I've been a computer programmer and ham radio operator for a loooong time. But I have to admit I've never used the "C" language OR worked with Arduinos. I was a little concerned that this might be difficult to get a grasp on, but it turns out it was a piece of cake! I've had a lot of soldering experience over the years, so building the kit was a breeze. Worked first time I plugged it into the USB cable from my Mac Mini. Ran through the verification tests and all was fine. My first project will be writing a small sketch to communicate with my Kenwood ham radio transceiver via WiFi, so I think the learning I'm doing with the DrDuino setup will really help. I definitely recommend this Explorer kit for anyone wanting to learn electronic building and programming.

I have been in electronics for 50 years, computers since 1981. This has been best kit I have ever built. Now to learn c++, I have using assembly last 40 years. Hopping the book I got from y’all will teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks, look forward to next project. Joe

I bought the Explorer after a few months of thinking about it. I had a blast building it. I did have an issue (turned out to be me)... I opened a ticket with support and they responded quickly and helped me resolve the issue. I am very happy with the Explorer and the support I received. I would highly recommend Dr. Duino kits to anyone. Great experience and a cool fun project kit.

Very helpful getting me up and running when I had problems through the helpdesk!

Simply the best written assembly manual I have ever followed!

The Explorer Kit is a genuine pleasure to use. The board is a well-constructed PCB and has clear markings for each of the components. The thru-hole plating makes soldering the components onto the board easy, quick and reliable. I am more than pleased with this kit, having put together a wide variety of board kits and projects. This is one of the best I have come across in a long while. This is definitely worth the money as well as a fun project to assemble. I give this very high marks after construction and using it with the Arduino sketches makes changing the designs and component values a simple task. Great all around kit!

Good quality board and components and the technical support is excellent when there are any problems. This is a great platform to experiment with!

As a VERY old Ham radio operator I missed the transition from tubes and point to point wiring to digital. I purchased the Explorer as a vehicle to better understand some of the technology I currently employ, including some Arduino projects blindly undertaken with simple step by step instructions. Very well done and while giving a newbie opportunity to learn how to make solder smoke, it provides a challenge for those who consider themselves adept. Very well done and a value added investment!

I decided to learn about Arduino, but I needed more than just a book. Getting the Explorer sheild was the best learning tool I have ever purchased. First, all that soldering! Assembling componenents is necessary for any Arduino project; the board doesn't do all that much by itself. Assembling the shield was my first Arduino project! And, there are so many ways to use the Explorer, and so many connection points, you learn just by doing it! Simply reading about a digital pin output does little. But actually putting together a digital circuit on the Explorer and watching the result actually work is priceless. Thanks Dr Duino!

I have to tell everyone how excellent the customer service is. I was having problems uploading sketches using my Explorer, Pioneer and original DrDuino boards and filled out a help ticket. Within half an hour someone was on the case and worked back and forth with me until I got things resolved. I sure love these people that stand by their products!

I’m a lifelong amateur scientist-tinkerer, and DIY dreamer. When I first heard of Arduino in 2011 I immediately grasped it’s potential. With a dazzling array of peripherals available at modest cost it gives one the possibility to sense the environment plus some modest computing power to process that info, and a number of both digital and analog output channels that allow complex interaction with the outside world. It is basically the ultimate “Swiss Army Knife” for an amateur scientist. I immediately bought several, but I would often encounter snags in the build that I would spend weeks trying unsuccessfully to resolve because I had no one to talk me thru a simple problem. I wound up packing it all up and putting it away in the basement. Recently I discovered DrDuino. Your company offers excellent products but most importantly to me you have an excellent customer service mindset that permeates thru the entire staff. When I hit a snag it only takes an email (with very prompt response) to resolve a minor issue that would leave me stumped a decade ago. I’ve interacted with Guido and Dawn Townsend in customer service several times and each time I left with problem solved. I can’t say this emphatically enough: GREAT PRODUCTS BACKED UP BY A WORLD CLASS CUSTOMER SERVICE. WOULD BUY AGAIN - and already have!!! ======================== I could expand my comments to include my ultimate plan of using Arduino to achieve world domination and become Emperor of Earth but I’m not sure how well that would sell. Once again I offer my profound thanks! -Dave

I really enjoyed the time I spent putting it together. This was my first time soldering a circuit board and once I went back and re-read the tip on soldering, it worked great.

Sweet little proto platform with numerous bells and whistles to play with.

Had some problems after I finished the build. Contected customer support and I received great service to identfy a bad Nano. A new one was shipped out to me and everything is working correctly. Great support! Dan

I loved building my DrDruino Explorer kit. As student studying computer science and wanting to learn more about electrical engineering outside of the classroom, this was the perfect kit for me to mess around an make my ideas become reality. The building is super fun and once it's built using it is even more fun! I highly recommend this kit to anyone either wanting to learn electrical engineering or anyone wanting a practical development board for testing ideas. The guide is thorough the support team is fantastic and fast. Thank you DrDuino!

I love these boards! This is the best Arduino prototyping board available. I have the original Dr.Duino boards and there are so many improvements and new features on the explorer board that it is well worth the money. The layout is excellent for soldering. Best of all the instructions online are excellent, the best I have ever seen. The step-by-step walkthrough is very helpful. I found a couple of minor confusing issues in the instructions and contacted Guido about them and he updated the instructions that day! What great response time and service.

I built a Ham Radio Fox prototype using the Explorer. It was so awesome to utilize the Explorer's components to track pin voltages and leverage LED's to report current state of each process throughout testing the circuit. The platform is brilliant!

I love the Explorer and the Railroad expansion kit. I was easily able to assemble the Explorer as the instructions are great. I had trouble downloading the code and libraries - all operator error and failure to follow the instructions exactly. I reached out for help and Dr Duino was incredibly responsive and patient. We exchanged many emails through the website and he always got back to me quickly with a clear answer. Once I started actually following his instructions, everything fell right into place. It has to be one of the best customer experiences I have ever had. I love the kit and the expansion module and I look forward to having lots of fun on my railroad empire with it. Thanks Dr D!

The Dr. Druino Explorer Edition board comes with everything you need to begin (or, in my case, restart) Arduino development. The build instructions for the kit are well written with lots of photos to guide even beginner-builders through the process. The board comes with a jumper/routing system that gives you the ability to either send Arduino processor signals to a device (switch, LED, light sensor, etc.) on the board, or route the signal to headers that border a solderless breadboard. From there you can either construct your own circuit on the breadboard, or just plug in a shield into the header. For example, I dropped an inexpensive color LCD display onto the board, routed all the processor signals to those headers, and ran a sample program for the display. I was instantly rewarded with a working display. The utility of the rerouting system with jumpers cannot be overstated. For example, I wanted to know which signals this mystery display (that I built 8 years ago) used. I just pulled jumpers on the various signals until the display stopped updating. Within 30 seconds I was able to verify what signals the display needed without looking at a line of driver code. Plus, this system provides a means of eavesdropping on any signal easily. Just connect your oscilloscope probe to one of those jumper pins and you're done. With Adruino Nano boards going for about $5 (US) your projects are no longer limited by the price of hardware; you're limited by time. The Dr. Druino Explorer will give your project the edge it needs to get done quickly. And you'll have a ton of fun doing it! -- Scott (NE1RD)

I’ve been dabbling in the Internet Of Things (IOT) area for many years and I’ve been wanting a Arduino prototype board to assist me in building fun and practical devices. I read about the Dr.Duino products in both QST and Nuts and Volts magazine this year (2020) and decided to order an Explorer PLUS Edition. I received the product quickly and set some time aside to build the kit. The high quality kit was a joy to assemble with the clear and concise instruction available online. The build reminded me of my youth putting together “Heathkit” electronic kits. I guess this gives away my age to those who remember Heathkit! Take heed on the Dr.Duino promptings to purchase the PCB Jig (vice). There are a lot of parts that you need to hold in upside down to solder from the bottom of the board. The vise makes the job much easier. In addition, make sure you have a good soldering iron with a small tip. My careful assembly rewarded me by successfully passing the testing sketch (program) from Dr.Duino without any issues. For beginners, the Dr.Duino board will make the Arduino learning process painless and rewarding. When learning to build things with the Arduino, you need to learn how to program the Arduino device and “hook-up” the electronics. With the Dr.Duino board, the “hook-up” part is already completed for you, allowing you to focus on learning the programming language. It’s very satisfying to be able to build intriguing things early in the learning process with the Dr.Duino board. As an advanced user, I use prototyping board to speed design and allow me to experiment without any hassle. The Dr.Duino board does not disappoint. The wide array of built in devices allow almost any type of project to be started. The ability to use the built-in jumpers to change the Arduino pins from the built in devices to the prototype pins makes modifications quick and easy. I’ve used other prototype board from Texas Instruments and Parallax (Basic Stamp and Propeller) and the Dr.Duino board is the best thought-out prototyping board I’ve encountered. Kudos to the Dr.Duino company on an excellent product! Prototype on!

Most well thought out kit I ever built. It even includes a well designed test system. Very nice product.

Wasn't sure what tp expect with these kits having never worked with an Arduino before, but the experience has been great so far. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the kits work great. I definitely recommend Dr. Duino to anyone looking to learn more about the Arduino products and there uses.

This is a great kit. The organization in the Dr Duino Labs online assembly instructions is excellent. It's easy to use and the assembly is straightforward. The only problem I had was that a pin came out of one of the headers. But you can just replace it (with a pretty good amount of effort). Looking forward to programming and using it.

Excellent quality of the pc board - every component fit perfectly. Really impressed with the dimension control and the precision of the traces. Kit had all the components and the instructions with photos made assembly just about foolproof. I do wish there was a PDF of the instructions I could put into a convenient binder as printing out the many individual sections was tedious with always the list of sections repeated each time. My work station and computer are not real close so needed the printouts. In the end, made do O.K. Have still a couple of steps to complete assembly and anxious to fire it up for first flight. All in all, a great kit.

The DrDuino Explorer is the most well thought out kit. For me this is a great tool i keep right next to my laptop(in the living room my wife is not happy ha ha ).you can add to the explorer but DrDuino put pretty much everything on it. I know you want more but remember the more you add the bigger it gets.Your imagination is the only thing holding you back so search the internet and you will find projects that will fit your need and try them out on the explorer i have.Yes you may have to modify the code but it is doable.

Great board, well designed!

I like the way the manual is written and I look forward to the test section.

I do special effects for movies and television. I frequently use microcontrollers for the effects and gags I'm creating. Being able to write and test code quickly is a lifesaver. The Explorer lets me do just that. And GREAT customer service!

Excellent Kit, Easy to build especially with the instruction steps. Had to replace the LDR, but otherwise everything works as advertise. setup and configured the Buck Converter and tested by feeding the Uno/Nano VIN.

Awesome kit. Great quality and components are high as well. They all come in a nice storage box as well. I'm not a novice but it took me all but an hour to assemble. All straight forward and instructions are easy to follow. Looking forward to designing my first project on it. Wish I have more time to do it. The Explorer is a great kit and it takes all the scrambling for parts task, out of the learning code. Awesome Dr Duino, keep up the great work and products.

Assembled the Explorer shield this weekend. Assembly instructions were excellent. I would have liked the option to download a pdf for this. Had some issues with testing. Send in support ticket, was answered very quickly, even on Sunday! Had issues with the supplied Nano. Needed to use the "old bootloader" to get sketch to load. Original sketch was too large to load. New version 1.0.4 sent 6/8/2020 did load and works correctly. This is a great product. Thanks Guido!!