Penguin Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I want to foster my 8th grade son's fledgling interest in Electronics. What do I want to buy? Rasberri Pi? Arudino? Make Electronics kit? Something else? Is he too old for Lego Mindstorms? He went through a session with Quick Study Labs using Snap Circuits in 7th grade. And he is currently taking a Python programming course. I have already bought Understanding Modern Electronics (Great Courses). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'll go with the make electronics kit first. Then add on arduino or raspberry pi later to match his python course. Are you near any RadioShack? If you are, drop by and look then check for better prices online. Instead of Lego Mindstorm, at his age go for Vex Robotics. It's more flexible. Look for a local makerspace. I found one local to me which is free for teens. I love the oscilloscope I get to use in high school but that is optional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I second that Vex is a better robotics choice for his age, and a maker space (where he can find some mentors) would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 I figured he was too old for Mindstorms. I had never heard of Vex - thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Make Electronics by Charles Platt will keep you busy for about a year. We just finished it and we're moving on to volume 2. Also we're starting on Arduino. And we bought an oscilloscope. In fact, I'd recommend you buy an o-scope now. I wish I'd had it when we were doing the Make experiments. I'm also thinking about ham radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Just want to mention www.conrad.de A webshop for all kind of electronics ( on a higher level) Www.opitec.de has more the standard schoolsets. ( I use from both sites the .be edition to avoid high shipping, I have no Idea what the shippings will be between .de and .dk) We have required Technical education, which covers also a little bit of electronics, but I could find almost everything I need at Conrad or Opitec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Just want to mention www.conrad.de A webshop for all kind of electronics ( on a higher level) Www.opitec.de has more the standard schoolsets. ( I use from both sites the .be edition to avoid high shipping, I have no Idea what the shippings will be between .de and .dk) We have required Technical education, which covers also a little bit of electronics, but I could find almost everything I need at Conrad or Opitec THANK YOU!!! I looked these up and found a conrad.dk http://www.conradelektronik.dk Yippee!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 Make Electronics by Charles Platt will keep you busy for about a year. We just finished it and we're moving on to volume 2. Also we're starting on Arduino. And we bought an oscilloscope. In fact, I'd recommend you buy an o-scope now. I wish I'd had it when we were doing the Make experiments. I'm also thinking about ham radio. Any recommendations for the oscilloscope? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 THANK YOU!!! I looked these up and found a conrad.dk http://www.conradelektronik.dk Yippee!! Yes, that is the same Conrad You're welcome :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Thanks for all this. My 13 yo wants to do electronics and I didn't know where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Any recommendations for the oscilloscope? I'll be honest I didn't do a whole lot of research because EE isn't really my field. I bought this Rigol 2-channel o-scope on the strength of it's Amazon reviews, but I noticed Adafruit also sells o-scopes and has detailed product reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 I want to foster my 8th grade son's fledgling interest in Electronics. What do I want to buy? Rasberri Pi? Arudino? Make Electronics kit? I would do these activities in reverse order: Make: Electronics, then Arduino, then RasPi. We are on this path, and each is an increasing level of complexity and expense. M:E will acquaint you with circuit diagrams, electronic components, logic gates, IC's. Arduino has many of the above components which you can now use with other sensors and motors to do more complicated stuff, using simple programs. RasPi is really just a computer at it's most basic, so to me that's the most complicated thing. You install your own open source OS onto it and maybe some additional programs, but again I haven't gotten that far yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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