I’ll show you TWO Kits
that might change how you make Arduino projects!
Yeah, but these TWO Kits are in fact
different from any other Arduino kit you know!
Because, instead of a bunch of individual components,
everything comes assembled.
They bring some sensors that you don’t find in most kits
and more importantly:
Connecting modules is super easy, safe and fast.
Two kits: one of them I really recommend,
and the other one…
it depends!
Full disclosure: this video is NOT sponsored.
Seeed Studio sent me this.
But to make a fair comparison,
I had to buy this,
and I also bought a few other things that I want to show you…
so please LIKE the video and stick around!
This is the “Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino”,
and here is the official “Arduino Sensor Kit”.
Both kits have the same modules:
an adjustable LED,
A Buzzer,
a Button,
a Potentiometer,
a sensor for Temperature & Humidity,
and a Light sensor
You can find those in every kit,
but the next ones are quite rare:
a Sound sensor,
an Air Pressure sensor, like a barometer or altimeter
a 3-axis accelerometer,
and an OLED Graphical Display.
Side by side, both kits look identical, right?
But they are not!
Let’s begin with the “Grove Beginner Kit”, from Seeed Studio,
that comes in a small, quite ingenious, cardboard package:
The box says “open & play”,
so let’s do that:
you plug the micro-usb cable and “ta-daaa!”
It runs a demonstration program
and you can already see each module working:
because everything comes connected, ready to use.
So, you just download the Manual
and go through all the programming lessons.
You don’t need to worry about terminals,
polarity,
jumpers…
it is much easier to complete every lesson.
But I am not a beginner anymore
so I will break the connections…
Now it looks great!
What you have now is basically an Arduino Uno Board
you can use the “Grove Connectors” in the middle
but you can also use the GPIO pins like any other Arduino.
This is my “Prototyping Board” now:
Grove and Breadboard.
Now, the “Arduino Sensor Kit”
Super nice box…
and the reason it “looks” identical to the Grove System
is because it was made in collaboration with Seeed Studio,
the creator of the Grove System.
But these kits are NOT identical!
The modules are the same, the price is basically the same…
But when you buy the “Arduino Sensor Kit",
you don’t get an Arduino.
Here in the middle,
all of this is just a bunch of connectors.
This board is a “shield” to be plugged on top of an Arduino Uno.
And if you buy the official one...
Good Lord!
...it costs almost the same as this kit!
You can use any "Uno" board
My favourite clone so far is the Elegoo Uno R3:
excellent PCB,
the same chips as the original…
just perfect to make this Arduino Sensor Kit, well, work!
The best thing about the Arduino Sensor Kit
is the website they made for this kit:
extremely visual
And they also made a special library for this kit:
the LCD, the accelerometer,
the specifics for all of them is combined in this single library.
You can do the 10 lessons without breaking the modules apart
which is great for kids and schools.
Can you use the Grove Kit with the beautiful Arduino Lessons?
Yes, with some tweaks
you can pause the video here if you want to read these details.
Before I tell you which kit I recommend,
this is what I like AND DISLIKE about them:
I like the OLED screen because you can draw graphics.
I also like the accelerometer
they can be used together to program games.
It is sad they don’t bring any motors…
but you can buy a Grove Servo from Seeed Studio,
or a Grove Relay… actually,
the collection of Grove Sensors and Actuators is insane!
I love the Grove Connectors and I am installing
grove cables on some components I got from other kits.
The typical LCD, for example, used a BUNCH of cables
this is as good as I could get in the past…
But now, I can use an I2C module in the back,
buy a cable converter from “Dupont-style” to Grove,
plug and “ta-da!”!
Every Grove Connector has Ground, 5V and two Arduino Pins.
…But the Grove Cables are NOT cheap
Almost 10 times more expensive
than the typical pin-header cables we buy in bulk.
I tried the much cheaper JST connector,
it looks so similar, right?
But it does’t fit!
The closest I got from a cheap Grove Cable
was 15 cents per cable, the proper connector
but only in one end…
But the colors were wrong.
I can put them in the correct order but…
prrfffffshhhh…
In the end I ordered more official Grove Cables.
Actually, I spent more money on cables than the price of the kit.
I don’t like that,
when you connect the Sensor Base on top of your Arduino Board
the LED Pin13, RX, TX… the LEDs are now hidden!
But I love that on the Grove Uno Board
the LEDs are right on the edge
and it makes total sense!
Although, in my kit, RX and TX are mislabeled.
Oops!
Both kits are great.
The Sensor Kit from Arduino might be too expensive for a lot of people
I recommend the Grove Beginner Kit:
not just for beginners!
It is excellent for prototyping
and it comes with a bonus:
easy Analog 6 and 7 that NO OTHER Arduino Uno board has.
And the price is very good.
I’ll put links in the description
so, check them out!
How blind am I!?
It is a Grove Relay!
Like... 4 years ago I had no idea why it had such a strange connector!
Ah, look!
I still have one closed!