Reddit reviews ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial and UNO R3 Compatible with Arduino IDE

I like this the super starter kit by SunFounder there videos are very good and they give you the code for all there projects.
Also, they are fairly inexpensive.
Here's a link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D9M4BQU/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1504912825&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sunfounder+arduino&dpPl=1&dpID=61kZ9XQzgxL&ref=plSrch

My friend got this one and I was pretty jealous

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2

Pick up an Arduino Starter Kit. Tons of fun for few $$$ and you'll get a taste of a different kind of programming as well as some electronics experience.

Try an Elegoo starter kit to get a jump on Arduino-related projects to play with. Amazon offers several kits of different components and boards. I like this one for beginners: https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4

Get something like this or this, it should arrive pretty fast and give you a good idea of what you can do with arduino. Once you have the basics down you can order more specific parts and go from there. This is better than buying components in that it all comes together as one and you won't be missing any parts right off the start in order to get led's blinking etc..

Check this out for $35. There's also a 'complete' kit for $52 I believe.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=psdcmw_3015426011_t1_B01DGD2GAO

EDIT: Link der

The arduino uno is a great kit to start with. you can get one here.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_H7t1DbGFGF317

Yeah I think that kit would be a little too basic for an 18yr old. Ok but you will quickly outgrow it.

I'd get an Arduino Uno starter kit instead. Uno are plenty advanced to do lots of fun projects. The Mega 2560 kit Ox linked is bit more than you would need.

I bought the elegoo super starter kit off Amazon and I've been SUPER happy with it. For less than the price of an official arduino you get a knockoff board and a ton of electronics to play with. Also arduino is open source so it's completely legal to make knock offs.

Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CvMWAbFQQHAP4

For $30 bucks it’s hard to go wrong with this one if you’re just starting: www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4

Has more stuff than you could use in a year of learning projects. Highly rated. Has a 24 lesson getting started CD. I’ve never had a problem with stuff from Elegoo. There are cheaper kits by them also.

Look up elegoo parts on Amazon. I know they sell a set with a (very good, EACTLY the same knockoff) Uno and a TON of parts. It's called the "Elegoo super starter kit". You end up with two unos, but that's not a bad thing in case you fry one. I think it's around $40 with shipping.

I'm sure they sell other parts too. Check them out on Amazon. IMO it is the best bang for your buck.

EDIT: it also contains a PDF with instructions on how to build projects with them. How to do the wiring and they explain the coding too. They do it in a way that they build off of what you learn.

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-003-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01D8KOZF4

It's listed as the #1 seller for electronic kits. Its $35 and it has a 4.5 out of 5 stars.


Here is a kit with just boards.

https://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Raspberry-kuman-Projects-Tutorials/dp/B016D5L5KE/ref=sr_1_5_sspa?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1518807393&sr=1-5-spons&keywords=Elegoo+parts&psc=1

Elegoo also has these kits.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_gnr_aps?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3AElegoo+kits&keywords=Elegoo+kits&ie=UTF8&qid=1518807370

There are a lot of them, so go through each and see which parts you like.

Buying with Elegoo is way way cheaper than through Arduino.

------------------------------------------

I also found this really cool car that you can make

Elegoo EL-KIT-012 UNO Project Smart Robot Car Kit V 3.0 with UNO R3, Line Tracking Module, Ultrasonic Sensor, Bluetooth Module https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746DVP1J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_goZHAb3MFJF93


.I would build the car first and have fun with it. Then I would take off the ultrasonic sensors and replace them with IR sensors. Then try to program it to solve a maze.

If you're interested I have a website that takes you through every step on how to make a maze solving robot car with Arduino.

It's really a good tutorial. He teaches you everything and explains everything. You build the basics of the car first and get it running then he tells you how to tweak and add things to the code to make it better at solving mazes.

1. Terminating cables, more practical than making cables
   
2. Degaussing HDD if you have access to one, for the bang feature
   
3. Arduino projects - kits on Amazon like this one arduino kit
   
4. Legos, quiet toys in case a server dies and you get stuck they have something to keep busy with
   
5. Leave early!
   The best advice I can give is to leave at lunch and run them back to school, then they can brag to their friends about how great it was, AND your coworkers will thank you

Elegoo makes a starter kit with a lot of fun stuff in it.

$27.99 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4?ref_=bl_dp_s_web_14833109011

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Unless you're in a very wealthy community, don't get that one. It's so expensive for what it is, not to mention most people will never use a shift register or some of the more obscure items. Look at something like this: Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cv4WAbQY1592X
an Uno is enough for many projects, and it saves the cost and complexity of a MEGA. They can always upgrade as they need it. Get them to blink an LED, turn a servo, stuff like that. After they're able to do that, get some community components for a workshop and let them solve a problem.

These Arduino kits on Amazon are a pretty great value

Elegoo UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial, 5V Relay, UNO R3, Power Supply Module, Servo Motor, 9V Battery with DC, Prototype Expansion Board, ect. for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CbCCyb4YGFY9H

There are hundreds of tutorials on the web for how to get started with the basics, but sparkfun and adafruit are really good places to look

I just bought this l. I’m a computer engineer major. Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_uys.AbJ98HNDX

Take an free online free course!

I recommend a programming course "python for everybody" on Coursea. It is being taught by Dr. Chuck from University of Michigan. Its an awesome starter course to get into program. Of course you have code academy and etc.

If you can, buy an ardiuno kit from Amazon and build what you can from it. Most kits have instruction manuals on what to build from the kit.
This is the kit I bought: Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_w.tdBbSBN6C7N

I got an Arduino Kit and it came in the kit with a bunch of other stuff. You can get them pretty cheap(the joysticks)... I think...

To follow up on what the above user said, I bought the Elegoo Arduino UNO kit on Amazon, the whole kit costs less than most official Arduino UNO units and this specific kit comes with a whole bunch of micro controller projects on a cd and the relevant components to complete them with enough spare components to experiment with.

I’ve actually since bought a second one because I felt like it was good value. Hope this helps!

I recolonize the parts, they come in the Elegoo Uno kit.

Along the same lines as nudemonkey's suggestion, you could get a cheaper one such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Project-Tutorial-Prototype-Expansion/dp/B01D8KOZF4/

Or even https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DGD2GAO

Then buy whatever sensor kit you're most interested in https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dcomputers&field-keywords=Sensor+module+kit

I wouldn't expect much tech support from the discount vendors on Amazon or eBay though so if you think you might vendor help then Sparkfun may be a better choice.

In any case the main suggestion I'd have is get yourself enough stuff to keep yourself occupied and then start ordering individual stuff from China using aliexpress with free (slow) shipping. That way you'll get a little "present" from China every few days.

Don't expect any help from the seller with anything ordered that way though.... You're pretty much stuck with just searching part numbers and reading data sheets, but someone has probably posted code for just about everything on a blog somewhere at this point.

Getting a resistor, capacitor, transistor, diode, led assortment pack is highly recommended. They can be extremely inexpensive if ordered from China. I also recommend ordering some extra breadboards and jumper wires.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4?aaxitk=dfLkaId6ZuFZo4yNDC4DTA&pd_rd_i=B01D8KOZF4&pf_rd_p=3ff6092e-8451-438b-8278-7e94064b4d42&hsa_cr_id=1247439260401&sb-ci-n=price&sb-ci-v=28.00&sb-ci-m=%24

This is what I started with. If you're not short on money you could get the arduino mega kit, the extra input pins is going to be really useful.

As for videos, jeremy blum has a great playlist to get started.

https://youtu.be/fCxzA9_kg6s

Pretty sure there's a free pdf textbook somewhere. Everything else just look in forums and guides.

Good luck!

There are plenty of tutorials out there. Use CR2032 for longer run times. Honestly though these are aimed at young kids, all you can really do is make the LED turn on, it's not very exciting after the first few minutes.

Have a look at Velleman kits. The MK150 Shaking Dice or MK112 Brain Game MiniKit would give him something to do and you can both use them once finished.

If he's interested in learning basic electronics you could go for a kit like this or this They normally start out with a basic LED and battery and end up with tone generators and flashy lights. If you buy a extra breadboard you can both make projects at the same time.

You could also get an Arduino starter kit. They are really cool, the projects also start at flashing led but end up with much more interesting and complicated projects like ultrasonic distance measurement, moving parts and robots. Just be aware it's not as social and you'll lose him into the computer and programming for hours at a time.

My strong recommendation would be to buy a cheap Chinese Arduino starter kit. Get one that includes some interesting sensors (ultrasonic range finder etc), as well as a stepper motor, DC motor and servo. The ones from Elegoo are quite good. The tutorials typically assumes very little initial knowledge, include example code, and will talk you through connecting and controlling all the parts in the kit. Once you have gone through the tutorial, you will pretty much understand all the basic principles, and can then figure out how to connect to almost any sensor, or control most motors / actuators.

This one looks ideal. https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=arduino+starter+kit&qid=1566681139&s=gateway&sr=8-4

I'm about your age and taking CS and Engineering courses. The only way to find out is by trying. One quick and inexpensive way of getting your feet wet is by learning some basic coding online (for example, Harvard's CS50) and doing the first few electronics projects with an Arduino kit (like this one).

Then, I recommend doing lower-division prerequisites at community college to get a taste of the engineering curriculum. Specifically, you should take at least one programming class, Calculus 1, Physics 1, and an engineering class or two (hopefully one that is project-based or has a hands-on component). With these, you should have a good introduction to the different directions you can take.

You should also think about why you want to take Computer Engineering. CpE is a good major, but if your interest/goal is to work in software, Computer Science will be a more flexible major and usually have fewer requirements (read: you can graduate sooner). Don't get into the major just because of the engineer moniker, get into CpE because you want to have more flexibility in your career in working with hardware, software, and electronics. CS will give you a better background for a broad career as a software engineer, with more elective options. There are something like 10x more software jobs than hardware jobs. You can work in software with CpE, but the major itself can be pretty focused on electrical engineering, circuits, and hardware. This depends on your school.

Once you've taken the classes I suggested, you should be able to better decide what you're most interested in and how much math and physics you want to take. If you don't mind taking more math and physics fundamentals, then CpE can be a good fit for you. Depending on how you feel about your programming courses and hands-on engineering courses, you will have more clarity on whether you want to have more focus in hardware, software, or neither.

I am currently a physics student, and I need to code a fair bit. If you want to start coding, especially as a way to build tech skills for a job, you could buy yourself an Arduino. These little microcontrollers are nice because you can use a combination of electronics and software to interact with the physical world. One of the biggest difficulties of getting people interested in coding is that it all feels so meaningless when you start. It can be tough to learn things that are actually practical.

Buying an Arduino solves this (somewhat) by letting you build a physical object right away, and they are extremely powerful. You can just Google "cool Arduino projects" and you'll get a zillion hits. The community is fantastic and welcoming, there a zillion tutorials for beginners online, and everything is open source. There's really not enough good stuff to say about it. For you personally, another benefit would be you learn the coding skills AND electrical technical skills for a job.

I would recommend starting with this Arduino clone starter kit from Amazon. One project I saw basically made cocktails for you. Just tell it what you want and it mixes the appropriate amount of each ingredient. Point is the possibilities are endless and you can build technical skills along the way.

I honestly get so excited by this stuff, so feel free to PM me if you are curious about more stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511756164&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=arduino

I just bought this 2 days ago and tbh you don't need anything more than what is included. Even though its not an official arduino it works very well and is soldered and made very neat. It is like an advanced beginners pack.

I have two elegoo arduino unos, I got kits on amazon that came with all sorts of peripherals and it was a great deal, less than 20 bucks for the cheaper one. Have used these boards for all kinds of fun projects for about a year now.
I got this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-004-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01DGD2GAO
and then this one a little later:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01D8KOZF4&pd_rd_wg=nqNDZ&pd_rd_r=KJJDMWS7ZPRQ9FMJFJKZ&pd_rd_w=dl0ip
Elegoo, if you see this pls send advertiser money.

I would look into something like an arduino. I got this kit on amazon and so far I've learned a lot. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?psc=1

The design of arduino is open source so other companies have fabricated compatible boards or systems.<br />
.<br />
There are MANY arduino beginner kits out there. Some can be great and others not so great.<br />
The components available in kits varies greatly.<br />
Will she have the parts for EVERY project, NOPE. But she can learn about the system and the language.<br />
Companies like Adafruit, Sparkfun and SeeedStudio provide parts (or rather sub-assemblies) for more projects.<br />

I googled for a beginner kit and saw this one, I have no experience with it specifically.
The components I see are quite a wide variety,
$36 ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial and UNO R3 Compatible with Arduino IDE
https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4
The only thing I don't like is that they use a 9V battery and connector to power the arduino.
To me, to make the board portable, that is just silly; a better way is to use a USB power bank
For example
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2100mAh-Universal-Battery-Pack/dp/B01AUT8CRI/
also a USB cable
https://www.amazon.com/C2G-28101-USB-Cable-Printers/dp/B000FW60E8/

Just for grins, I went to their download page, searched for "super" and downloaded their ZIP
https://www.elegoo.com/download/
Elegoo 2.8 Inch Touch Screen User Manual V1.00.2018.09.19.zip
In "English" folder is a PDF, that explains installation and gives projects. I'd suggest reviewing that file.


I found these links, maybe reading them will give you some more insight.

Elegoo vs Arduino: Which Will Your Kids Love Most?
https://www.allhomerobotics.com/elegoo-vs-arduino/

Elegoo vs Arduino – Which should you choose?
https://techttech.com/2017/11/17/elegoo-vs-arduino-choose/

"These boards don’t support the non-profit Arduino project."
This means that the original makers who invented and open-sourced the design, don't get part of your $$

Elegoo UNO R3 Project Complete Starter Kit Review
https://techttech.com/2018/06/02/elegoo-most-complete-kit-review/

I personally have really enjoyed/continue to enjoy this kit. For the price it’s unbeatable!

ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This one to be exact.

Elegoo UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_SpsGzbZG58A27

I appreciate the kind words! I got started by getting the Elegoo UNO Super Starter Kit from Amazon.

I'm a Computer Science major but I've always had an interest in hardware and electronics so I just bought this and now I'm having all sorts of fun, especially since I get to combine both my interests: software and hardware. Like you said, you get a great feeling when putting things together, so I would highly recommend you pick up a kit if you have the slightest interest!

From the PS4 I think he wanted one of the newer Kingdom Hearts games. This or this. Also you just look up Arduino or rasperry pi kits and there's usually some game kind of deal.
Also here's some PS4 stuff. 1 or 2. If you do two check the sellers for best ratings and stuff. But 1 seems the way to go because of the game. Also if you do just end up getting him a PS4 no game get the kid kingdom hearts remaster (not the 2.8).
But if you go aruino go with this and this and this. Those three are cheaper than the PS4 and he'll learn more.
Also all this is from the perspective of a guy who's had to buy his own games and stuff.

I personally like the Uno. The Mega is cool and all because of all the pins but you don't need them. Something I sort of fear with newbies is that by getting the Mega you might not think about things like pin efficiency when your projects start to get large, the mega often acts as a crutch instead of making proper design choices. But that's just my cynical opinion, you'll have a blast with whatever you get and that kit will be great.

ps: This is the kit I got a few summers ago that's kept me quite busy

Sorry, I completely forgot these were two separate kits. We also have this.

https://www.amazon.ca/Elegoo-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4

I bought the upgraded kit a few weeks ago (this one) - it comes with a pdf which includes a lot of tutorials running through the sensors/peripherals that come with it. I was pleasantly suprised by what I received and if you overlook the occasion 'Engrish' it should suit your needs.

I think that's what I'll do. I think I'm going to pick up this kit, on sale for $26.50, so I have a common platform and a few bits and bobs to experiment with. Hopefully, I'll graduate to something a little more complex soon enough. Do you happen to have a favorite resource for learning the ATMega328p, or would I be better off just be reading the datasheet and figuring it out for myself.

So if you want to go into the more mechatronics robotics get an arduino kit and start playing with it. Something like this Amazon's Choice
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Project-Complete-Ultimate-TUTORIAL-controller/dp/B01IUY62RM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542370027&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=arduino+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=61YSjGAXaaL&ref=plSrch


Or this which is the same kit with less stuff
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Elegoo-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1542370027&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=arduino+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=61fQsYALc3L&ref=plSrch


And just try and play with them and learn stuff. Check out arduinos website as they go through everything

Look into some of the Arduino Uno starter kits on Amazon. Once you've got the basics of the Arduino down you can move onto more complex integration with SBCs like the raspberry pi if you want. The learning curve is going to be a bit steep because you don't know any programming languages. On the upside, by starting with the Arduino you won't be piling a lack of Linux experience onto that as well.

I’d get a starter kit with a 3rd-party arduino clone. Here’s one on amazon that I’d get if I were looking.

Hi :-)

I would recommend you take a nice picture of all the items next to each other and consider the price of these kits [1/2/3], as that's what most will compare it to.

I bought a couple kits on Amazon that come with PDF manuals on CD. Things like this. I got this book which really helped me understand sketches instead of just modifying other people's code.

I got into arduino because I had these two kits:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Components-Pack-1/dp/B00T0UCLIK/ref=sr_1_2

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Components-Pack-2/dp/B00T0UCLF8/ref=sr_1_3

Which are meant to go with this book (although I think they might be meant for the first edition of the book). It's awesome, this guy explains how most basic components work as he guides you through several projects.

Finally, go to your local Radio Shacks today and get some components on the cheap. Look for resistor packs, LEDs, capacitors, toggles (switches, buttons, etc.), battery holders, hookup wire, heat shrink tubing, logic chips, timer chips, transistor packs, DIP sockets, PCB, project boxes, any arduino boards, motors, servos, solder, tools (like precision screwdrivers, soldering irons and accessories, IC extractors, wire cutters/strippers). If you get into this hobby, you might regret missing this clearance sale.

You could preload a program onto the Arduino and focus on the electrical hookup aspect of it. For instance if you picked up something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-003-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01D8KOZF4

It comes with a PDF file detailing a bunch of projects - simple motor control, hooking up an LCD, LEDs, speakers, ect. So maybe you could have a class on a particular project and already have the arduinos loaded with the code. You could then do a presentation on how the code is written and what its doing and even develop the code in class - just load it offsite and use it in a later class. A lot can be learned by working through those projects.

https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1XKZW5D924YS1&keywords=arduino+starter+kit&qid=1562014512&s=gateway&sprefix=arduino+starter%2Caps%2C239&sr=8-4

This one seems to be very good.

Amazon URL Truncation Tip:

• Modify the URL to format https://www.amazon.com/dp/<AmazonItemNumberHere>
  
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4

Oh that's great, thank you. I may take you up on that one of these days. I grabbed a chinese starter kit (this) off Amazon and a multimeter tonight (this). I've been wanting to get into this for years. I'm already a developer, the electronicy bits just elude me and I can't stand it anymore, I feel like I'd excel at this and I always have ideas I can't execute on without the knowledge. I'm 37 but your high school level material is just what I need at the moment.. haha.

I chose the kit to keep the cost down and learn the basics. Need to start budgeting my hobbies better. But if there's anything that would be a big benefit to have in addition, I'm all ears

I've never dabbled with Arduinos before, so got this pack from Amazon, which has a great selection of stuff to fiddle with, then got an extra load of the piezo sensors from Ebay for about £2 (I'm British). Making one again would likely be far cheaper, just getting the individual electronics.

I originally started with one raspberry pi zero, but it quickly ballooned to numerous pi zeros and pi 3s.

When you get bit by the raspberry pi bug, you'll start finding all sorts of fun things to use it on. I was working on a wifi bell and camera system, and that took 2 pi zeros and 1 pi 3. I digress.

I'd probably get one pi 3 as a main, for breadboarding, experimenting, and if a project needs a pi running 24x7, evaluate if it can be suitably replaced by a zero.

If you like to program and tinker, you'll probably want to get an arduino electronics kit for parts and a cobbler to hook the raspberry pi to a breadboard.

Also, eBay is your friend for all the cheap components. Be prepared to wait a little over a month for them though.

I'll take a look when I can. It might be unbranded since it comes with a kit but I'll check.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01608II3Q/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is the servo

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is the arduino clone I bought

Thanks :-)
I get to combine my two hobbies - electronics and aquariums, which is awesome.

FYI electronics is a great hobby as it doesn't cost a lot to get into and there's loads of help out there. If you are ever interested I highly recommend buying an Arduino starter kit like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01D8KOZF4/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1494889424&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=arduino+starter+kit&dpPl=1&dpID=615S0N50XHL&ref=plSrch

And having a play :-)

Would you say this is a good alternative/choice?

Works just as well as the official ones. This was my first kit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D8KOZF4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Best damn $30 I've spent on open source hardware. This should get you started for a great deal of the beginner projects.

Do you think this one is a good place to start? How about this one, which looks like it has more stuff, but also a bigger board?

It's Seeedstudio... but I don’t find much right now on Amazon for them... this one looks not bad actually. The Uno is actually a socketed chip so you can use it as a programmer for the chip itself later, if you want.

You could assemble a kit yourself, too, with parts from AliExpress...

i'm not sure, it came with this kit: https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=elegoo&qid=1574150134&sr=8-5

amazon has kits at pretty much every price point, just search arduino kit. make sure it's got an arduino uno clone, a breadboard, breadboard wires, basic stuff like leds, buttons, resistors, potentiometers, a couple transistors, stuff like that. plus some cool things like sensors and lcd displays.

something like this, although it might not be the best one at that price point https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=arduino+kit&qid=1574021245&sr=8-3

this one has a lot of good stuff too https://www.amazon.com/EL-KIT-001-Project-Complete-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01CZTLHGE/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=arduino+kit&qid=1574021245&sr=8-7

i'm sure somebody can link one with a slightly better spread of parts, but in general if he doesn't have specific projects in mind any kit will do well enough to get started

how much are you looking to spend specifically? 30ish is a good price point, but there's options below and above that. i'd say stick to amazon kits instead of buying more expensive kits or individual parts if you don't know what you're looking for.

I've had a lot of fun with this Elegoo kit. (There are more with more stuff on amazon, including one with a mega)

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4/

The elegoo clones are basic but seem to be very well made. (Everything labled well. No funky off-brand serial chips at least on the Uno)

Learned a lot in a hurry from the included tutorials. Now e-packets full of other boards, breakouts, sensors, parts are arriving in my mailbox every week.

I would not suggest the Raspberry Pi. If they are a tech lover, it's likely they already have one. I would suggest this particular Arduino set: (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D8KOZF4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2WWHQ25ENKVJ1). It has lots of nifty pieces that they can do a lot with.

Another thing I noticed on EpicGifts list is the Amazon Echo - If they have prime and are a big amazon person, then go with the Echo, or Echo Dot. However, if they are more integrated into google, I would recommend the Google Home (https://store.google.com/product/google_home).

Other then that, I would be careful on different gadgets (Phones/Watches/Tablets/ect). Most tech lovers are bias to specific brands, and like to do a lot of deep research before purchasing an electronic. So might want to ask them some general branding questions first.

Outside of that, if none of that interests you, tech lovers love random gadgets. For example, if they have pets - maybe something like the petcube would be great for them (https://www.amazon.com/Petcube-Camera-Video-2-Way-Built/dp/B00JGWN8O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481486893&sr=8-1&keywords=petcube).

Just browse a bit and keep those things in mind. Best of luck!

Everyone here is saying all the right things but I'm writing my own comment to further emphasize the comments regarding learning C and playing with an arduino. It is true embedded systems touches upon many topics as listed by captain_wiggles but a lot of what he's saying is overkill at this point for you.

i don't know how hard it is to get arduino stuff in ghana, but there exists arduino starter kits that comes with basically everything you need to get started. here's an example of what i'm talking about. Arduino Starter Kit

get your hands on one of these kits, watch a ton of arduino tutorials on youtube and learn C/embedded systems at the same time. you can get a feel of how much you like embedded systems or if you have misunderstood any of it in literally 2 weeks of just casually playing around with it.

if it's something you like, then dig deeper and choose two years of coursework relevant to embedded systems.

as a side comment that's meant to encourage you in your pursuit and not to discount the complexity/difficulty of embedded systems, but embedded systems is in my humble opinion one of the easier sectors to get into and also the most fun. the hardware/software is not as complex as x86 microprocessor and you can get a lot done very quickly.

tldr: just get an arduino starter kit and watch youtube tutorials as a summer project. if you like it then come back and ask more questions.

edit: You can learn Arduino in 15 minutes.

The Arduino is plug and play when it comes to learning to program though. You can do 100X more with the $35 Arduino Starter pack(https://smile.amazon.com/Elegoo-Project-Starter-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498590782&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=arduino&psc=1) than you could with the Raspberry Pi.

If you can't afford a real computer and just want to stream movies or play NES games, sure the Raspberry Pi is the right thing to use. If you want to learn to program, the Arduino is perfect for beginners.

That seems like a decent kit, though it doesn't include a lot of intermediate level stuff. So you would probably get bored after a month or so. Also, several people in the comments complained about broken boards. I've heard a lot of people speak really well about this kit, it might be a better value!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4?psc=1

I would get a simple starter kit like so: http://www.amazon.com/Elego-Project-Tutorial-Prototype-Expansion/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1459103307&sr=1-3-spons&keywords=arduino+starter+kit&psc=1

And then some extra motors etc

To follow up on Zouden's comment, I started with the official starter kit, partly because I do normally like having a nice-looking, physical book to refer to.

However, I quickly realized that all of the code for the Starter Kit Projects is already included the Arduino IDE, and that the Arduino founders created video tutorials for each project as well -- for example, the spaceship project. You can even find a couple of the chapters of the book on the Arduino site -- again, like the spaceship project.

The Arduino site even has detailed tutorials for all of the IDE's built-in example code. Look at the button tutorial -- that's about as good as any of the projects that are in the book, just stripped down and without the conceptual/imaginative layer ("spaceship interface," "love-o-meter")

Again, typically I prefer a physical book -- but I paid around $75 for the starter kit. Looking back, I probably would've gotten the plain-plastic-box $25 kit that the store had and used the Arduino website and videos to learn everything-- I bought the $25 kit later just to have another Arduino and extra parts, and it seemed like it had all of the components the Starter Kit did, just without the book or fancy packaging.

Not sure that that $25 kit is a typical thing - it was an official Arduino project kit, but I don't think I've seen any others but the one I bought. But you can get kits like this Elegoo one and have many of the same parts you'd get in the official Starter Kit - plus some cool other parts like the ultrasonic sensor.

If your friend loves physical books and nice-looking packaging, and has the money, they should go for the official Starter Kit. But if they'd like to save some money and read equally good tutorials online, they should buy a less expensive kit and use the Arduino website for learning.

[Edited some typos]

Buy an Arduino starter kit. Comes with tutorial manuals

Unconditionally I have no personal experience of where to start to learn electronics online because my low level knowledge of the subject is from university courses.

A idea might be to look at https://www.khanacademy.org/science/electrical-engineering that have free lecture on a lot of subject but I have listen to there elections lectures

For practical stuff look for Arduino that is a simple micro controller platform you can program and interface with external component. They are excelnt to use to learn and to try stuff on your des. There is a lot of instruction online and component you can get at a low cost.

Something like this for $36 give you the Arduion and component you can use to build stuff. The link is just to the first starter kit I found on amazon and there might be other that give you more stuff at a simian cost.

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For how a computer work look at https://eater.net/8bit that build a 8 bit CPU from discrete circuits. It give a good base understanding how a CPU can work. The design is more complicated on a desktop CPU today but the ultimate function they preform is the same. So if you understan a simple design you can start to understan more complex.

This is for the Arduino starter kit.

This is just the distance sensor.

I have the Elegoo Super Starter Kit. This one: https://www.amazon.ca/Elegoo-Project-Tutorial-Prototype-Expansion/dp/B01D8KOZF4

I have found a few definite typos and errors in it so far so I thought I would ask.

ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial, 5V Relay, UNO R3, Power Supply Module, Servo Motor, 9V Battery with DC, Prototype Expansion Board, ect. for Arduino https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TyFkDb80PR1RV

Elegoo EL-KIT-003 UNO Project Super Starter Kit with Tutorial for Arduino https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D8KOZF4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rlGIAbZA2G66P

Is this the one? I’m a developer and have wanted to break into arduinos for a long time for this and house projects.

The document is not worth much. It's just a copy/paste of the list of the components found on the Amazon page for the Elegoo super starter kit (https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-003-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01D8KOZF4) with the prices I found for each component sold separately.