Finally, I Got My Own Arduino Starter Kit

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jloberiza3 years ago5 min read

Finally, I Got My Own Arduino Starter Kit
*February 25, 2023. *

This school year, I am again teaching robotics to grades 9 and 10. At first, I was reluctant since the school does not have enough Arduino kits. I already suggested that I will teach mobile app programming instead, and the administrators agreed.

However, I learned about TinkerCad, which is a free online Arduino simulator. With TinkerCad, the learners can create circuit designs and simulate them. This includes designing and programming basic Arduino designs.

On the other hand, the simulator has a lot of limitations. I believe nothing beats learning using the real thing. Thus, last week (February 15), I decided to purchase my own Arduino Basic Starter Kit.

Greetings my dear readers and friends. I know I hardly write here in the past couple of months. I have been quite busy with my classes. I will write (or rewrite, to be precise) about it here soon.

Anyways, preparing for my robotics class is one of the main reasons that I have barely written anything in the past two months.

What is Arduino?

What is Arduino anyway? Arduino is the name of the company that creates an open-source microcontroller. That is like a small computer. Their Arduino Uno microcontroller is widely used these days by those who want to learn robotics.

The Arduino boards are relatively cheap already. However, since it is an open-source technology, there are a lot of companies that manufacture much cheaper Arduino-compatible boards.

For my starter kit, I chose to buy the starter kit made by

. I made my purchase through the online platform, Shopee.

Tracking My Parcel

I placed my order last February 15. Since the kit will come from China, I expected it to arrive sometime in the first week of March. Although it took three days before my Parcel. left China, it arrived in the Philippines the following (February 19).

Shopee's tracking information says the package should be expected by March 3. However, I was surprised to see that it arrived in the sorting facility in our city on February 21. I got excited that I thought I'd receive it by the next day.

The next day, I made sure I already have the amount. However, to my disappointment, I did not receive any notification from the courier. Not until the next day. Perhaps, I was a bit disappointed with our local courier for the one-day delay, nevertheless, my Arduino kit arrived about 8 days before schedule.

Checking The Content

I quickly checked the content. It was complete. I then connected the board to my laptop, uploaded a blank sketch (program), then uploaded the minimal program to check if the microcontroller works.
https://youtu.be/KJm4TWGmq18

The program simply makes the built-in LED of the board blink. It did.

Later that day, I uploaded another program that will play some tone through a passive buzzer. It worked!

What Am I Going To Do With the Kit?

Now that I have my own Arduino Learning Kit, the next question is, what am I going to do with it?

1. Learn Robotics

As I have mentioned, I always wanted to learn robotics. Arduino boards now made that possible since it is affordable and easy to learn.

Since it is open-source, there are lots of available tutorials in the Internet.

2. Share What I Have Learned

This is the second purpose. I wanted to share what I know to the younger minds. Not only to my students but also to anyone who is interested in learning Robotics.

That's why I started a YouTube channel for this purpose. I'm also looking for a platform where I can post my written tutorials. Perhaps, if I can save enough money, I will have my own website for this purpose.

3. Create Various Practical and Useful Projects

Even with the Starter Kit, I can already design some practical applications such as home security, lighting automation/control, and the like.

There are times I get some networking projects. Sometimes, installing network cables requires crawling through tight and hot spaces... which, I can no longer do. Perhaps a crawling robot can pull the cable for me in those tight spaces.

In Closing

Technology continues to develop at a rapid pace. Moreover, learning new technology is very much affordable and easier these days. You can even see children at the grade school levels are already starting to learn robotics.

You don't even have to be an Engineer to understand and learn robotics these days. You may be in the field of medicine, food, home gardening, agriculture, or in any other fields, in one way or another, you will encounter a robotics application. Would it not be an advantage if you have at least a basic understanding of robotics?

If you have any questions or comments regarding this matter, feel free to post them in the comment section below.
I would also appreciate it if you find some time to check out my new YouTube Channel
YouTube/@dailytechlife252