Hardware

More than two months have passed. During that time I have been on vacation, spent two weeks at CERN, and now I’m teaching summer school. The work on the robot is making little but constant progress. I have gathered lots of information on the web on different Arduino modules, refreshed my knowledge on electronics, and ordered plenty of stuff from Amazon, Dealextreme, and Ebay. The good thing is that I had plenty of time to wait for the cheap electronics components to be delivered from China or Hongkong which may take a handful of weeks.

I know, I got somehow carried away with my purchases, but I really plan to play around with my robot and implement plenty of features. I did quite some research to find the cheapest sources. Below is a list of what I got (so far).

Arduinos & connectors

• Arduino uno clone $12.90 (Amazon)
• Arduino Mega clone $11.49 http://amzn.com/B00KG3SBE8 
• Breadbord $3.09 http://amzn.com/B005GYATUG
• 40p dupont cable male to female 200mm $2.07 http://amzn.com/B00A6SOGC4

mechanical components

• 2 wheel drive robot car chassis with battery box $11.99 http://amzn.com/B00GLO5SMY
• 6x AA battery holder+jack $2.20 www.dx.com/p/6-x-aa-batteries-holder-with-dc2-1-power-jack-for-arduino-126413#.VcDlvraCZhE
• SG90 9G Micro Servo $2.57 http://amzn.com/B001CFUBN8
• micro Servos SG90 4pc $6.65 http://amzn.com/B00K69IMJ6
• switches 10pc $6.- http://amzn.com/B008ICIM7U
• 50mm 3W 4ohms speaker $2.34 www.dx.com/p/jtron-diy-50mm-3w-4-ohms-speaker-bronze-288740#.VcDlxLaCZhE
• 28mm 2W 8ohm speaker $1.84 www.dx.com/p/jtron-8ohm-2w-28mm-plastic-iron-speaker-module-black-374265#.VcDlxbaCZhE
• PCB 7×9 10pc $4.50 http://amzn.com/B00COGPZFS
• 40pin headers 20pc $2.49 www.dx.com/p/40-pin-2-54mm-pitch-pin-headers-20-pcs-279494#.VcDkv7aCZhE
• PVC Pipe 3/4″ (to mount the photoresistors) $1.55 from Lowe’s

modules

• HC-06 bluetooth module (comes with a cable) $8.39 http://amzn.com/B00OT6VF64
• HC-SR04 ultyrasonic sensor 2pc $3.41 http://amzn.com/B00SXZWMCS
• L298N motor controller $3.65 http://amzn.com/B00HNHUYSG
• Gyro/Accelerometer $2.87 http://amzn.com/B00COD97LY
• SD card module $1.88 www.dx.com/p/sd-card-module-slot-socket-reader-for-arduino-arm-mcu-133709#.VcDkwbaCZhE
• 2-channel 3W PAM8403 audio amplifier $2.22 http://www.dx.com/p/2-channel-3w-pam8403-audio-amplifier-board-red-146300#.VcDkuraCZhE

electronic parts

• Resistors 1280pc $7.59 http://amzn.com/B00H703OKE
• Ceramic Capacitors 1000pc $6.46 http://amzn.com/B00D0Y7M68
• electrolytic capacitors 125pc $2.95 http://amzn.com/B00AZG71H4
• Photoresistors 20pc $2.96 http://amzn.com/B00GN1SY9O
• 2k2 resistors 5pc $1.50 (Radio Shack, pretty expensive, but I needed them urgently
• 2N3906 PNP Transist 100pc $3.20 http://amzn.com/B008IFYGLS
• RGB LEDs cathode 50pc 3.30 http://amzn.com/B005VMDROS
• 74HC595 shift register 25pc $3.85 http://amzn.com/B00K6Y09AQ
• 16pin socket 30pc $2.71 http://amzn.com/B00H3CRIOY