Review on 🔌 ELEGOO Mega R3 2560 Project Starter Kit - Arduino IDE MEGA Compatible with 16 Tutorials CD by Glen Sprout

available (I've upgraded my rating to four stars thanks to Elegoo's support and follow-up). As a kid using Radio Shack's "Science Fair" kits, I was thrilled to get this and learn about digital electronics. After much searching I found this Elegoo kit and after realizing that this kit seemed to offer the best value for money I bought it. The board itself appears to be of good quality and has a good reputation among Arduino clones. Now a few things that are not so good: You may find that some components do not work. If you are new to digital electronics and/or breadboard, you may think you wired something wrong and spend hours of frustration trying to fix your mistake. That is, until you realize it wasn't your fault at all, but faulty components. In my case it was a 5V relay and a PIR motion sensor (so far). Second, the breadboard for the 5V/3.3V power module is marked FALSE (Please refer to the attached picture). You can't see the labels on the ends of the boards, but you can clearly see that the "+" goes from the power supply to the "-" rail on the board and vice versa. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT AND SERIOUS PROBLEM as some of these components and modules are very sensitive to reverse polarity and can be damaged (including the Arduino board itself if you are using an Arduino controlled power supply). If you followed the provided list of "lessons" and then started using the power supply with the opposite polarity and connecting the wires out of habit, fine. This is a really STUPID and potentially dangerous bug by Elegoo. It could cost people their Arduino board. Finally, the "Lessons" are less lessons and more "walkthrough" examples of how to use the components easily. There is very little "training"; If you're smart you can learn some of these by osmosis and even find ways to incorporate them into circuits other than those shown in the "Tutorial" PDF, but you really need a companion book on Arduino basics. to get everywhere and really learn how the board works and how to use the components in useful and learnable projects. Despite the seemingly low price, you might be better off buying an Arduino board, a good aftermarket book that uses your favorite component-buying resources (including a matching power supply and breadboard) and builds the kit as needed, which is what can be difficult to do when you want to get straight to the point. Just be prepared for bad components, marginal "tutorials" and spend more money on components that work and that you will actually use and need for specific projects in the future. FOLLOW-UP: Response from Elegoo customer support was very fast and positive.Spare parts are on the way.. Re: Breadboard, I'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but I'll leave this so others can learn from my mistake, but the breadboard power connections are NOT balanced, as I hastily assumed. The board has a left side and a right side, and when you rotate the breadboard, the breadboard's power supply and the power and ground rails align accordingly.