Elecrow Crowpi Raspberry Pi 4 3 b 3b+ 4b+ Kit Raspberry Pi
Elecrow Crowpi Raspberry Pi 4 3 b 3b+ 4b+ Kit Raspberry Pi Learning Programming Kit with Sensors – Advanced Versio
| Dimensions: | 40.41 x 33.78 x 13.21 cm; 3.43 Kilograms |
| Model: | SES14002K |
| Batteries Included: | 1 CR2 batteries required. |
| Manufacture: | ELECROW |
| Dimensions: | 40.41 x 33.78 x 13.21 cm; 3.43 Kilograms |
| Origin: | China |
Very easy to use for a beginner or someone who wants to write programs and test projects
I have a bunch of Raspberry PIs from version to on up, even one of the small ones. You can do a ton of things with them and the learning and fun never stops. This set is by far ‘best bang for the buck”. I have already added a Arduino to it. Cheers!
The crowpi was not working. Seller immediately send a replacement and I shipped back the faulty one. 100% recommended. Thanks Claire for your prompt response. Much appreciated
This is an awesome product to introduce kids into building computers and programming. One of the best investments I’ve made for homeschool.
Good quality build and assembly, but unfortunately it would not run on external battery pack as described. Not enough power to run the Pi 4B 8gb and the connected test equipment. Mains PSU was fine on power supply, but a very short DC outlet lead on the UK model made things awkward. The US/EU PSU seems to be a lot longer with inline switching, a better setup! Needed battery capability, so returned the item. Shame, as otherwise a smart piece of kit!
I love that it comes with video game controllers so that you can design and program your own games. This device is a compact learner and has everything you need to start any electronic endeavors you desire. I would recommend to anyone trying to learn in this field!
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.
Product arrived with all the necessary parts however, the screen has a noticeable mark on it (not a crack or anything like a smear that won’t disappear). I’ve not had a proper chance to play around with the Crowpi but I’m sure it’ll keep me going for a long time with projects and what not.
If you’re like me and you’ve wanted to get into Python, coding in general or robotics but you had no idea where to start then this is a fantastic entry point. It comes with lots of hardware to help you get started on some projects with real world application and actually feel like you are doing something meaningful as you make progress
In the digital age we now live in, this is an excellent tool for learning the nessary way to get through the first steps up to intermediate and beyond in coding.
It makes learning fun, as it offers rewards that are very fulfilling.
I would recommend buying the extension pack as it helps you to complete the last three of the twenty one starter lessons.
Excellent for males and females of all ages, and highly recommend.
I must say I had my doubts about this first the price second was it as good as they say.
Bouth worries gone fires up out of the box and has everything you need to get started grand kids loved it and so do only one small gripe I prefer to use the wired port for the internet plugged in the lead could not unplug it as the releases leaver at the bottom facing the PCB I know this is an pi problem not yours but would be nice to have a work around
This is great to understand how the Raspberry Pi works.
I loved it is easy to use but I have no time for playing it because I worked everyday nearly 12 hours. But it has everything to coding
Not too clear on getting the learning projects for this kit. It appears that they’ve put a lot of time into making this learning device, but they really need to stay up with the learning links. It took me a while to find something to work with and even then it wasn’t for a young learner by a long shot. Luckily I’ve played with Pi’s for a few years and could tell where they were going. Not for a kid at all. It could be with some more direction.
Amazing little kit. I have to admit I’ve had raspberry pi’s of several generations laying around and doing various tasks since they were introduced. This kit makes interfacing through hardware and software a bit more accessible, even of it is just to gain confidence in the utility of it.
There are a lot of very interesting sensors in this device, and familiarizing myself with them and how they work is very interesting to me. I don’t know that I’d like it as much were I a child with zero programming knowledge.
There’s no interface here – you boot up the pi and you are greeted with an OS screen and a folder full of scripts and are then expected to figure it out from there. You actually download a ‘lesson guide’ from their website.
The lessons themselves, all of them, are essentially ‘This is our basic working code. Hit play!’
There’s some merit to that method for the first one or two lessons but they make no effort to teach you beyond that, skipping over everything that might be a challenge. You need to pay close attention, too, as some of their documentation won’t actually fit with the board – they mixed up some pins on the relay.
They also neglect to tell you to install the IR receiver on the IR lesson.. so if you don’t know which part it is, you’ll likely think the spot on the board is the entirety of it – not that the code works anyway. The CrowPi I came with had faulty programming for the IR lesson, which has been updated on their GitHub. The ‘misc’ folder also has some code that doesn’t work, not because it’s buggy but because it was written for Arduino! (I’m guessing CrowPi was originally an Arduino project)
All things considered, I like the device… but it’s pretty clear they missed a step or two on QA.
I love this kit, but the touch screen is so slow it’s almost unusable. I wish they would have included a larger screen instead of the unresponsive touch screen.
I broke down the cost of the Pi the Wires the Screen and the Controllers and KB and Mouse that came with it and seperately was cheaper but not by much. The extra cost is for the Convenience of having all the main sensors and gadgets in such a small space and all wired in at the same time to the pi.
If i set up all these gadgets myself into the pi it would take up a whole diningroom table. and that was the decider for me. I had all the parts but no inclination to take up haf a room to play about with them. This took that issue away and motivated me to learn using the self contained unit.
10/10 if you just want to learn the software behind the senseors etc.
Not ideal if you want to learn the wiring of them all but that is something you can do once you have prototyped using this machine..
Have not had a chance to really put this to the test. However, my biggest reluctance to getting involved with a micro controller has been the initial setup and bread boarding. This all-in-one solves that problem as it’s all there you just turn it on and learn the coding. I think it’s great but I’m just a novice at this point.
Hi guys my matrix is not working in my crowpi please let me know what should I do I just buy i
Great for learning a bit without learning everything at once. I Love my CrowPi.
I am glad to find the Crowpi. I was thinking about learning about Raspberry PI, learning to program Pyhton, practice with electronics, do some prototyping… This does it all. I had to expand its capabilities but it is a great core to start with, has everything you need. I use VNC viewer to connect to Crowpi and I can run everything from my laptop on mutiple screens. Already gifted several Crowpi units as grand prizes to the finalists of our local science fair. So many possible projects, your imagination is the limit.
The instructions were a bit misaligned with the kit as it came fully assembled and with the Linux OS already installed but the instructions assumed you had to do some assembly. Not a clear description of setting up the wireless keyboard/mouse and USB Wifi, but no big deal. Overall a great portable set of gear for computer experimentation and interfacing a computer to the outside world. I may develop a course for automation and instrument engineers based on using this kit.
Liked everything. But training on how to use needs better planing
What it does not do, is teach you the basics of actual programming. That is still on you to learn. A basic Python course that taught basic programming skills and a basic electronics course would be a great add on, but the level of knowledge for each person is so vastly different it would be hard to include everything each person might want or need, so leaving that for the individual to pick up seems logical. There are great YouTube videos that will help to get to where you want to be on either front.
The ONLY con I have is that the sd card is insane to take in and out. It was not thought out on the unit. Had you moved the pi card down .375″ further, a and extension cable could have been added. It is far from a deal breaker here, but it is a noticeable engineering issue.
The system is great for getting you into the world of micro computing systems. Perhaps you could come up with a similar system for Microchip?
You are one of the few kickstarts out there that did better then promised! You delivered a great product here!
This is a great way to get in to The Raspberry Pi. The pre-loaded programmes are easy to run and are rewarding when they work. My unit however, had one of the Raspberry Pi P.C.B fixing screws, rattling around in the lower case. I fished it out and refitted it myself. All seems well.
We have only had this for about 2 weeks, so we have a lot more to learn about it. Great device to make the Rapsberry Pi 4 a portable device – study, lightweight We got it to program and fly DJI Tello EDU drone. It works on a power bank, and is self contained. We have found fold-able. We are using it with the Thorny IDE and Python to fly the Tello’s . As usual the documentation is minimal. The only persistent problem is the matrix LED stays on in a red color sometimes when turned on. You will find this problem hidden int he instructions..
A good way to kick off the learning process for the pi 4
If your wanting to learn and or test projects this is the all in one case. Quality is bar none. The Crowpi is a must have to tinker and learn. I wish I had this earlier. Glad I made the choice with pi 4 2GB. Awsome!
All that said,for anyone leaning electronics and programming I do think that is a nifty bit of kit.
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.
Great Christmas present for kid who likes to tinker with things. Well made and carrying case is a lot better than a bundle of loose parts. Very tiny negative is that external HDMI connector is tough to get at, though found a cable at Amazon which helped. Highly recommended.
screen size is small, and hard to get a cable to fit HDMI port for larger Monito
I bought the Advanced unit and was surprised on opening it. It saves so much mess many of us have to deal with using individual elements scattered all over a desktop (breadboards, wires, HATS, plugs, resistors, etc…). CrowPI is all under one kit, no extraneous wires or multiple plugs to manage. All in one small case (and once you see it, regardless of it being a mini-giant – it’ll be interesting taking it through the airport and watching TSA try and figure it out!) Thanks, elecrow, great product.
Mine came with a defective mouse so I reached out to customer service via email, and they (claire) sent out a new mouse/keyboard combination kit right away! Great customer service!!!
I have not had a chance to use it very much, but the things that I have done have been very entertaining! It’s worth the money spent.
I do wish that they would incorporate some speakers flanking the touch screen.
Great kit for learning raspberry pi, has it all in an awesome case.
This kit is almost 10x that.
So what exactly do i get for the $300?
– raspberry pi 4 2 gig with 32 gig preinstalled and ready to go
– integrated 7inch touch screen display (could be bigger)
– separate power adapter to provide more than enough juice for the pi 4, screen, and add ons
– integrated sensor/input/breadboard for lots of learning projects
– keyboard, mouse, game controllers, headphones, and lots of extras
– an awesome quality clam shell design
– integrated software/hardware. Just turn it on, and it boots up ready to go.
– Awesome support and solid company (Claire is the best! – very responsive and accommodating )
– You can upgrade the pi 4 to another one bought separately. Easy to swap out
I dont think you could buy all the parts individually and come out for less. And it wouldnt be beautifully integrated. Basically if you want a raspberry pi laptop with lots of nerdy features, this is great. Compared to other ‘pilaptops’ out there, this is the market leader. In fact there is nothing that compares to this other than the duinokit but that uses a tablet as its display (and remote vnc).
I find myself actually using it as a second screen laptop. The PI4 is zippy enough to handle the browser well and 2gigs is enough for most of my needs. And if the screen is too small, i can use the second hdmi port to plug in a larger monitor. (note: they need to allow more room between their adaptor. So for now you have to unscrew the pi and have the hdmi wire plug in that way.)
I am looking forward to playing with all the gizmos it has. I think there are some interesting gaming and educational opportunities possible. A child would love this as gift. It has minecraft of course, retropie gaming, and as they grow older they can jump into the python/sensor programming. This is something they can carry around and feel proud ownership. And what a great way to introduce them to an alternative OS like raspi.
A great buy and I trust I will get years of enjoyment from it.
Completely recommend it. Add it to your cart, order it, and enjoy!
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.
This is a great concept that is well executed. It makes it very easy to play around with the Raspberry Pi and various electronic components in a mobile solution. Build quality is excellent and no setup is required short of plugging it in.
This is a great kit for learning and playing with the Raspberry Pi! It comes with a Pi 3B+, and is great for building small projects. I have had a lot of the individual parts, but this keeps everything organized and ready to go. This convenience is a major selling factor to me. It is also well-built and sturdy.
System uses Raspberry Pi 3. Touch monitor is excellent. Great hands-on teaching tool.
This has terrific potential for getting CS instructors to quit reading PowerPoint slides and make use of experiential CS and Cyber Security concepts. The Price/Value ratio is excellent.
Great product for kids, teens, and adults who may be looking to learn how to code. It works as a basic computer and you can write code to program sensors on the breadboard.
Cons: Sometimes, the built-in codes have errors with the RFID module and 8×8 LED matrix. The keyboard is great with the exception of two keys are reversed (specifically, the @ and ” keys).
To sum up, I would buy it again! With some small improvements, it would be even better.
I was initially hesitant to buy the CrowPi because I like the idea of building things on my own. However, once a received the CrowPi I quickly realized I would not have been able to build something anywhere near this quality. The kit came fully assembled with all the software already downloaded. This was truly a plug and play device. The instructions are easy to follow and the sample code that comes with the tutorials are well commented making it easy to figure out what the code is doing. I will most likely be buying another CrowPi as a gift for a family member.
Well made with everything needed for lessons provided. Great idea to have everything needed built into an easy to carry case.
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.
Awesome raspberry PI kit. Has everything you’ll need. Comes with wireless keyboard and mouse, SD card loaded with operating system, many, many sensors, wireless Ethernet, etc. I’m an Electrical Engineer with a lot of experience and love this kit. No assembly is required, plug in the ac adapter and you can start using it immediately.
For what you get, the price is a great bargain. Buy this and you won’t regret it. This is a great kit for adults or kids as young as 10.
There is so much cool tech packed into this awesome and stylish little suitcase, I can’t wait to do all sorts of hardware projects with this and it’s built in systems alone! And having the expandability of the small breadboard makes the possibilities endless! This product is also very well made and put together, easy to install as well. All the negatives below I will be trying to correct myself as the kit is able to be taken completely apart from what I can see, even the (horrid) screen has exposed screws holding it in place!
Why 4 stars?
The screen is atrocious, it’s low res, tiny and compared to the rest of the kit cheap and washed out, this is the biggest flaw in the kit. I don’t see how you could use it without another monitor made for human eyes or going blind.
Things I wish were different but not negatives:
-The breadboard is in the center of the kit, if it was on the edges it would be easier to hook up more things as they could hang out of the case without being on top of the other components.
-The instruction manual is written in a way that implies there is not an sd card that came with the kit (there is)
-Wish it had an internal power source, even one that could only last an hour or so would be awesome as I could whip out this kit anywhere and show it off to friends
I just found out about Raspberry Pi a few months ago, and then found this CrowPi kit. I’m very impressed with the layout and capabilities. Makes the breadboard electrical kits that were around when I was a child pale in comparison.
Kudos to the CrowPi team!
Arrived quickly, setup was quick and easy. Well engineered and makes a great portable platform for experimenting with a Rasp Pi. Looking to add a SDR for more experimentation.
Great product! Case was well made, high quality. Black color. Easy to get started, simply plug in and start the python scripts. Python tutorials were easy to understand. I would definitely recommend i