ARDUINO Compatible STARTER KIT for just $12 - For Anyone to learn Electronics!

[Vyom]

thinking of ordering this.. will they ship it in India especially in west Bengal ? will idbi debit card work ?

I think it can be shipped anywhere in the world. Be it West Bengal.
But, I don't think Debit cards are accepted. Better find a Credit card (I mean, ask dad or friend to buy it for you).

 

[icebags]

so, anyone's item got shipped yet ?

 

[Vyom]

so, anyone's item got shipped yet ?

Dude. You don't even read what's the thread is about, do you?

The board's not *for sale* in the literal sense. And the guy is not *selling* the product for profit.

Its a crowd funding campaign by a teacher, who originally planned to let anyone who can't afford the original Arduino board, a cheaper alternative. Little did he know, the response would be this overwhelming. And if you don't know what crowd funding campaigns are, I shall explain it to you in brief.

In a crowd funding project, a person have an idea of what he can deliver if he/she could collect a predefined goal of X dollars. And sites such as Indiegogo and Kickstarter provides means to let the person share the idea with the world. Crowd (people like you and me on the Internet) can donate a little of our money to fund the project. Or we can invest some amount to get perks. (Perks are decided by the person who starts a campaign and can be multi level). If by the end of deadline (usually little less than a month) the project is able to fund its target, than the money is given to the owner of the campaign. But if project is not able to fund completely, money is credited back to our accounts, and owner of campaign gets nothing.

In this case, a teacher named, Harold have initiated a project to enable guys/students to get an Arduino board at a dirt cheap price, by cutting off any kind of profit and the middle man and ship it directly from the manufacturing plant in China to those who have invested. The deadline for this project is not even over yet, and still the project is funded 10 times of the original target and still growing. Once the deadline is met on 15th August, Harold will start shipping the boards or THE KIT as it's now become in September!

So lets see what would I get once its shipped:

*borderlesselectronics.org/igg/summary.jpg

Grab it here: ARDUINO Compatible STARTER KIT for just $12

 

[thetechfreak]

Very good initiative. Hope zomething like this happens for the Raspberry Pi too.

 

[icebags]

there is another compatible board at ebay @ 1.2k, would this be a good buy ? come with replaceable microcontroller :

Arduino UNO R3 2012 Compatible Development Board MEGA328P ATMEGA16U2 + USB Cable | eBay

the chip can be bought separate online or locally if available, in case it goes kaput:
*www.ebay.in/itm/Buy-Atmega328P-IC-...5?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3cd44441d7

found other cheaper options:
700/-
*www.ebay.in/itm/Freeduino-Arduino-...8?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item3f26f55b24
875/-
*www.ebay.in/itm/Arduino-Duemilanov...9?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_203&hash=item33843795ed

they dont come with somany accessories though, but they r pretty cheap in calcutta: bb-> ~150(not sure exct price standard 6.6"), buzzer -> 20-25/-, resistance: 0.25-0.5/- per piece (1/4w), led-> 1-2/- per pc, photo resistor-> 10-30/- per piece, npn transistor -> 2-5/- per piece (BC148 or BC548, i forgot)

if u're planning on arduino projects, don't forget to get urself a multimeter. that comes very handy.

when u ppl all get ur boards, lets do some arduino projects together.

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Is this really for anyone who don't even know ABCD of electronics? I don't even remember what diode is or what capacitor does. I guess I remember what resistor is due to it's meaning

Thinking of getting one..!!

 

[quagmire]

^Follow Jeremy Blum's Arduino tutorial on youtube, he starts from level 0 (almost )

 

[icebags]

^if u had science @12, its no big deal to try some little projests (i started electronics projects from class 7 - only knew those basics but i loved electronics so much that decided to go for btech on it).

although with arduino board u will basically be controlling some electronic sensors with c programming, so, its more programming and less electronics.

 

[Santa Maria!]

thinking of ordering this.. will they ship it in India especially in west Bengal ? will idbi debit card work ?

Debit cards should work. Any Visa/Mastercard compliant card will work. I paid for mine with an ICICI debit card.

Guys, do you think customs will screw us over a an item such as this?

 

[Vyom]

although with arduino board u will basically be controlling some electronic sensors with c programming, so, its more programming and less electronics.

My fingers are glad to hear this.
I want to test some of my programming skills with such hardware. That's why I can't wait to get my hands on it!

Guys, do you think customs will screw us over a an item such as this?

I never thought about that. I don't even know how much customs would cost on a product with such low price tag.

 

[Santa Maria!]

I've never dealt with customs before.
Is this online calculator accurate?
New Import Duty & Taxes Calculation | DutyCalculator
If so, it shows customs cost coming to approx Rs. 200. I chose category: Electronics and Video Games --> Electronic Components --> Programmable controller.

 

[icebags]

^ many arduino boards use atmega328 microcontroller. if u use arduino, its C via arduino, i.e. not exactly C i think.

but these chips can be programmed with C, even without arduino software (i haven't read it yet):
*brittonkerin.com/cduino/home_page.html
A Brief Tutorial on Programming the ATMega (Arduino) Without Arduino Software

also found arduino board schematic. i think i will try to make my own arduino board - it should not cost more than 300 to buy these components.
Arduino - ArduinoBoardSerial
*webzone.k3.mah.se/k3dacu/arduino/releases/serial_v2/arduino_rs232_v2.png

never used arduino before, thanks for letting me know about it.

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Thanks guy for your suggestions..!! I'd give it a try..!! INR 700/- is really affordable for a RnD

 

[d3p]

Delivery time is one month..that's the only problem otherwise its good for hobbyist.

 

[dan4u]

Good stuff, will give it a go...

 

[Vyom]

I've never dealt with customs before.
Is this online calculator accurate?
New Import Duty & Taxes Calculation | DutyCalculator
If so, it shows customs cost coming to approx Rs. 200. I chose category: Electronics and Video Games --> Electronic Components --> Programmable controller.

It does look like it will cost ~Rs 200 for customs. Not a deal breaker though, for such a low cost device.
*i.minus.com/jbtyFNu5n0y2Or.png

Delivery time is one month..that's the only problem otherwise its good for hobbyist.

I am not sure you can buy this anytime later too. It's a "campaign".
There are somethings which you can buy from market and you can get it in days. It's the *original* Arduino. :/

Thanks guy for your suggestions..!! I'd give it a try..!! INR 700/- is really affordable for a RnD

Don't forget to use my (or somebody's) referral!

 

[krishnandu.sarkar]

Sure..!! I'd use the referral link

 

[dan4u]

Don't forget to use my (or somebody's) referral!

any incentives for referrals ?

guys there's only one day left for the campaign to end....

 

[Vyom]

Sure..!! I'd use the referral link

TY.

any incentives for referrals ?

guys there's only one day left for the campaign to end....

Well, in the end, person with the most referrals (the number of referral, not the number of Arduino's they bought) would win a signed copy of the author's book Arduino Adventures. I managed to get 7 referrals. And surely that wont be enough for me to win the book. But I am happy nevertheless.

So finally, the Campaign is now officially closed, and that too before the deadline. More than 13 times the original amount raised. 15000 boards bought! Thats some good response.
Now only hoping customs don't charge for this, or atleast dont charge much.

 

[dan4u]

Well, in the end, person with the most referrals (the number of referral, not the number of Arduino's they bought) would win a signed copy of the author's book Arduino Adventures. I managed to get 7 referrals. And surely that wont be enough for me to win the book. But I am happy nevertheless.

So finally, the Campaign is now officially closed, and that too before the deadline. More than 13 times the original amount raised. 15000 boards bought! Thats some good response.
Now only hoping customs don't charge for this, or atleast dont charge much.

I don't think customs will charge anything, there's a 2k limit if I remember correctly....but if its a gift that can go upto 10k, anything above that they charge you...check this out gadget import

and thanks, wouldn't have known about this if it weren't for this thread