Vilros 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]

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!

This is an excellent kit for Arduino beginners. The manual is a stand-out feature of the kit – very clear, detailed and helpful for those who lack background in electronics. Little is left to chance by providing comprehensive multiple depictions of each of the 12 project circuits. Including not only realistic 2D (Arduino/breadboard plan views) and 3D drawings of the circuit layouts but also abstract circuit diagrams is a great feature. The connections that the user needs to make between components both on the breadboard and to the Arduino itself are set out systematically and comprehensively in a table that allows the user to wire up the circuits in an almost foolproof way. There are one or two mistakes amongst the tables but these can be identified by reference to the other depictions provided. Conscientiously going back and forth between the different types of information given for each project can actually help with understanding the relevant circuit diagram. For all its advantages, the manual does have a few errors – the project 6 (photoresistor) arduino/breadboard plan shows wrong power connections and the project 11 (relays) plan shows wrong both wrong orientation of the transistor and the diode. These mistakes were frustrating, especially in the case of the relay project where I initially thought the supplied relay was faulty (and only discovered the errors after testing the relay to establish it was OK). Surely Vilros could supply an ‘errata’ with the booklet to save their customers from this negative experience. Unlike some other Arduino manuals are no complete sketches given in the Vilros manual. This helps to keep their manual brief and approachable. The sketches themselves must be downloaded but are well documented with comments to help the user understand what is going on. I found it useful to print the sketches off then go through them in detail to determine how they worked. The manual gives just enough ‘flavour’ of what the sketches are doing without becoming bogged down in all the minutia – I thought this balance worked very well. The programming ideas covered in the 12 projects are quite wide ranging and well-chosen to provide a gentle introduction to the scope of what will be later met in more complex Arduino sketches. Having worked through all the projects, I felt well prepared to join the wider Arduino community and tackle projects of my own.

First off this kit is not an official ardunio set. That however does not mean that the quality of the kit is poor. The board is an official Arduino Uno and works as it should, and the components that come with it are all standard. My only issue so far has been the DC motor which the wires were poorly soldered on but that is an easy fix if you know how to solder. The biggest asset that this kit has is the instructional booklet that has sample code to download. This is great for beginners who are first starting since the projects are very simple but can be applied with a little creativity to build very interesting contraptions. The book is not described very well but let me go over some of the projects that the book covers. 1. Lighting up an LED 2. Changing the brightness of an LED with a potentiometer 3. Changing the color of an RGB LED 4. Lighting up multiple LEDs 5. Turning on and off LEDs with a push button 6. Using a photo resistor to turn on an LED 7. Detecting temperature and displaying it on the debug screen 8. Moving a single servo 9. Turning on a buzzer 10.Spinning a DC Motor 11. Relays 12. Shift register These projects are very short and give an example circuit and show you how to set up the circuit and explain some of the theory behind why these circuits work in the manner they do. It also slowly explains the code to help you understand it better. Overall, this set is perfect for someone with very minimal experience with coding and circuits. If you have more experience then I would recommend the kit just for the gear and pick up a more advanced Arduino project book. If you have no experience what so ever this may seem a little tough at first but a few google searches on some topics should help you out.

The Ultimate Starter kit was exactly what I thought it to be. Just the right place to take a person like me who is computer literate, a little background in MS Basic programming from years ago, I could spell the word C. As soon as I plugged in the Ardunio to my PC and downloaded the first sketch. and pow it worked as stated, minutes later the first blinking diode sketch was kicking out SOS code and most everything else you can think of. Imagine the servo motor (include) dancing to rock music. The parts are simple, and introductory. I have already upgraded to bigger motors, bigger Ideas, and have paper designed several device controllers, as this intro kit was so easy to follow, that my mind was racing ahead, I could not read it fast enough. only down side is the little motors are "toy like" and will not raise my garage door, or operate my ceiling fans... but they teach me how to do it, if I have the time and money to invest in more powerful motors and relays. I did not program all the devices with the Kit, but my mind leapfrogged over from the simpler to the more complex.. and I have fun combining the different sketches, to do stupid thinks like making the temp sensor, turn on my motor, and blink SOS when the temp gets too hot or too cold, and just blink green when it is just right, red when too hot. have fun with this ( I am 67 years old) and enjoy this but if you have a PC or Mac, even a child could do the projects I think if they are computer literate. If you want advanced - great info get the book "Programming Ardunio:, Next Steps Going Further with Sketches". 5 star, and mind opening as to what the possibilities are, with all the Ardunio boards explained. WOW! paperback and Kindle from Amazon. I have the Kindle version as I could not wait on the mail delivery. for 9 plus bucks YOU WILL GET A REAL EDUCATION if you can read this techno. He explains well. .

Quick Summary: Real Arduino Uno High quality components from sensors to wires. Would have liked more but it's a starter kit. Good instructions/(downloadable) sketches Attempting to fill one of the few holes in my technical knowledge, I bought this kit to teach myself about electronics and robotics. Was pleasantly surprised to get what appears to be a legitimate, official Arduino and high-quality components (at least opposed to another starter kit I got from another manufacturer". The instructions are simple enough that I'd assume anybody with a reasonably decent technical aptitude could pick things up, but not insultingly/uselessly simple. Full color wiring diagrams are clear and easy to make out. Cables are sturdy and there's a nice variety of colors and lengths. For the sake of proper color coding I would have liked to see a little more red/black and a little less blue/green, but there's still plenty to follow the guide with plenty extras. Only complaint component-wise is that the wires on the transistors are a little flimsy. Not to the point of seeming like they'll break after a fair amount of use but they don't always maintain a good connection to the breadboard. I did end up frying my Uno but that was my own fault. For someone reasonably certain they're going to do more than just tinker with this and then forget it, I'd recommend getting this kit for the components and the Uno, and then buying a Ruggeduino to help protect you from yourself. You can use your Ruggeduino for testing/monkeying around with much, much less risk of frying things and your Uno from this kit for use in completed projects/if you need a second board. Again, absolutely nothing wrong with this Uno, the Ruggeduino's just a nice complementary investment if you don't really know what you're doing.

Regarding Vilros and this Kit : The Good: 1) Genuine Arduino board, very well put together. 2) The documentation is fantastic for both the hardware and software side. Very good for beginners. 3) the parts included seem to generally be of good quality, specifically: nice thick USB cable, good breadboard, jumpers, servo, DC motor is beefy. 4) once downloaded, the examples Vilros includes are very well written and documented. 5) The whole think is packaged really well The less-than-good: (if you can call these that.) 1) You need to register with Vilros to download the examples. Not a big deal, actually, just name and email and they haven't spammed me yet. That said, you don't need the examples to get going. The examples supplied from Arduino and the book that comes from Adriuno are sufficient. 2) The leads on the DC motor are flimsy and needs to be re-soldered, but geez... I'm getting REALLY nitpicky here. Regarding Arduino : 1) the IDE you'll want to download from their site installed flawlessly 2) That IDE is easy to use, and It's free (but give them a small a contribution.) 3) the examples they included with the IDE are copious. My 10 year old son and I are working on this together, He already has an idea for his first project. ...pleased as punch! This is the best purchase I've made all year.

I was very skeptical of this product, especially of the Arduino board authenticity due to the fairly low price of the entire package. Luckily, I got an Amazon card for Christmas, so I wasn't going to loose out on much if this product ended up being trash. You may find my question in December (before I bought this) asking if the board is real. The price just seemed too good to be true. Well, I got my package today and to my surprise the board is 100% legit. I've checked every millimeter of it through official Arduino resources and there's nothing skeptical about it. It also works flawlessly (I've tested it with a lot of code). Everything else that came with the board appears to be of high quality. I was actually surprised, because I was expecting some junk or something to be missing, once again... because of the price. Nope - all there and of nice quality. I think my biggest shock was the printed Guide booklet. From some of the reviews, my expectation was that I'm just getting the parts, and the rest I can learn online. To my surprise, this guide is amazing. It is very detailed, has lots of visuals (I'm a visual sort-of guy, so this is perfect for me). Information appears to be very accurate. I remember reading a few reviews saying that there were translation issues or missing information -- I've yet to find any. Even the print quality is very good (I was expecting something cheaply made). The whole thing just feels like it was made by true professionals. I'm not sure if they've improved it over time, but what I got was of fine craftsmanship. I have only one gripe, and that's the holder. While it feels like it's well made, my Arduino board did not fit in between two clips. I tried everything I could and just couldn't get it to fit. I did not want to damage my board, trying to force it, so I ended up snapping the two clips off and drilling a small hole in one of the stand-offs to screw in my board. It worked like a charm. If anyone is having a similar issue, I recommend this solution. Just make sure that the screw does not make a contact with any circuitry on the board, or might damage it. I would use a very small screw and two rubber washers (one on top and one on bottom). You're not trying to screw it in for strength -- it's just to hold it in place, so don't over-tighten it. Anyways, I'm pleasantly surprised by the purchase. I did not expect much for that price and got a phenomenal Christmas present.

All parts came in OK. I received an Arduino Uno, the parts and a booklet. The coolest part is a mounting board/tray that you screw the Arduino to and sticky mount the breadboard on. It makes it very convenient for your projects. The booklet describes constructing 12 different circuits and sends you to the arduino website for the IDE software, then to their website for the example sketches(programs) for the circuits. The programs aren't printed in the book, or even much discussed other than how it should work. The code you download is heavily commented, so that's where would pick up on the programming. If I had any complaints it would be that the resistors are apparently 1/8 watt or less, which makes them really tough to work with when inserting their fine leads into the breadboard. But resistors are cheap and you can always make a run to radio shack (if there are any left in your area) The real question is what are you going to get out of this? In my case, I have an electronics background,and know enough C++ to understand the code. So I was able to to learn how the arduino worked and how to use it in a project. If you don't know anything about electronics or programming, I don't know if you can get anything out of a kit like this beyond watching lights blink. Unless you adventurous and don't mind moving stuff around or altering code to see what happens. In terms of learning it's going to come down how much you're willing to make an effort.

Un kit de arduino muy completo y muy bueno. Lo compré para regalarlo a mi marido y está encantado con él. Tiene todas las piezas básicas y mas.

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.