For those making their first foray into the world of electronics, there’s a bewildering array of components to choose from. So a kit like this Keyes Sensor Experiment Kit can be a useful starting point. While it’s listed in the Arduino section of the ModMyPi site, and although it is labelled ‘for Arduino’ on the box, it will work with most microcontrollers, including the Raspberry Pi. The kit isn’t supplied with a breadboard or any other components, so you’ll need to source those separately.

The full article can be found in The MagPi 43 and was written by Phil King

You get a fairly wide range of sensors for your money, working out at £1 each. By our rough calculations, the combined cost of the components would come to at least £40 (plus any shipping), so it represents reasonable value. In addition, each part comes in its own ziplock bag, safely stowed in one of the compartments in the sturdy case. The only documentation supplied is a single sheet identifying each sensor, in English and Chinese, and some have misleading names. Fortunately, the ModMyPi site offers several handy links to find out more about the sensors and how to use them, including Python and C code examples, along with a Raspberry Pi-based lesson plan.

One thing to note is that while this is described as a ‘sensor’ kit, its contents also feature a selection of switches, microphones, and LEDs. These are of varying usefulness. There’s some overlapping of functionality, too, with three different temperature sensors and three Hall effect modules to detect magnetic fields; since they require different implementation methods, though, it’s still beneficial for learning purposes.

There are quite a few fairly standard parts, such as a couple of two-colour LEDs and buzzers. More exotic components include a flame sensor, which can detect a fire within 80cm, and a heartbeat sensor that’s placed around your finger and flashes an LED with your pulse. Other parts, such as an IR line follower and an obstacle avoidance sensor, may also come in useful for robotics projects.

Final word

3/5

The kit offers reasonable value, particularly with the compartment case included, and offers plenty of possibilities for experiments – so long as you already have some jumper wires, at least. Anyone focusing on a single project would be better off buying the required components separately.