Choosing a Starter Kit

Arduino Uno

Getting Started

It's easy to think that the biggest is best and spend a lot of money on items you never use so in this tutorial we will look at the basics or what you need.

Although a kit is not essential, you could just buy an Arduino and individual components, they do make economic sense when starting out.

As well as your starter kit you will need a few other items, some immediately while others will be useful over time or as you progress. Many of the itemsd you may already have, others you can start keep an eye out for them.

Essential Items

No kit is perfect but there are certain items you will need so make sure they are in your kit.

	Arduino Uno or Clone From a programming point of view there is no difference between the boards. The Arduino design is Open Source so companies are allowed, and even encouraged, to make copies and many not only copy the boards but add extra features to their copy boards. The genuine board on the right has a plug in chip (although clone boards can also have the plug in chip), while the board on the left is soldered in place. The kit I will be using has a solder in place board, they are cheaper to manufacture and so allowed extra modules to be put in the kit for the same price. There are kits that come with the Mega2560, ESP32 and other boards but if you are starting out I would always advise starting with an UNO as they are purpose built for beginners.
	Solderless Breadboard and a variety of solderless leads The 830 point solderless breadboards are great to start with. Plenty of space for your projects although you may find over time you need to add a second or even a third board for really big projects. The 830 pin boards can be clipped together side by side to make a bigger board. Solderless wires and Dupont style connectors are another thing you can never get enough of. I bought extra kits as it was an economic way of getting more breadboards, connectors and Arduinos than buying individually.
	USB cables Most kits come with a light blue USB cable. These are ideal to use with your Arduino as they work. Not all USB cables are of the same quality and some only provide power for charging and NOT communication. It's regular to see on help groups new users having problems uploading code and often it is down to the USB cables. So as you find good ones keep them aside just for your Arduino projects.
	LED's, Buttons and Resistors A selection of various coloured LED's and buttons is a must have in any kit to get started. Also a selection of resistors. The most common sizes I use are: 330 ohm 1k Ohm 2k Ohm 4k - 5k Ohm 10k Ohm You will use other sizes but the sizes above are a must have. You will finish up buying more over time as they get lost or ruined but they are very cheap to buy.
	Other Modules From LCD screens to relays, temperature and humidity sensors, motors, stepper motors, bizzers and servos. Each kit comes with it's own set of parts but when looking for a kit don't be fooled by the number of parts as it's easy to fill the box with useless items. Think about the type of projects you imagine yourself building and buy accordingly.. You don't need to buy a kit that has every sensor made, just enough to learn how to use different types. Most kits also come with a few electronics components and even some chips, they may look a bit confusing at the beginning but they will be just as useful as the modules for projects later on. Once you start to understand how things work you will tend to buy specific items for the project you are working on.

Items you will need that are not in the kit.

Patience and Perserverance	Patience and Perserverance Learning to program takes time and at times can be quite frustrating. The biggest failures I see are those who don't take the time to learn the basics and instead jump into big projects that then fail leading to total frustration. Working with Arduinos is a combination of electronics and programming so although I have tried to make these tutorials as simple as possible you will need to do some work. Just copying someone elses code is not enough. Take time to experiment, make mistakes, have fun, it's a hobby. When it gets stressfull take a break, watch a film, go for a walk. A rested mind works better.
	Computer and Internet Connection The Arduino IDE will run on Windows, Mac and Linux. Any computer, laptop or desktop, built after 2009 should be able to run a version of the Arduino IDE software. I know some people try using a phone, it may be OK in an emergency, but to be honest the screen isn't big enough. You will also need an internet connection to download the Arduino IDE (About 185Mb) as well as libraries and updates. These are not huge files if compared to games so you DO NOT need the latest Super Fast fibre broadband but obviously the slower your connection the longer the download. Also once downloaded, apart from checking for updates or downloading extra libraries you DO NOT need a constant internet connection to run the Arduino IDE.
	Arduino IDE This is the software we will use to write our programs and then compile it into the code that is uploaded to the board. There are various IDE's that can be used and as you progress you may move away from the Arduino IDE, but it is a great place to start. Go to https://www.arduino.cc/en/software to downlaod the software. Download and installation instructions are at https://docs.arduino.cc/software/ide-v2/tutorials/getting-started/ide-v2-downloading-and-installing/
CH340 Device Driver	Device Drivers Some boards, especially the clone boards require the CH340 Device driver installed to communicate with the Arduino. This is a link to the driver package, just download it, unzip and click on setup and the drivers will be installed. It is worth installing the drivers even if your current board doesn't need them as when you buy a board that does it will be just plug and play. This is a link to the driver that I have tested and know works. Device Driver If you are using Windows 11 and have a board that will not work please check this link for a possible solution.
	Work surface I use the back of a craft cutting mat or if I'm working downstairs while watching a film I use a tray as parts are small and easily dropped. Most important is make sure it is non conducting, so don't try using a tin tray.
	Lighting When building up circuits the holes in the breadboard seem to just hide at times so make sure you have decent lighting. A cheap desk lamp is fine.
	Blu Tak On many of the tutorials you will see what looks like old chewing guum on the bread board, it's Blu Tak. It's great for holding components in place while you work on them. Motors and servos can jump all over the place but a bit of Blu Tak holds them down and doesn't cause any damage. It's also good for sticking the UNO to one end of the breadboard to stop it moving as that causes th wires to pull out.
	Power Supply for Breadboard Most kits don't provide the transformer plug for the breadboard power supply. Any power supply between 7v and 12v with the correct sized jack plug will be fine. This one is 7.5v 0.6Amps and has been able to power every project I have built. It's worth keeping old router box power supplies or other chargers as they come in very useful for powering more permentant projects as you progress.
	Multi Compartment boxes I started out with a simple starter kit, then bought a second, then added loads of other bits. Storing the bits in an organised way will save you a lot of stress. You can buy them quite cheaply in hobby shops but you can also find them around the house. Even old ice cream containers can be useful if you put the items into resealable bags.
	Small resealable plastic bags Putting components into small bags with a label stops them getting lost and also helps you to identify parts when you need them.

Other items to think about for the future

	USB Extension Cable/Expander Endlessly plugging and unplugging USB cables into your computer will eventuall start to cause wear and bad connections on the USB port. It is worth buying a USB extension cable or an USB Expander and plugging that into the computer allowing all the wear to take place on that rather than the computer itself.
	Batteries Some kits don't come with batteries for the IR remote or the RTC Clock modules, this is due to the complexity of transporting batteries rather than a cost thing. So although you may not need them on day one it's worth keepoing an eye out for the sizes you want next tiime you are out shopping.
	Magnifying Glass/Magnifier Glasses Some of the writing on certain components can be very small, if you are struggling get a magnifying glass, it really helps.
	Red Nail Polish Yes you read that correctly. When you are using certin components the pin layout can get confusing at times, especially if you are looking at the component from a different side to the diagram. If you put a bit of red nail polish on the V+ (positive connection) yoo won't get confused. This is important as plugging things in the wrong way can easily destroy electronic components.
	Multi Meter A basic electronic multimeter will be very useful once you start to build permenant projects. They are also very useful for checking the value of resistors. It doesn't need to be an expensive version as most of the time you will only be checking resistance or voltage so basic sub £10 are enough to get going.
	Soldering Iron Some components need the pins soldering to them. This is not the supplier cutting costs, it's because components being used on a breadboard often have the pins on the opposite side to how they would be in a finished product/project. Suppliers therefore just put the pins in the bag and let the user solder them as they want. There is no need to spend a fortune, a basic temperature controlled soldering iron can be bought for about £15 Make sure the stand is stable, if it's very light screw it to a piece of wood to add wait and stability.

Starter Kit Lessons

Preperation 1: Getting Started - What you need, Choosing a kit, downloading the Arduino IDE 17/02/2024

Preperation 2: Getting Started - Arduino IDE quick tour 15/02/2024

Comments

Comments and questions can be added to the Youtube videos or email the address in this image: and use Choosing a Starter Kit as a reference.
Please rememebr I have a full time job, this is just a hobby.