Arduino/RaspberryPi starter kit for adults?
November 1, 2015 1:58 AM Subscribe
I am looking for a good "kit"-style box set containing an Arduino, RaspberryPi, or other computer-on-a-board device. This is a gift for an adult who is pretty technically capable, so the kit needs to be somewhat challenging in order to engage his interest. It also needs to be relatively complete, as he doesn't have easy access to the Internet to buy additional components. And I would rather that it was not very expensive.
I don't know much about these types of devices, so my research has basically involved looking at web pages.
Arduino have a starter kit, as do RaspberryPi but they seem somewhat basic. Also, I have been told that an Arduino Zero would be better than an Uno. I have also seen an Inventor's Kit, which seems more like what I need but it is Uno-based.
There are many other kits on eBay but most don't seem to have manuals. I am looking for something that will start gently but will be more than a toy.
I don't know much about these types of devices, so my research has basically involved looking at web pages.
Arduino have a starter kit, as do RaspberryPi but they seem somewhat basic. Also, I have been told that an Arduino Zero would be better than an Uno. I have also seen an Inventor's Kit, which seems more like what I need but it is Uno-based.
There are many other kits on eBay but most don't seem to have manuals. I am looking for something that will start gently but will be more than a toy.
I forgot to say multimeter. Get him a multimeter, too.
posted by tel3path at 2:51 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by tel3path at 2:51 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Include the BeagleBone Black on your short list. You can unbox it, connect it to a computer with a microUSB cable, log onto it with a web browser and just start developing stuff in Bonescript, which is basically node.js.
I use one as router between my ADSL modem and the rest of my home LAN. It's a nice toy. More general purpose I/O pins than the Pi, as well.
posted by flabdablet at 4:21 AM on November 1, 2015
I use one as router between my ADSL modem and the rest of my home LAN. It's a nice toy. More general purpose I/O pins than the Pi, as well.
posted by flabdablet at 4:21 AM on November 1, 2015
i am not sure what you're trying to do here. both the kits you link to are pretty good introductions. to do "more" generally means working on a specific project, and unless you know what that project will be, you can't really hope to buy "all the bits".
if the user is really constrained (here in chile, for example, where it's often tricky to buy the latest technology, arduinos are popular and you can find other users, support, and components) - like maybe in antarctica or something - then a raspberry pi might be better simply because you can do more on the "using it like a computer" side (programming, making web sites, whatever).
edit: i guess what i am trying to say, as a technical person myself, is that when i first used an arduino, the contents of the kit you linked was more than enough for me to understand what they could do (and was really interesting and would be a great present). but at that point, "playing" with more "introductory" stuff seemed pointless because, well, i am a technical person, not a child learning about electronics. so then i want to jump to some specific, complex, project of my own, which you cannot predict. but that may be just me.
posted by andrewcooke at 5:47 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
if the user is really constrained (here in chile, for example, where it's often tricky to buy the latest technology, arduinos are popular and you can find other users, support, and components) - like maybe in antarctica or something - then a raspberry pi might be better simply because you can do more on the "using it like a computer" side (programming, making web sites, whatever).
edit: i guess what i am trying to say, as a technical person myself, is that when i first used an arduino, the contents of the kit you linked was more than enough for me to understand what they could do (and was really interesting and would be a great present). but at that point, "playing" with more "introductory" stuff seemed pointless because, well, i am a technical person, not a child learning about electronics. so then i want to jump to some specific, complex, project of my own, which you cannot predict. but that may be just me.
posted by andrewcooke at 5:47 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I agree exactly with what andrewcooke said, but would add that the first things I needed when I graduated to wanting to use the arduino for real projects were a good soldering iron, a multimeter, a variety of resistors, transistors, and capacitors. I could scrounge a lot of other parts from old computers and other electronics, but having the above in the right varieties for whatever circuit I wanted to build was essential when I was only starting out and didn't know how to adapt things. You could get an arduino starter kit, which will come with plenty of sensors, plus add a big bag of mixed resistors and capacitors, plus a few of each of the most common transistors, and it will only cost you about $10-$20 extra. Maybe throw in some 555 timers and op-amps too because they come in handy for all sorts of projects.
posted by lollusc at 6:07 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by lollusc at 6:07 AM on November 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I agree with the others. FWIW, I generally like SparkFun and they have a decent Arduino kit. Depending on what this person likes to do, you might also check out the Particle Photon, which is slightly cheaper than an Arduino Uno (at least here in the US), and has built-in wifi and a bunch of other nice included capabilities while still being mostly Arduino-compatible (in terms of software at least; the shields won't directly fit because it's much smaller than an Arduino).
posted by primethyme at 7:53 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by primethyme at 7:53 AM on November 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Arduino approach, particularly with something like the Sparkfun or Adafruit starter kit, has the benefit of being low friction. No soldering required, and the software development environment is easy to master and explore. Even for someone who is already "pretty technically capable" this can still be an advantage: It shortens the time to get to the fun stuff, like making a motor move. Even if you're programmed for years, actually seeing something move under your (programmatic) command can be a "wow, cool!" moment.
Lack of access to the internet adds an interesting constraint. Using the Arduino will required downloading the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment). After that, though, you can do all of the projects in the kit without having network access.
One of the big advantages for Raspberry Pi/BeagleBone is that they're easy to get hooked up to a network. That doesn't sound like an advantage here. They're also both have higher starting frictions for doing things like moving motors or playing with sensors.
There are rich ecosystems of add-ons for Arduinos and Raspberry Pi (less so for BeagleBone), so a starter kit for either can easily be augmented. I favor the Adafruit starter kit, but it's out of stock at the moment.
posted by dws at 9:46 AM on November 1, 2015
Lack of access to the internet adds an interesting constraint. Using the Arduino will required downloading the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment). After that, though, you can do all of the projects in the kit without having network access.
One of the big advantages for Raspberry Pi/BeagleBone is that they're easy to get hooked up to a network. That doesn't sound like an advantage here. They're also both have higher starting frictions for doing things like moving motors or playing with sensors.
There are rich ecosystems of add-ons for Arduinos and Raspberry Pi (less so for BeagleBone), so a starter kit for either can easily be augmented. I favor the Adafruit starter kit, but it's out of stock at the moment.
posted by dws at 9:46 AM on November 1, 2015
I bought this Raspberry Pi kit. It's $70 and includes the latest model Pi and extras like the wifi attachment and power supply.
posted by bendy at 12:17 PM on November 1, 2015
posted by bendy at 12:17 PM on November 1, 2015
Ah, I missed that he has no internet access. I think that might be a big issue actually. The way I and most people I know play with arduinos involves a lot of googling. You want to find cool examples of other projects people have done, and find circuit diagrams, and when you can't get something to work, it takes a lot of googling and some time on forums to solve the problems.
I suppose those Internet use cases could be replaced by a good library with lots of electronics books, and a community of other enthusiasts you can meet with in person. Does his town have that?
Otherwise I'm not sure he will get a good sense of all the interesting things you can do with an arduino or be able to get very far with any ideas he does have.
posted by lollusc at 5:08 PM on November 1, 2015
I suppose those Internet use cases could be replaced by a good library with lots of electronics books, and a community of other enthusiasts you can meet with in person. Does his town have that?
Otherwise I'm not sure he will get a good sense of all the interesting things you can do with an arduino or be able to get very far with any ideas he does have.
posted by lollusc at 5:08 PM on November 1, 2015
I missed the lack of Internet too. In that case, forget about the Particle stuff I mentioned. You can technically build locally but you lose most of the benefits.
posted by primethyme at 6:50 PM on November 1, 2015
posted by primethyme at 6:50 PM on November 1, 2015
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posted by tel3path at 1:57 AM on November 1, 2015