Getting Started with Pi Supply micro:bit Starter Kit

Pi Supply BBC micro:bit Starter Kit is designed for beginners who want to get started learning the basic fundamentals of electronic circuits and programming with the BBC micro:bit development board. This kit comes with some of the basic electronic components such as LEDs, buttons, buzzers, temperature sensor, servo motor and a DC motor, plus many more. You will not only learn the basic knowledge of how these components work but also learn how to design and prototype simple circuits on a breadboard. You will also learn how to to use the BBC micro:bit programming language to make your projects come alive, creating interactive and innovative creations to solve real world problems. With this Starter Kit you will soon be learning the wonderful world of electronics and visual programming, suitable for all ages and any level.

Pi Supply BBC micro:bit Starter Kit is tailor-designed for micro:bit beginners to experiment and program with. The starter Kit has an abundant electronic components to help you get started, including buzzer, potentiometer, LEDs, servos, etc.. With all of these components, we offer 14 free lessons to enable users to master the principles of electronic circuits, components, and basic programming with the micro:bit to help you lay a good foundation for further education in your STEAM study.

Where to buy

You can purchase this kit from one of many of our distributers or directly from the Pi Supply Store:

Starter Kit Project Examples

This Starter Kit comes with 11, easy to follow examples, that show you how to build and program electronic circuits with the micro:bit board. Each example is divided into two parts; the first part building the circuit with a breadboard diagram and component list for each example, the second is the programming code with step-by-step instructions.

Whats in the Box? 

Note: There are two variations of the Starter Kit, one with the micro:bit and one without

  • micro:bit Breadboard adaptor
  • 400 Point breadboard
  • AA Battery holder
  • TowerPro SG-90 Mini servo motor
  • TMP36 Temperature sensor
  • Photocell
  • Micro USB cable
  • M-M Jumper wires 65pcs
  • RGB 5mm LED
  • Red LED 5mm
  • Blue LED 5mm
  • Yellow LED 5mm
  • Green LED 5mm
  • 10K Trimpot
  • Momentary pushbutton switch
  • Self-lock switch
  • Piezo buzzer
  • 100 ohm resistor
  • 10K resistor
  • Alligator clip wires
  • 5V DC Motor
  • TIP120 NPN transistor
  • 1N4007 Diodes
  • Rainbow LED Ring

How to Assemble your breadboard adaptor

Step 1 – You will need your Breadboard adaptor and your solder less breadboard. Take all items out of their packaging and discard the packaging.

Step 2 – Take the breadboard adaptor and remove the foam padding that is protecting the male pins.

Step 3 – Carefully take the micro:bit breadboard adaptor and insert it into the breadboard, aligning the pins on row 1.

Step 4 – Take you micro:bit board and insert into the adaptor, sliding it in between the contacts. The orientation of the micro:bit does not matter but if you wish to see and use the matrix display then it must be facing upwards.

Powering your BBC micro:bit

With the Starter Kit there are two ways in which you can power your micro:bit:

Step 1 – The first is using the provided micro USB cable which you can connect to your computer or laptop USB port and then the micro USB port on the micro:bit which will provide power and also allow you to communicate with the board. Simply remove the micro:bit from the breadboard adaptor and insert the USB cable and then insert back into the breadboard adaptor.

Step 2 – In the Starter Kit there is also a battery pack, which you can connect to the micro:bit using the JST connector. This will allow you to make your projects portable or if you computer/laptop is further away than the USB cable can reach. You can still program the micro:bit using Bluetooth connection. Simply insert 2x AA batteries into the battery pack and then connect it to the micro:bit battery connector.

BBC micro:bit Starter Kit Lessons

 

First published at 1:29pm on July 8, 2019
Last updated at 5:03pm on July 9, 2019