Reddit mentions of ELEGOO Upgraded 37 in 1 Sensor Modules Kit with Tutorial Compatible with Arduino IDE UNO R3 MEGA2560 Nano

I have had a lot of fun with this set for the Arduino for $30.
I play around with both the Arduino and ESP8266 as well as the Pi. I think they all use 3.3 volts, same as the Pi, so there shouldn't be any voltage shifting needed. The only problem is you won't have the Pi tutorial, which can be found elsewhere.

Edit: A quick search found these two kits with Pi tutorials.
https://www.amazon.com/kuman-Arduino-Raspberry-Projects-Tutorials/dp/B016D5L5KE/ref=sr_1_1_sspa
https://www.amazon.com/kuman-modules-Sensor-Raspberry-components/dp/B01EURJ7XY/ref=sr_1_2_sspa

I think you may want to look at a sensor kit like this: https://www.amazon.com/d/Computer-Motherboards/ELEGOO-Upgraded-Modules-Tutorial-Arduino/B01MG49ZQ5/

It sounds like he has an interest in sensors and this kit, or one like it, gives a good crash course with them.

I'm going to second the Elegoo Sensor Kit that another user mentioned.

While I haven't used this specific kit, I've had success with other Elegoo products and have come to recommend them in general. I can't say sensor-for-sensor how the two products compare, but the Elegoo kit is $50 cheaper. I see the kit you linked to includes a T-Cobbler, but you can get one of those from Amazon for around $10-$15 extra. You'd still save good money.

I highly highly recommend the Elegoo super starter kit


It has everything you need. And it's cheap. It's a great knockoff of the Arduino. It's EXACTLY the same. Same parts and same layout. When I say exactly I mean exactly. Works with the same software. It's cheaper than Arduino kits and comes with more things. They also sell a kit with just add-ons for a good price too. They even sell a kit for making a car.

Get the super starter kit. It's amazing. It comes with a PDF that teaches you everything through small projects. It's one of the best things I ever got. It got it as a Reddit secret santa gift.

The auto mod keeps remeoving my post for some reason

Here's a link

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-EL-KIT-003-Project-Starter-Tutorial/dp/B01D8KOZF4

Also here is 37 add-ons for $30. Pretty good deal

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01MG49ZQ5/ref=pd_aw_fbt_328_img_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4G6RRSZJX21NP8AQTGC8


Here is a link to their car project. But I highly recommend you finish doing the starter kit first
You need to build up your knowledge first. The cool thing about the car is that when you're done you can still work on it. Maybe learn how to make it do a maze.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0746DVP1J/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523573722&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=elegoo+car

Awesome! You could look into getting a kit that comes with several sensors/motors/ect, like this one. Most sensors that work with arduino should work with raspberry pi too. That way you could play around with different combinations.

Yeah, either of those would be good, the second one has more memory than the Uno, but otherwise they're comparable. I wouldn't get too distracted by it, you'll probably buy more boards at a later date and they're like $4. I still use my Uno for prototyping then move it to the ESP8266 for an actual implementation.

You might do the cheaper one and then this, your first one has a stepper motor, servo, motor, etc so combined it'd be a little of everything.

Then you can always order individual pieces for a specific project, 10 pack of motors for $5, servos, buttons, gyrometers, etc, I'd still grab a couple of those little 1" oled screens, they support i2c protocol, which a lot of sensors support, and basically you take 2 pins from the arduino and daisy chain sensors to build a network of nodes, then can send commands to specific nodes with its address similar to an IP address. It's actually simpler than that rectangular screen you see in both kits, those take a bunch of pins. They also sell multiplexers so if you have like 8 i2c screens or gyros or whatever sharing the same address you use a chip like that to make them individually addressable, like a hub.

Another site is SparkFun, it's more expensive than china/amazon, but it's more of a guided experience, selling the parts and providing libraries to use them and lots of tutorials to implement them. I started with them then just order the stuff directly now.

Get the one that has the maximum number of sensors at the price you're still willing to pay. The one you've linked on Amazon has almost nothing, just a bunch of LED's and resistors (arranged so it looks like you're getting a lot when you're really not getting anything).

Or you could get that an a sensors pack like this.

I don't know where you live, but if you'll google around for kits, I'm sure you can find them cheaper than on Amazon. And of course there's always AliExpress if you're willing to wait a little.

That should keep you entertained for quite a while.

As for suggestions.. I think it just depends on what direction you're wanting to go. If you want to go deeper on processing, I really have enjoyed ben eater's make a computer from scratch series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyznrdDSSGM), but it's about 100-200$ to get everything for that to get up to about video 24. I have enjoyed playing with the sensor kits (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG49ZQ5/ref=twister_B07F65Y7PS?_encoding=UTF8&th=1). I've enjoyed motors and automation.. We're currently building a copy of kosmo from look mum no computer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5qHMgZJ2w4).. This is surprisingly cheap.. A few sensors, a 10 pack of servos (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X7CJZWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and a raspberry pi so it can be managed via wifi through python. It would work totally fine w/ arduino only, but they wanted to do a voice and it made more sense to use a google api on that so they didn't have to hand design audio circuitry..

Tools-wise. I'm loving the 100$ hakko soldering iron.. After almost 25 years with my weller wlc100, my life was turned upside down when I put a bit of cash into the hakko.. Soldering is actually enjoyable, now. Also, I treat prototype boards kind of like permanent project boards.. I rarely take them apart, so I tend to buy a 5 or 10 pack for super cheap on ebay.. Like 20$.

And don't feel bad on the hs comment.. Kids pick stuff up faster adults do and we all start at the same knowledge level on new things. I usually work w/ my students like a teammate and go in cold.. A lot of the time I'm right there with them unsure how to solve a problem.

this is the one i bought:

https://www.amazon.com/Elegoo-Upgraded-Modules-Tutorial-Arduino/dp/B01MG49ZQ5/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1499097531&sr=8-3&keywords=elegoo+sensor+kit

also, let me know if yo uwant that. im selling an exact version of this on ebay for 38 with an arduino uno r3, case, breadboard, and cable all bundled together.

somehow i got 2 in the mail and decided to sell the second one. the only thing missing in my set is the LCD screen. it was borked but i cant return it because i didnt pay for it haha, they just sent me 2. i can give you a good deal if yo uwant to do it via /r/hardwareswap.

I've really keep my self busy buying this sensor kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG49ZQ5?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Along with this basic starter set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N6BFGWA?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
But it didn't include an arduino so I also bought one separately. However, you can easily buy a kit that includes one as they are a plenty, just make sure to get a very diverse one with resistors, wires, breadboard etc. That'll keep you busy for the next couple months going through all the different sensor functions.