Friday, March 29, 2024

Get everything you need for a DIY project with these Pi kits

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If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to enter the world of DIY electronics, a Raspberry Pi is a great place to start. It’s a well-built, small PC board that uses standard input and outputs for audio and video, standard USB ports, a set of simple input/output pins to connect to just about anything, and most importantly, a massive collection of accessories and a vast community of developers. This spells success, whether you’re building a hobby project or a prototyping something more complicated.

The New Model

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 4 2GB Basic Kit

Staff pick

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The new Raspberry Pi 4 is a significant improvement over the 3 B+, and this kit from CanaKit has what you need to get up and running right away.

$72 at Amazon

Bare Bones

Raspberry Pi 4 with essentials

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This kit includes a 1GB board, heatsink, USB adapter, and HDMI adapter so you can drop your new board into an existing project. Neat!

$50 at Amazon

All ages

Kano Computer Kit

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A Kano Computer Kit is an excellent way for anyone to get started with a Raspberry Pi no matter their age. Simply plug it in and start having fun.

$61 at Amazon

Smart Car

Sunfounder PiCar-S

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Build your own robotic Smart Car with Sunfounder’s PiCar kits. The PiCar-S is easy to assemble and program, and makes for a great project.

$135 at Amazon

Go Retro

Vilros Raspberry Pi 3 Retro Arcade Gaming Kit

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There are some tremendous open-source arcade system images built for the Raspberry Pi, and this kit is a fun way to get started with one.

$80 at Amazon

The Kitchen Sink

CanaKit Raspberry Pi 3 B+ Ultimate Starter Kit

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Made for hobbyists that want to go to the next level, this kit comes with everything needed to connect to the rest of the world and do cool things.

$90 at Amazon

Get started in DIY

You can do so much with a Raspberry Pi. Yes, you. This little PC board was designed with education in mind. It’s easy to learn, relatively simple to master, and extremely powerful when used to control things like a smart home or robot. Best of all, they’re incredibly inexpensive.

You’ll find kits for every level of skill and our staff pick — the Kano Computer Kit — is perfect for most people who aren’t quite sure where to start. Like the Pi itself, it was designed as a STEM tool for kids that have an interest in building a PC and programming. But it’s a complete system for everyone that’s super easy to get started with.

You’ll also find the perfect way to get started with the new Raspberry Pi 4 with CanaKit’s Basic Raspberry Pi 4 kit. You get the board, the new power supply that you’ll need to power it, and a set of heatsinks to keep everything running cool. It’s an excellent way to transition from an older version to the new model.

Or just buy the PiCar and have a load of fun out in the parking lot. You know you want to.

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