Arduino Beginner Kit

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ignishin

91 posts

Master Geek

#188957 11-Dec-2015 10:33

Hey guys,

Looking at getting my brother an Arduino beginners kit. He's an auto-electrician so knows his way around the toolbox.

Wondering where the best might be to purchase from (inside NZ). So far I've found a couple of listings on TradeMe:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/toys-models/educational-toys/science/auction-996665443.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/electronics-photography/other-electronics/electronic-components/other/auction-997035482.htm

And this set on JayCar:

http://www.jaycar.co.nz/Kits,-Science-%26-Learning/Electronic-Project-Kits/Computer-%26-Programming/Arduino-Experimenters-Kit/p/XC4262

Would like to buy a reasonably large kit so he has plenty to to start with.

Any suggestions?

SumnerBoy

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#1448624 11-Dec-2015 10:40

Not sure if they have beginner kits as such, but www.nicegear.co.nz is a great source of Arduino and other tinkering bits and pieces.

ignishin

91 posts

Master Geek

#1448628 11-Dec-2015 10:47

Hey dude,

Thanks for that! Looking at their kits, they seem quite a bit more costly compared to TradeMe listing (by a huge margin).

Is there something I'm missing as to why the price differs so much?

dclegg

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#1448629 11-Dec-2015 10:49

You may also want to check out Mind Kits

SumnerBoy

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#1448630 11-Dec-2015 10:49

Yeah you are effectively paying for pre/after sales service, a reliable warranty, and a speedy response if there are any problems. Plus a guarantee you are getting authentic product - a lot of the stuff on TradeMe will be replicas which may work just fine but might also have the odd problem. YMMV.

SumnerBoy

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#1448631 11-Dec-2015 10:50

+1 for MindKits as well.

ignishin

91 posts

Master Geek

#1448632 11-Dec-2015 10:51

Ah, cheers!

dclegg: You may also want to check out Mind Kits

Awesome, thanks guys.

BuffyNZ

241 posts

Master Geek

#1448708 11-Dec-2015 12:57

+1 for mindkits.

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tarlen

47 posts

Geek

#1448729 11-Dec-2015 14:01

Thanks for that! Looking at their kits, they seem quite a bit more costly compared to TradeMe listing (by a huge margin).

Is there something I'm missing as to why the price differs so much?

Yup - "Arduino compatible UNO R3" (straight from the Trade Me listing).

One of the things you need to look out for with "Arduino" listings on Trade Me is that most of them aren't actually Arduinos. There are a LOT of alternatives out there, and some of them are really good (eg - Freetronics), and a lot of them aren't. The ones that aren't good are the ones that rip off the Arduino brand.

Note the Jaycar one isn't an Arduino either, it's a Freetronics board (Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board with USB cable)

Oh, and +1 for MindKits - Tim is a great guy.

SumnerBoy

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#1448730 11-Dec-2015 14:04

+1 for the Freetronics stuff - they have some really good gear - their Ethernet (with POE) Arduino clone is very handy.

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#1448770 11-Dec-2015 14:55

tarlen:
Thanks for that! Looking at their kits, they seem quite a bit more costly compared to TradeMe listing (by a huge margin).

Is there something I'm missing as to why the price differs so much?

Yup - "Arduino compatible UNO R3" (straight from the Trade Me listing).

One of the things you need to look out for with "Arduino" listings on Trade Me is that most of them aren't actually Arduinos. There are a LOT of alternatives out there, and some of them are really good (eg - Freetronics), and a lot of them aren't. The ones that aren't good are the ones that rip off the Arduino brand.

Note the Jaycar one isn't an Arduino either, it's a Freetronics board (Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board with USB cable)

Oh, and +1 for MindKits - Tim is a great guy.

The whole thing about counterfeits and who to support is getting harder and harder.

About 1/2 a year ago there was a major fracture of the Arduino team regarding the trademark between Arduino SRL(Arduino dot org) where Arduino LLC(Arduino.cc)
Full Writeup here(http://hackaday.com/2015/03/12/arduino-v-arduino-part-ii/)

So at the moment the Arduino's that are made by Arduino SRL give nothing back to Arduino LLC. The ones that have the Genuino icon on it should be made by a manufacturer who gives something back to Arduino LLC.

Its still a rather messy situation where many had to stock the Arduino SRL ones as Arduino LLC had no supply chain. I have yet to actually see a Genuino Arduino.

Geoff E

MadEngineer

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#1448896 11-Dec-2015 21:18

you wont find better than here:

http://www.banggood.com/search/arduino-kit.html

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sir1963

3260 posts

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#1449260 12-Dec-2015 17:06

ignishin: Hey dude,

Thanks for that! Looking at their kits, they seem quite a bit more costly compared to TradeMe listing (by a huge margin).

Is there something I'm missing as to why the price differs so much?

Profit margin....

I am bringing in $400 worth of arduino stuff for work from China, some of it is costing 1/10th of what the NZ retailers are asking.

richms

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#1449275 12-Dec-2015 17:39

I get all my stuff like that off aliexpress. $3 clone arduinos or a $50 board made in the right factory from the same commodity parts? I think you know which I will go for.

Richard rich.ms

Masterpiece

247 posts

Master Geek

#1451963 16-Dec-2015 23:23

The starter kit is a good place for a beginner, mainly because you get a selection of components that are compatible.

Even though the design is so that most things are compatible you can run into trouble selecting some items. The main issue is 3.3 or 5v boards with 5v based add on parts.

If you purchase of nicegear or other NZ based store do ask questions about the items, like kits or brands/clones. They are quite helpful.

I do advise a beginner start with a model uno r3 or clone of that model as the vast majority of support and projects are based upon that design.

I have a .org zero 3.3v board and 2 sparkfun uno r3 clones, but since have looked seriously at the freetronics stuff. They have built r3 clones with shields built in, once you have used a uno or clone you find what becomes useful. the Arduino.cc is currently better supported for information. I found a fault with my zero board from Arduino.org and it took some convincing that they had an issue with their design, which was to do with reference voltages and settings.

For shields, which are the add on components to build projects I've bought a number of parts, but found a number fail because of crap build quality. So far I prefer adafruit parts as the build quality is good and most importantly if the component needs software libraries they seem to be better. Some of the freetronics shields are really useful, like the screw terminal shield, fantastic for prototyping.

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Zippity

683 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1451980 17-Dec-2015 02:36

Or you could try this.