Local Places for Arduino Parts

[Barbara]

Hi,

To help us learn to program the Arduino we got at FOSSCON, I bought Make's "Arduino Bots and Gadgets" book so the boys and I can work through it. For the first project, a stalker guard, the instructions say to pick up parts from Makershed, parallax, Element 14 and SparkFun. Is there a local resource for parts (vibration motor, PING))) ultrasonic sensors, breadboards, etc). I'd really like to see the items before purchase. We still have the 20% off coupon from the computer place that we got at FOSSCon. I think it's on Spring Garden? Would they have parts there?

Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much,
Barbara, Ben, Braden and Peirce

[Dan Shookowsky]

Microcenter in St. David's has an interesting selection of sensors and parts for Arduino and Parallax stuff.  Obviously your mileage may vary with prices versus online suppliers.  It's still a fun store with computer parts, model rockets, books, and games.

--
To post to this group, send email to hive76-d...@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe send email to hive76-discuss...@googlegroups.com
For more awesome goto http://groups.google.com/group/hive76-discussion?hl=en

[Rob Jefferson]

On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 3:48 PM, Dan Shookowsky <dshoo...@gmail.com> wrote:

Microcenter in St. David's has an interesting selection of sensors and parts for Arduino and Parallax stuff.  Obviously your mileage may vary with prices versus online suppliers.  It's still a fun store with computer parts, model rockets, books, and games.

In a pinch, there's also Radio Shack -- recently, they've begun selling Arduino boards and project kits, along with the usual assortment of electronics (breadboards, motors, LEDs). Online suppliers are going to be less expensive on the whole, but if you want it now, and want some place close in Center City and surrounding area, it's not a bad choice.

Rob

[Jordan Miller]

Hey Barbara,

This one is a fantastic board and is how I learned Arduino when I took a class about it here in Philly:
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10570

It has nice sliders, a 7-segment LED display, a bunch of light and sound sensors and LEDs. We have some demo code if you want to play with it.

It's also a great way to practice your soldering! Everything is through-hole solder-able.

If you get this board give us a heads up and bring it by an open house and I'd be glad to show you how to use it.

Even better, I just poked around and I still have my Danger Shield already assembled, if you like I can bring it by Wednesday open house for you guys to play with or borrow for a little bit. Let me know.

cheers,
jordan

[Jim Fisher]

Barbara,

NTR would not have arduino parts.

Microcenter is best local bet.

Some Radio Shacks have stuff. (Some more than others).

I can drop off one of my '80's beepers and I am sure someone can show
you all the joys of repurposing a vibra motor out of an old pager. (or
you can grab one off a brsitle bot, we only have about 100).

Sounds like the family is having fun!

--
jim fisher
Jedijf

irc freenode #ubuntu-us-pa
www.myfisher.org

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try.'"
-- Jedi Master Yoda

[Barbara]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions! We're not far from MicroCenter (when I moved here from Texas in '93, my first full time summer job was at that Microcenter in what was their education department). Also looking into the Danger Shield and planning on the Open House on Wednesday.

Thanks!

[PJ Santoro]

They actually sell the danger shield at microcenter, too!

sent by telephone

[Doctor]

Hey guys, I'd like to play with a Danger Shield.

[pezman]

I will point out (predictably) that scrapped electronics are an excellent source of parts, provided you know what you are looking for.

Not only are.the parts free, but you can often salvage entire useful subsystems that you would be hard-put to build on your own, e.g. http://groups.google.com/group/hive76-discussion/browse_thread/thread/ec3ddffec9396557/86b72c77addda37f?#86b72c77addda37f

[Barbara]

Thanks for the additional info! I'm very green with all of this and appreciate all the direction I can get!. I stopped by MicroCenter yesterday and picked up the Danger Shield, a couple of servo motors and the PING))) Distance sensor (for the Make insect). Also some hook and cable ties and a cheaper Leatherman-type tool. Haven't cracked any of it open yet. The boys and I are working through the Javascript portion of Code Academy. The Make book says it's helpful to have a bit of that before tackling the Arduino. They've only played around with Scratch, Alice and Lego Mindstorms, so this is a new adventure for all. Slow steps, but further today than yesterday.

Thanks and see you Wednesday,
Barbara, Braden, Peirce and Ben

On Sep 2, 2012, at 4:07 PM, pezman wrote:

> I will point out (predictably) that scrapped electronics are an excellent source of parts, provided you know what you are looking for.
>
> Not only are.the parts free, but you can often salvage entire useful subsystems that you would be hard-put to build on your own, e.g. http://groups.google.com/group/hive76-discussion/browse_thread/thread/ec3ddffec9396557/86b72c77addda37f?#86b72c77addda37f
>

[Joshua D. Johnson]

I was just at Micro Center and they do not have danger shields. They do have a huge selection of other Arduino stuff including books and shields. I had never seen Sparkfun products in retail packaging before... and lots of it!

[Barbara]

There was one left yesterday. It was hard for the sales associate to find. The price tag covered the name.

[Dan Shookowsky]

If youre looking for Bluetooth communication with arduino for a bot, I highly recommend getting one of the Bluetooth units from dealextreme.  After seeing the prices for the xbee and similar things, I was shocked to find a Bluetooth module that worked first time for $6.60 shipped from china. 

If you can find one, look for one with header pins.  The one I found has the smallest of solder pads.  I'm pretty sure it's meant to be connected some other way, but it works fine with the boebot shield.