I’ll show you TWO Kits that might change how you make Arduino projects! <vinyl record scratch> 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… <cracking, breaking> <angels singing> Now it looks great! <laughing> 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. <woman screaming> 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!
