Arduino not just a Atmel Microcontroller wrapped in a convenient software programming environment with a standardised (sort of) hardware layout?

That describes it quite well. And if someone doesn't like the IDE he can Asm or C it directly.

Just the sort of thing that could be accessible to people with a lack of hardware experience. A gateway to further learning or just sufficiently flexible to meet a wide variety of needs. It is cheap and well supported with a thriving community.

Exactly! It's a great starting point for playing with MCUs.

I am mystified as to why so many people think there is something wrong with that.

Maybe black and white thinking?

[Stonent]

It's a prototyping environment but it's cool to see all you can do with MCUs.

Once you've got a project, there's nothing wrong with you peeking inside the header files and seeing what you can pull out and use, then wrap it all up into a night tight program written in AVR C and flash that into another AVR and take your Arduino to your next project.

[sync]

As someone else mentioned, Arduino users never seem to move on. I'm not even that experienced and people who use Arduinos always seem to have the wrong attitude... instead of getting out the soldering iron and some veroboard "Is there a shield for that?" "When I grew up, I loved LEGO... now using an Arduino is like learning electronics, but it's like LEGO! Awesome!" 

I'm an Arduino user. But i'm soldering for more than 30 years. I designed and build Z80 systems ages ago. Programming in machine code. No stinking assembler. Is that hardcore enough?

For me Ardunio is just an easy to use environment. It has it's limitations, but then i just use plain C in it. No problem. Maybe i will switch to a plain C environment some day. But until now i'm to lazy to do this. Atmel Studio is not an option, because i'm not a windows user.

And nothing against that LEGOism. Arduino is not solely about learning electronics.

[dentaku]

"Is there a shield for that?" 

That's actually something that I don't like about the Arduino world.
I just want something that can help me control hardware through software, I don't feel like buying all kinds of extra hardware to attach to it and not learn how it actually works.

If I had an analog synth I would want one that has MIDI ports so I can control it through software too. It's the same thing.

[victor]

I got this kit on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181128993867&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

I liked it, now I will probably look for buying some standalone Atmega, I don't want to buy a arduino board for every project.

[madires]

I got this kit on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181128993867&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

I liked it, now I will probably look for buying some standalone Atmega, I don't want to buy a arduino board for every project.

Looks like a decent kit! Maybe also get more resistors (pull-up/down and for the 7-segments). If you need high clock rates, like 16 or 20MHz, also buy some crystals and 22pF ceramic caps for the stand-alone ATmegas. And don't forget the programmer! Yes, you could use the Arduino as ISP programmer, but something like the Diamex ALL AVR (around EUR 32) is much better, since it's faster and also supports PDI and TPI.

[Crazy Ape]

I got this kit on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=181128993867&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:US:1123

I liked it, now I will probably look for buying some standalone Atmega, I don't want to buy a arduino board for every project.

Looks like a decent kit! Maybe also get more resistors (pull-up/down and for the 7-segments). If you need high clock rates, like 16 or 20MHz, also buy some crystals and 22pF ceramic caps for the stand-alone ATmegas. And don't forget the programmer! Yes, you could use the Arduino as ISP programmer, but something like the Diamex ALL AVR (around EUR 32) is much better, since it's faster and also supports PDI and TPI.

I never had a problem with the USBasp type ISP programmers when working with any ATmega based projects.

Just $1.65, and the catch is, you have to buy two at that price.
Actually, it's just one for $3.29, they're calling the cable the second item, still cheap though.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1LOT-1pcs-usbasp-1pcs-download-line-New-USBASP-USBISP-AVR-Programmer-USB-ATMEGA8-ATMEGA128-Support-Win7/1098657589.html

[madires]

I never had a problem with the USBasp type ISP programmers when working with any ATmega based projects.

Just $1.65, and the catch is, you have to buy two at that price.
Actually, it's just one for $3.29, they're calling the cable the second item, still cheap though.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1LOT-1pcs-usbasp-1pcs-download-line-New-USBASP-USBISP-AVR-Programmer-USB-ATMEGA8-ATMEGA128-Support-Win7/1098657589.html

Nice give-away for an electronics shop. Buy 10 ATmegas a get one programmer for free :-)

[MatCat]

It's a good little kit for getting started, but I would also get a good kit of passives (resistors, ceramic caps, electrolytic caps, diodes, etc), if you are going to get any actual AVR chips for making your own boards or breadboarding you will also want 16MHz crystals and 22pf caps for the crystals as well, 10k resistors for reset pull up, etc.

This reminds me, I have a servo and PWM tester I should be working on (using an AVR of course ).

[MrAureliusR]

Upon further thought, I'd like to change (somewhat) my comments from earlier.

What I DO like about Arduino, and Raspberry Pi (I own an RPi for full disclosure) is that they do, indeed, get young people more interested in electronics. As my generation is now hardwired to want instant gratification, these provide a gateway as others have mentioned, to have something 'just work'. And yes, this can be a great way to get into more advanced stuff. I was browsing the SparkFun website the other day and I was actually thinking about trying to get an Arduino to play with. However I don't like the shields idea -- the whole point, at least to me, should be to provide a simple base to build off of. If you want more digital I/O, don't buy a Gertboard (for the RPi), wire your own!! You'll learn tons more doing it yourself than just buying a shield.

Particularly with elementary-aged children, I think RPi and Arduino could easily help solve a huge problem that's been growing as the 'disposable' generation matures. People throw away broken electronics because nothing is user-serviceable. That's why I love the concept of websites like iFixit, because it encourages people to try and fix it themselves (thus saving landfill space, and increasing recycling and reuse) and also saves you the money of buying a new whatever. Children LOVE electronics, and when you have a 'turnkey' solution like the RPi and Arduino which take like 10 minutes to set up a working project, the amazement and wonder in their faces is priceless. I'm going to be volunteering at a Youth Centre and I've been thinking about bringing some electronics along to try and stir up some interest. The kids will be from ages 11-17 if I remember correctly. Perfect age to get them interested in electronics!

Anyway, back to my main point. I believe that Arduinos can be good for the above reasons, when used as a 'jumping-off' point to build a project, or for quick prototyping. What I dislike is that they seem to become a crutch. As others have mentioned, people just stick with their Arduinos and shields, never progressing, simply following tutorials that tell you 'stick wire A in slot B' to get something working and never comprehending the basic, fundamental concepts that underpin all electronics. If these were used in their proper manner, I think it would spark interest to the point where people will end up devouring books on electronics, and wanting to solder their own. There's nothing wrong with 'dabbling' in electronics, buying an Arduino, and making an LED flash, getting bored and shelving it, but when I see kids making robots out of fully pre-assembled boards, and downloading the firmware already compiled, and simply copying it over -- that's what gets me upset. That's where I think Arduinos and the like are causing problems, rather than fixing them.

What needs to change is basically, people using these products need more guidance! I know personally that my interest was sparked as a child watching my dad fix electronics on his workbench. All the different tools, and wires, and soldering irons, intrigued me and that passion has never left me. Finding Dave's blog has simply re-sparked that passion and pushed me down the path I was going to take eventually anyway -- going to college for EE. However, I think that if all my electronics learning had involved pre-assembled boards and no reading/soldering, I wouldn't have been as interested and probably would have gotten bored and stopped tinkering.

Sorry for the long post, I'm just trying to articulate myself well.

[MatCat]

In a perfect EE world everyone would love electronics and want to devour the knowledge, in reality only a few will, a lot will have a small interest, some enough to just play with the building blocks provided.  It is the one thing the Arduino has brought to electronics in a way is that ability to either use it at the simplest level, or take it to the deepest level, and one of the reasons why it is so popular.  Personally I don't really care for the shield concept either, heck most of the time my Arduino UNO is being used as an ISP  because I build all of my MCU projects onto a single contained board with the chip best suited for the job and the required hardware to do the project, but that is me, I see a lot of people go and make a project where there is an entire Arduino UNO board running something an ATTINY85 could of done, or even *GASP* a 555 chip.

What I really love is to see people actually learn how the things that drive modern life around them work, as the world gets more complex so must the knowledge of those that live in it, otherwise it's not going to last very long .

[Mandelbrot]

I'm relatively new with electronics (starting my Junior year in EE and CompE soon). I started out building gates and very simple logic circuits with only transistors but I was getting discouraged because I hit a roadblock and didn't know what resources I should turn to. However, I started using an Arduino Uno that I borrowed from my mechanical engineering sister and then things started picking up. I never used any shields for it partially because the things I was trying to do only took a few transistors and resistors anyway. I have to say that being able to build something that actually worked was a lot more encouraging than what I had done previously. I built a robot that drove using two continuous rotation servos and I kept adding more things to it, like digital light sensing with transistors and a solar cell out of a garden lamp, using the Arduino as a platform. Eventually I hit the point where I didn't feel there was much more to do with that project, but I definitely learned a bunch about electronics from it and had a great time while I was at it.

I'm actually using an Atmega microcontroller with the Arduino bootloader in my linear power supply project for a digital display right now. I've programmed PICs in C and in assembly, but being that I don't currently have a programmer and I already had to buy many tools and supplies for this project, being able to use an Arduino as an ISP was a bonus.

I think Arduino is a great stepping stone and a great way to make fast prototypes. The people that only use the shields and don't bother to figure out what's actually happening probably wouldn't learn more without an Arduino because they would just get bored and give up. Not everyone wants to be an engineer, some people just want to fool around and have fun with electronics as a hobby. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

Anyway, back on topic! I think that some LEDs, transistors, resistors, capacitors, potentiometers, some jumper wire and a few breadboards are enough for a starter kit. Maybe get some analog sensors, some micro switches and some servos/motors because moving things are cool. I looked at some kits but if it were me, I'd just buy the parts I wanted separately.
-edit: Although, that LCD kit in the first post does seem pretty cool...

Hope I was helpful!

-Ryan

[TheWelly888]

I have just ordered one of these kits for only 46 GBP from this lot: http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/Make-Getting-Started-With-Arduino-Kit-73-4628

It arrived on Wednesday and I read the book during breaks at work. I then had a play and realised that the Arduino is basically a microcontroller breadboard. If (like me) you already own a large stock of electronic components such as resistors etc and have a pile of ex-equipment stuff such as motors & relays then the absolute minimum to buy in order to start is the Arduino Uno board and a USB cable to connect the PC to the board! There's of course masses of resources on the official Arduino website.

[victor]

Does anyone knows if there is any better IDE for arduino?

I wish I could use xCode for that but I don't think it is possible, it will certainly not recognize the arduino C alike syntax.

I like the arduino "C" language, and how it is possible to encapsulate code in a little class/library.
But the IDE really sucks, poor indentation no code completion at all.

[rdl]

There seems to be many alternatives.

http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/DevelopmentTools

[MatCat]

If you want the full AVR experience you will need AVR Studio by Atmel.

[jakehiltz]

I dont understand what the issue is with the Arduino IDE. It is a great place to start and I have been using Arduino boards for years now and have never had a single issue with the IDE. You should check out the new IDE , it has a few extra features.