My Arduino and Raspberry Pi links for newbies

I generated this list a few months ago for Clonakilty Coder Dojo after demoing a pile of my projects/gadgets to them. Can’t believe I’m only blogging it now. Hope you find it useful.

Learning about Arduino

Adafruit has a ton of stuff on their learing site
MAKE Magazine is amazing. Get a subscription
Watch the Sparkfun Friday New Products Videos
Watch the Ben Heck Show every week
Hack a Day is very hardcore but amazing to see how hackers think.

Making Arduino and Raspberry Pi work together

Gert van Loo who did the original design for the Raspberry Pi now has an RPi board called the GertDuino that contains an Arduino and can use Arduino add-on shields. It seems like the best of both worlds and I’ll be getting one for myself.

Learning about Raspberry Pi

Adafruit again
The MagPi Magazine (a bit too techy)
Recantha- Michael mainly links to other sites but it’s a great way to see what’s happening out there.
The Raspberry Pi blog itself

Raspberry Pi Minimum setup

Raspberry Pi + 4GB SD Card (Class 10) + 1.1 Amp Phone Charger + HDMI cable + Wireless KB/Mouse + Wifi Dongle It can work with old TVs on SCART cable but picture is very fuzzy.

Very cheap Chinese Electronics including Arduino clones

The main site is DX.COM - They have tons of stuff. Very cheap. No postage charges but takes a minimum of 3 weeks (usually more) for things to arrive. Make sure to keep orders less than approx €50 to avoid import duties. Just split large orders up. Assume that if things break, you’ll either repair or bin them. Doing returns to China is a disaster.

Elecfreaks in China is also very good.

RC Car http://dx.com/p/zl-4-smart-car-chassis-kit-for-arduino-black-yellow-152992
Cheap Arduino UNO
Cheap Motor Shield
Cheap Starter Kits
Temperature Sensor

###Other Arduino Starter Kits

US Suppliers

Sparkfun and Adafruit are the main ones. Can be pricey to buy from US due to postage and import duties.

UK Suppliers

Cool Components are good but postage can be pricey

French Suppliers

Alpha Crucis seems like good value, particularly when Euro weak, but I haven’t used them yet.

Irish Suppliers

Farnell has a large Irish warehouse. Incredible selection of components mainly targeting Trade. But cheapest way to get Raspberry Pi in Ireland. They have a minimum order of €20 but then deliver by courier which is good. If you need to bulk buy wires, switches, ICs etc, they are the best/fastest option.

Makey Makey

Available on their own site and on Sparkfun in the US and Cool Components in the UK

Bare Conductive Ink

On their own site in the UK.

Maplin RPi Kit

Everything you need in one box on the Maplin site.

They had them in Maplin Blackpool the last time I was there (opposite Argos). Approx €95. Not cheap but you are guaranteed that all the parts will work together. The RPi is particularly finnicky about USB devices and power supplies.

i-racer

From Cool Components in the UK or Sparkfun in the US.

Remote Control Car Batteries

Hobbyking is best for these type of batteries. Hong Kong store has biggest range but obviously longest delay. UK store has quite a bit of stock but charges a lot for postage. I use Parcel Motel to order from UK store at UK postage rates and then collect in Bandon:

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