What board/kit to purchase?

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dogboybz
 
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What board/kit to purchase?

Post by dogboybz »

Hi all,

I would like to enter the exciting world of Arduino development. Sadly I'm a noob. I have no idea which board to purchase. Initially it seemed like the "Budget Pack for Arduino (Arduino Uno R3)" was exactly what I needed, but after looking the through the site I saw the "Arduino Mega Android Accessory Development Kit (ADK) Board". My ultimate goal is to create a cellphone bot, specifically something that flies, but I'm interested in many other projects as well. If I purchase one board over the another will I pigeon hole myself into a certain type of development/experimentation? I'm completely new to the world of electronics and microcontrollers. Which board/kit would be best for me to start with? Any help would be much appreciated. :)

dogboy

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

If you're just starting, you really should go with the UNO R3. Just about everything - code and peripheral hardware - is designed to work with the UNO. Other boards, like there MEGA ADK, have differences which may require code changes and/or wiring changes. A big segment of the support questions here involve people trying to get things to work on a MEGA, or a Leonardo, or on some other arduino variant.

Once you're up-to-speed, you shouldn't have any trouble at all switching to a MEGA.

dogboybz
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by dogboybz »

Thank for the info. Will I be able to connect the UNO R3 to my Droid and play with different features? I'm very interested in learning how to combine the cellphone functionality with the board.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

Wellllll… probably only to a very limited extent. Like I said, if you're completely new to this, you want to start small and simple, and move up to the ADK once you've put on a few miles.

How familiar are you with Android programming?

dogboybz
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by dogboybz »

None at all. I have little programming experience in general, but normally I'm a fairly quick study. I have limited resources to work with, so I want to make sure I'm headed in the right direction. If I need to play with the starter kit for a while before moving on, that's what I'll do. I just don't want to purchase another board right away because I didn't get what I needed in the beginning.

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

I'm not trying to spend your money, but the UNOs are pretty cheap. I don't think you'll regret the investment. It will make the startup curve a lot flatter.

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john444
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by john444 »

Hi Dogboybz,

I think DriverBlock is heading you in the right direction.
Since you are new to this stuff, you will be picking up the electronics as well as the programming.
Better to take small steps at first.
Some of the more advanced hardware (BeagleBone, Raspberry Pi) can get people in over their head.
Too much too soon is just frustrating.
IMHO it is better to take small bites and savor the fun of discovering a world to control.

John

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wethaguy
 
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Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by wethaguy »

I +1 the Uno R3 recommendation. You need to get the LED blinking on a breadboard as your first step into physical computing. Then, you can move on to more advanced hardware and software implementations. In the end, the microcontroller is only a part of the overall system. In some cases, it is only a very small part of the project. In addition, after you finish the project you're talking about now, there will be other projects you want to complete. The Uno can do all those other projects :)

Don't forget the other things you need in addition to the microcontroller--good multimeter, couple of breadboards, breadboard wires, power supply/regulator for breadboarding, various color LEDs, 5-10 of the common resistors and capacitors, soldering iron, solder, hookup wire, usb cable... Those will be needed no matter what microcontroller you use. Seldom is there a component/board/module that you just plug in and it does everything you want without any troubleshooting. Shop around for prices and quality. There are many sources for these components. I used Adafruit and Sparkfun starting out (and still use them today for many items). The prices are a little higher than distributor-type sources for parts, but the customer service and assistance they and their communities provide with projects makes them very affordable!

gearz
 
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Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:50 pm

Re: What board/kit to purchase?

Post by gearz »

+1 Uno R3

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