Arduino Uno Starter Kit - Includes Arduino Uno R3 Board, 190+ Electronics Components, Breadboard, Jumper Wires, DC Motor, Servo, Relay, Full-Color 72 Page Manual [190+ Pieces]

First of all, let me preface this by saying that I have not (yet) used all of the components that came in this kit. I've read through all the projects in the book, but so far only built the first couple before I wandered off the reservation and was doing my own tinkering, working up a simple project that will end up being a decoration at this year's Halloween party. I bought this kit instead of the standard one primarily to get the extra components, especially the Ethernet shield. I've not been disappointed yet by any part (although the soldering of the wire leads to the DC motor does look rather questionable to me), although again I haven't (yet) used them all. The quality of the code examples from Vilros is outstanding. I'm a programmer by both trade and hobby, and I've seen more than my fair share of horrible code -- and this is not that. Code is straightforward and well-documented, easily up to the quality of the examples that come with the Arduino IDE itself. Paired with the book, I would expect even a novice to be able to follow what it does. I also really like the Arduino and breadboard holder in this kit, as it means you can easily move your prototyped projects around without worrying about jumper wires falling out of the Arduino or the breadboard. (The booklet mentions that you should screw your Arduino board into the holder, however mine is a screwless one that just uses a pair of plastic clips and some plastic posts to hold the board in place.) I will say that the projects in the booklet that come with this, although each great for learning various aspects of the Arduino and its abilities to interact with the physical world, are not very numerous. A dedicated person working from one project to the next could likely complete the entire thing in just a couple of hours; if you're not someone with a background in programming or MCUs in particular, you could find yourself at the end of the booklet with no idea what to do next. While the booklet does make an effort to explain how various lines of code work, little time is spent on that, and it may be far too little for someone new to this type of experimentation. If you're a novice, this is still a great starting point, but you should expect to pick up a more complete book to learn from. My one complaint is that, although this kit includes the Ethernet shield, there are no projects in the booklet that make use of it. I would have liked to have seen at least one project each for the networking and SD card features of this shield. Not a huge drawback for me, as again I am a programmer and I have past experience with MCUs (including programming the controller my team used to control our robot in a high school competition), especially as the Arduino IDE includes examples for both, but again someone without that background could easily find themselves holding this shield and not having any idea what to do with it.

Wow, very impressed with the quality of this starter kit! I am no expert, but I have some experience in electronics. I was tempted to buy only the Arduino Uno and a pressure sensor for the circuit I have in mind to monitor the water supply pressure in our house. However, given that the Arduino is completely new to me, I figured the starter kit would be a good way to ramp up and learn how to use the board. I'm very glad I did. The kit arrived late this afternoon, and I had fun this evening going through the first four projects in the guide. Especially the last one, with 8 LEDs; once you see the patterns that come with the USK code samples, all kinds of other ideas for patterns come to mind. The download and setup of the Arduino IDE was nearly flawless. The driver update for Windows 7 didn't work exactly as stated in the instructions (but those are instructions on the Arduino web site, so I can't fault Vilros for that), but that was a small glitch and the setup was completed quickly. The kit has a nice selection of components to get started learning right away. You're not going to produce anything practical from this, but it does serve the purpose of a good learning platform. I was surprised by the rigid plastic board that can be used to mount both the Arduino board and the breadboard. I scoffed a bit when I first saw it, but it turned out to be very handy to set up the example projects. One word of warning: if you have a preference for the orientation of the breadboard, make sure you figure that out before sticking the board down! The adhesive is very strong! The starter kit guide that was included is what really blew me away. I'm so used to buying things with poor to non-existent documentation, that it's a shock to get a well-written manual! This guide is fantastic! Each section starts out with an overview, and a perspective view of the circuit setup. The next page has a plan view/wiring diagram for the circuit. In addition, the next page has a different type of diagram showing exactly where each lead connects to the Arduino, and where each lead connects to the breadboard. I really think that nearly anyone could set up these circuits using this guide. Hats off to the tech writers! Well, I've just barely scratched the surface of Arduino capabilities, but thanks to this kit, I feel like I've gotten a running start!

Compré este Kit por ser como dice la descripción: para principiantes. Y lo es, va muy bien para aprender a utilizar desde 0 el Arduino y, aunque el manual está en aleman, siempre puedes buscarlo en internet en otros idiomas. En general estoy satisfecho con la compra.

The wax seal of the DC motor wire connection was torn off and the motor doesn't work. The connection point of the servo motor are very loose and hence it doesn't work properly. The other components are just acceptable.

Seems fantastic, I'm still working As a beginner, but has met all expectations so far!

The product has been delivered without the 72 page manual which is part of the product. I need the manual.

Although I did refund as my project was cancelled and I had no use for it. The beginners guide was great and made me fall in love with the product.