Arduino Uno Ultimate Starter Kit -- Includes 72 page Instruction Book..
Special Price Arduino Uno Ultimate Starter Kit -- Includes 72 page Instruction Book By Vilros
Most helpful customer reviews
240 of 244 people found the following review helpful.
By Thomas D. Walker
Old men's toys don't have to be expensive but they do have to be awesome and thought provoking. The Arduino Uno is all that and more.
My last foray into electronics was when the telegraph was a new-fangled contraption and my last programming languages were Fortran and Cobol so I was a bit intimidated and not sure whether I should check out this Arduino-thingy.
I got the Uno and a couple of very basic books and, over the course of a couple of weeks, I acquired a couple of servos, which I modified to make continuous rotation, a Ping Ultrasonic sensor and very soon had a small two-wheeled robot running around the floor driving my hound dog crazy. The Uno makes controlling the servos and the ultrasonic sensor a snap even for a 65-year old. I have a long list of future projects to try out and components to find and have taken over half of the dining room table (much to my wife's chagrin). I recommend the Arduino for anyone who has a desire to make things go bump in the night. Thank you for an excellent product.
I can also recommend "Arduino Cookbook" by Michael Margolis, an excellent book.
Thom Walker
Sandy, OR
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
By Julie
And by far, it's the best money I've ever spent on a gift for him. He's been able to create some pretty damn awesome things with this Arduino, and I'm glad I purchased it. The only issue he's had is just making sure the software is running properly, but that doesn't have anything to do with the product itself not working correctly.
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful.
By Gregory B Besch
I was absolutely delighted with the SUPER quality of all the items in the kit.
I've been using insulated solid wire (bits of old 25-pair telephone cable) with the ends stripped back as breadboard jumpers for my old Heathkit solderless breadboard. The problem with using solid wire is that it breaks after being bent too many times. I was always having to make a new batch every so often.
The jumper wires in this kit are a really nice upgrade. They're made of stranded wire with very soft, flexible insulation that allows them to bend easily without breaking. There are several different lengths, which makes for cleaner prototypes when you're working on a large project. Each has solid pins connected to the ends for plugging into the breadboard holes and the ends are nicely finished to exactly the right length with heat-shrink tubing to prevent accidental shorts. I'll be ordering a couple more sets of these and retiring my old solid wire jumpers!
The breadboard is a real class act compared to the low quality versions I've bought from a certain electronics chain store popular in the U.S. The molding is crisply detailed with raised, color printing to identify the power bus holes from component bus holes. Each row of holes is numbered on both sides to aid in identification when you're connecting circuit components and jumpers. The small size makes it conveniently portable, unlike my heavy old Heathkit breadboard with its built-in power supply. The manufacturing fit and finish is excellent.
When I saw the plastic Arduino mounting tray in the product photos, I figured it was essentially just packing material that I'd end up throwing away. I couldn't have been more wrong! This is a surprisingly convenient little accessory. It has built-in standoffs for the Arduino along with built-in spring clips that allow the Arduino to snap in and be held securely in place. I can place it on any surface without worrying about shorting out the traces on the bottom of my Arduino board. Again, manufacturing fit and finish is excellent -- no leftover "flash" on the edges or other casting "nasties" to cut your fingers on.
USB cables come in so many different combinations of connector types that figuring out which one you need can be a research chore. Having the correct USB cable in the kit removes the guesswork.
The Arduino Uno comes with the "blink" sketch preloaded so that you can see it working as soon as you power it up. Downloading the Arduino software and getting it loaded onto the computer is straightforward. This little board is delightfully simple to program and use compared to other microcontrollers I've used and the community support is absolutely amazing.
The kit also came with one more thing that isn't shown in the product picture: outstanding support from Prestige Milano. This is actually the most valuable component and easily justifies the cost of the entire kit. The kit I received came with the wrong USB cable, but Alex at Prestige Milano responded to my support email within minutes of clicking the "send" button. I had the correct replacement just a short time later at no additional cost or hassle. Alex was very courteous, professional, and pleasant to deal with throughout.
You may find similar kits from another vendor, but you certainly won't find better support!!!
In summary, I'm extremely pleased with my new purchase and the experience with Prestige Milano. I plan to do business with them again soon...
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