Elecrow For Raspberry Pi 5 8GB Kit, CrowPi Advanced Kit Pre-installed 9-inch Monitor, Raspberry Pi 5 8GB, and More Sensors as a Small Computer to Learn Basic Computer Science and Practice Programming

Loads of great addons to support loads of exciting projects. A great way for someone to jump into robotics and coding and quickly put their skills to good use in a fun way. Came with retro style gamepads to support creation of cool 90s style arcade games, fun for all the family.

As a Parent with 4 children,3 girls age 9, 11, and 17, and one boy aged 14 finding something that appeals to all of them, not to mention my wife and myself, is nearly impossible. They're either too young, think they're too old, or decide it's pointless. And the CrowPi had literally something that interests everyone. My middle daughter and son are both interested in the robot building, my oldest is more in the general use and game side, along with my youngest who is quite the storyteller and wants to make games herself someday. Honestly I expected getting them through the basic stuff would be the problem but we've been using it as a family for about a week going through the lessons and learning the basics and even that is keeping them interested because of how well layed out they are and the intuitive way they build into each other because they can see how it's going together and where it's leading. But beyond being a tool that provides activities for the whole family, which is very important to me since the time flies by and the oldest is already looking at colleges, it teaches useful skills that I believe are vital in this age and in a manageable way. I took for granted that being immersed in technology on the level they are the kids would pick up certain technology basics that are more and more necessary to function every day. Unfortunately since the focus has been on "easy" so long they have no idea how anything actually works. The CrowPi teaches them that in a way that makes it manageable and they can easily see how, at the end of the day, it's all just a lot of simple steps. And unlike a lot of other Pi starter kits that are a pi, a handful of sensors, and a pdf that showed up in an intimidating box of wire and circuit boards the CrowPi is a self contained platform that looks like a neat laptop so there isn't that feeling of being overwhelmed that is so common anytime you try to start learning electronics so the kids don't feel lost when they start using it the way they have when I've played with Pi projects in the past. Elecrow has done something amazing here and turned a subject that is viewed as being absurdly complex and overwhelming and made it friendly and approachable. And then tucked it all into an elegant package and added a lesson plan that really does make it something for the whole family.

I almost cancelled this item, but missed the deadline and so it was shipped. Despite my misgivings this item arrived and I unboxed it. 2_25_2020 First impressions: The box was much heavier than I had expected, leading me to conclude that the unit just might be pretty solid. My suspicions were confirmed as I opened the box to reveal the contents. Elecrow has done a masterful job of packaging this equipment and presenting it in a tasteful manner. Mine came with an RPI-4B which, as I understand it, is the 2 GB model. Considering that this is a learning and prototyping device I see little consequence of having a 2 or 4 GB controller. This is, after all, not intended to be a final control package; although it certainly could be used as such. The package comes with a nice assortment of accessories which will prove useful as I work my way through the PDF training modules which I have already downloaded from the Elecrow web site. As I have not yet powered the unit I am unable to comment on its functionality, so there will be updates to this review as I have the time to put the CrowPi through its paces. In the mean-time, if you are on the fence about the CrowPi based on fears of its quality...rest easy. This is a well constructed piece of equipment. 6_28-2021 I finally have started using my Crowpi and, boy is it neat. It took me a bit longer to get Raspbian downloaded and installed on the SD card than I expected, but that was partly due to the download link having been changed and partly some glitches in the software I was using. If like me you are used to a standard computer, be prepared for a little difference when you shut it down. The screen turns blue and displays a message that there is no video signal. Don't worry...that means the pi is shut down. I experienced this during the initial configuration run and was a little nervous about turning the power off; but not to worry, everything was fine. That little 7 inch display is bright and clear, no issues with reading text or recognizing objects. I made use of the touch screen and it works very well...as well as can be expected, anyway. Unlike a smartphone a computer is not really optimized for touch control, so things like scrollbars take some concentrated effort to use. I will be more inclined to use a mouse for most operations. So far the only program I have downloaded and installed is Scratch. It looks to be an object based programming language that involves connecting objects instead of writing code. I am accustomed to the traditional way of programming, but I think this will be a good way to write a quick app when I don't have the time to write more serious code. This is a good place to end this review for now since I haven't done any of the tutorials yet. But first I want to put in a good word for the folks at Elecrow. They are some of the nicest, most cordial folks you will ever deal with; they will answer any question you have and do it in a most gracious manner. If you need assistance they are happy to give it. They really want you to succeed. 7-10-2021 After all the time I spent downloading the OS and burning it to an sd card that I purchased, I found that the Crowpi came with an sd card already loaded and ready to go. So, I removed the card I configured and installed the card that came with the kit. I expected to have to re-download Scratch, but Elecrow already had it on the card. It didn't take me too long to find the Python programs for using the distance sensor and the light sensor, so I loaded them one at a time and exercised the devices. Since the programs are pre-loaded onto the sd card you are not required to type them in to use them; although you can certainly remove the programs and type them back in yourself if you want the practice. I really like the integrated aspect of this kit...so many devices mounted and internally wired so that you don't have to spend time making connections. Obviously not everything is on the board and an included breadboard can facilitate wiring external items when needed, but the devices that are on the board provide you with rapid satisfaction. I haven't yet taken a serious stab at completing any of the assignments as I have been checking this thing out and enjoying the experience. So far I am really happy with this gizmo. I suppose there must be some areas that aren't quite to the level of 'wonderful', and one of them is the lack of a place inside the carry case to hold the keyboard and mouse. They give you a bag that would work for this purpose, but then you have to carry the Crowpi and the bag separately. Price-wise you get what I believe is a fair deal. This is a well thought out and engineered kit and you would be hard pressed to do better. You could theoretically build your own, but one look at this beauty and you'd have to realize yours would come up short. 7-17-2021 After a bit more time of using the Crowpi I find myself liking it more and more. I have drawers full of discrete components and breadboards that I have used over the years and will still use in the future. But for right now I am enjoying the utility of the Crowpi without the need to do a lot of interconnecting of devices. I can move some object up and down above the included distance sensor and see the results on the screen, and then not have to remove any wires when I'm through. Call me lazy, but it's nice when my clean-up consists of unplugging the power cord and closing the lid of the Crowpi case. When I want to try a different operating system I simply swap out the sd card and boot into another experience. The more I look at this beauty the more I appreciate it. I bought this Crowpi in early 2020 and just recently bought a Crowpi2 Deluxe kit. Neither one was free, I paid for both of them. And I wouldn't want to give either one of them up. Each one has its strong points and neither one has any glaring weak points. 8-1-2021 Something I have noticed that my Crowpi does is when I tell it to reboot all 64 of the leds in the led matrix turn on bright red and stay on. They get really hot in a short time. As long as I do a shutdown and turn power off before booting back up everything is fine. I just have to remember not to do a reboot. This is just a lesson learned and nothing more. No complaints since there is a workaround.

Got this for my nine year old to help teach Python. My nine year old currently is good at Scratch (taught at school) so its great to control the GPIO pins and see what can be exercised in Scratch then to look at the same in Python. The imbedded screen for an older dad :-) is unusable as just to small so a mini HDMI cable is needed (like used in drones) to connect to a bigger display so this will be around $30. Support is excellent. Original Scratch lessons supplied were based on Scratch , within a day or two or saying this is no good they updated to Scratch 3

This product presents an outstanding way to learn and/or teach Raspberry Pi. Everything worked out of the box and the documentation is above average. I haven't done the math but I believe you'll save money by purchasing the Crowpi with all of its sensors, as opposed to buying them separately along with a stock RPi, breadboard etc. A favorable YouTube reviewer seemed to agree. If you're looking to teach kids the joy of coding and electronics this is a nice, well built kit that has everything you need. It's caught the interest of my kids and there's an endless wealth of possibilities for fun and learning. I bought the Advanced Kit and the only hiccup I had was when I first got it and was playing around, and tried to update the Elecrow image with a "sudo apt-get update/upgrade". Upon reboot the GPIO pin connected to the buzzer was held high for some reason and had to disconnect power to stop the noise! This happened on every reboot. So I just burned a new image onto the microSD from the Elecrow website and kept on truckin'. I haven't updated since.