Help for Santa - What to Buy to Get Started?

[Mom2twoboys]

Hi guys,

I want to buy a rasberry Pi kit for my almost 11 year old (and maybe one for my almost 8 year old) as a Santa Clause gift. I'm looking at the vilros starter kit, but I have a few questions:

1. Do I need to buy a display or can it connect to a regular monitor? If it connects to a regular monitor, do I need a special cord? What kind of display is best? Should I get a stand with it?

2. The vilros kit comes with a starter manual? Should I order an additional book? Which one?

3. Is there anything else I need?

Thanks in advance!!!!

[CarlRJ]

First off, welcome to the Forum, and to the wonderful world of Raspberry Pi. And congratulations on starting the kids off right, a wise choice of gift.

I've not heard of Vilros before; looks like their "Raspberry Pi 3 Complete Starter Kit" comes with a Raspberry Pi 3, an appropriate power supply, a 16GB MicroSD card & adapter, HDMI cable, case, and heatsinks.

The Raspberry Pi will connect to any display (monitor or television) that has an HDMI port, and they've included the necessary HDMI cable. You'll also want a USB keyboard and mouse. I personally would probably not bother installing the heatsinks, but opinions vary on that.

There are a bunch of books, but I don't know of a particular one to recommend - I've had many years of Unix experience, and the Pi is basically a tiny Unix computer, so most of the territory was very familiar to me when I got here. I've found a lot of good information (and had many questions answered), here on this very forum. And Google and YouTube will find a ton of information, as will various parts of StackExchange, but one must be wary of following outdated tutorials (there are numerous helpful-looking pages out there patiently explaining step-by-step just exactly how to do something in what is now the wrong way).

For what it's worth, the Pi runs (well, by default, the most popular choice) an operating system called Raspbian, which is a Raspberry flavored variant of Debian, which is a version of Linux, which is a cousin of Unix. At some level, information for any/all of those can be relevant. If you know any variant of Unix, much will be familiar. If you know only Windows or Mac, it's a little bit like learning a foreign language - there are still verbs and nouns, but the details are all a bit different and it'll sound confusing at first (and just like learning a language, the very first one is hard, the second is confusing as many assumptions are proved wrong, but subsequent ones get easier as you figure out which concepts change and which are universal).

[W. H. Heydt]

The video output of a Pi is either composite video (NTSC or PAL) or HDMI. If you have a monitor, check to see if it has either an HDMI or DVI input. HDMI is compatible with DVI-D. All you need is an HDMI to DVI cable.

Besides a Pi (I'd recommend the Pi3B for each child) you need:
PSU (2.4A to 2.5A at 5v to 5.25v). Better to get one with an integral cable. Otherwise you'll also need a USB to microUSB power cable. Don't go cheap if you get a cable.
Mouse. Any cheap USB mouse will do.
Keyboard. Any inexpensive USB keyboard will do, but checking to see that the "touch" isn't abysmal is worth the time (I use Logitech K120 keyboards when I need inexpensive ones. Otherwise I use--rather expemsive--Unicomp keyboards with mechanical switches.)
Micro SD card. I recommend 8GB or 16GB. Go with a major brand from a reputable dealer (there are a lot of fakes out there).
Monitor (and its power cable, of course).
Video cable. Depending on the monitor, either HDMI or HDMI to DVI.
CAT-5 (or better) data cable, but only if you're not going strictly wireless (I *really* prefer a wired connection, but that's just me).

The Pi3B has a built in WiFi device.

I also recommend that you power everything through a surge protector. Of course, I recommend that *all* electronics be powered through at least a surge protector. In practice, I use a UPS whenever I can, but I put a surge protector between the wall plug and the UPS even then. (Me? Paranoid? Perish the thought. You don't know *where* those electrons have been...)

Hope that helps...

[Mom2twoboys]

What kind of monitor do you think they would like best? I'm thinking something smaller, so they can carry it around the house. Do you think 7 inches is too small? They seem to work well on iPad minis.

[W. H. Heydt]

What kind of monitor do you think they would like best? I'm thinking something smaller, so they can carry it around the house. Do you think 7 inches is too small? They seem to work well on iPad minis.

The RPF developed and licensed a 7" touchscreen that can be used with most models of the Pi. Personally, I prefer something larger and generally find (and use) 19" monitors...and that's what I set up for my grandson, who is now 8. But it's not portable.

[zardoz66]

Hello Mom2twoboys,

Most of it has been covered. but here is my take.

most kits out there come in 3 flavors;

1. basic starter kit.
These kits are basically the raspberry pi, power supply, sd card (with noobs or rasbien OS), and a case. take note they may or may not have an HDMI cable.

2. media started kit.
for the most part the same above but -with- an HDMI cable and the sd card might have a media center pre installed.

3. project kit
Again more of the same above however this also includes a lot of electronic bits and the like.

There are a lot of kits available from a lot of different sources. may a suggest and get the official Raspberry Pi Starter Kit. https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/ten-mi ... i-new-kit/ This is a very nice kit and officially from the raspberry pi foundation. it has everything you need to get started. (minus the display)

as for the display I would suggest a display that is HDMI HD (1080p) and it does not need to be big.

I hope that helps.

[davidcoton]

I agree with most of the above advice. I don't think a surge protector is necessary unless you know there are problems with your mains supply (isolated country homes are more at risk than town estates, nearby industrial facilities can cause problems). I would go for a display of at least 17" (the diagonal measurement), anything else just feels small. If you want something more portable, the "official" 7" display is good, but quite power-hungry (you may need a second supply, I use one with two USB outlets).

See you here on Christmas Day?

[W. H. Heydt]

A bit more on monitors... The 19" ones I use have a resolution of 1280x1024. They're the "old" style, rather than wide screen. For wide screen monitors I really prefer not to go below 22" (the one on my desk, which is attached to a KVM switch, so it supports multiple computers...including some Pis) is a 27" 1920x1080.

Basically, a monitor is likely to be the single most expensive component when setting up a Pi. There are several ways to mitigate the cost. You may have a spare monitor around and unused that can be repurposed. You may have friends or relatives with spare monitors (which they might well *want* to get rid of). If there is a Freecycle (or equivalent) program in your area, you might score a monitor for free. If there is a local company that is replacing desktop systems, they may be willing to let you have monitors if only you'll haul them away yourself (saves them disposal fees). Also, check your local second-hand/"thrift" shops. There may be one that tends to get monitors and sell them for not very much. In the extreme case (got to have a monitor *now* and none of the other sources are working out), check on line electronics companies like Newegg to see what they have. Be sure to check for manufacturer reconditioned units. If money isn't an issue, you can always jost go buy a monitor. In all cases, be sure to check that it has either an HDMI or DVI input connector. (If you don't know what those look like, there are pictures on line.)

[karrika]

Sound is also important. You may have speakers in the monitor or separate headphones or mini speakers. The Pi does not have volume control so something with a volume knob is nice to have.

[W. H. Heydt]

Sound is also important. You may have speakers in the monitor or separate headphones or mini speakers. The Pi does not have volume control so something with a volume knob is nice to have.

Current releases of Raspbian have a volume control...

However, some the output power for the analog sound (the alternative being HDMI sound--IF you have something that will use it) is minimal, powered speakers (as are common with computers) are recommended.

[tweak42]

In terms of books and tutorial for kids, you might try asking in the one of the education sub forums for assistance and recommendations.