A Python electronics kit for complete beginners. Wire real circuits on a Raspberry Pi Pico WH and code them in MicroPython, through 20 lessons set in Neon City.
Price: $30 · Sold out
Rated 4.2 out of 5 from 67 customer reviews.
Neon City runs on power that Sintech controls, and Sintech reads every message on the network. Kai's grandfather vanished and left behind the blueprint for a clean-energy device. Kai has an old tech shop, an emergency kit of parts and a small AI drone named Orion.
Orion knows everything and has no fingers. The wiring and the typing are yours.
Day 1 is a single blinking light: a beacon to the Resistance that no network can read. Then a button decides when it fires, three lights carry coded patterns, and a light sensor guards a hidden lab under the market.
Eleven story days, then nine Python projects on video.
19 of the 20 lessons come with their circuit already wired in the CraftingTable simulator. Open it from the lesson on a laptop or desktop, run your MicroPython on a simulated Pico, and watch the circuit work before you build it on your desk.
The one exception is the Wi-Fi project, which needs the real board.
“This kit is great for learning python on micro controllers. I've been taking my time, playing with the code, and going through about one day of the project each day. I've purchased a couple of these for friends and family too.” — John P.
“So far so good. I just got into the kit, but I like the combination of story and skills. I realize that it's geared for younger students but it seems to be good intro for older folks like me who want to dop their toes into electronics and python programming.” — Jeremy L.
“I’ve always liked tinkering, programming and 3-D modeling. At 62 years old, I’m a bit past my prime but I’m still willing to try. So far it’s been fun.” — Ed P.
Everything for all 20 lessons except the cable. You bring a computer running Windows, macOS or Linux and a micro-USB cable that carries data. A charge-only cable won't work.
Both Python kits run on the same board. Neon Realm starts from zero; Nebula Raiders is the next step. 30 Days Lost in Space teaches C++ on a different board.
| Python Starter Kit: Neon Realm | Advanced Python Kit: Nebula Raiders | 30 Days Lost in Space | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course | Neon Realm | Nebula Raiders | 30 Days Lost in Space |
| Board | Raspberry Pi Pico WH | Raspberry Pi Pico WH | HERO Board |
| Language | MicroPython | MicroPython | C++ |
| Level | Beginner | Intermediate | Beginner |
| Lessons | 20 | 40 | 31 |
| On video | 15 of 20 | 11 of 40 | All 31 |
| The story | Kai and a drone named Orion signal the Resistance in Neon City | A new cadet keeps a breaking ship running, all the way to commander | Crash-landed on an alien planet, you repair the ship to fly home |
| You build | Signal lights, a light-sensing alarm, PWM lighting, a Wi-Fi temperature page | An RFID scanner, a keypad door code, an LED-matrix arcade game, a trap detector, a servo food dispenser | A passcode lock, a security panel with alarm, OLED graphics, a launch countdown |
| Key parts | LEDs, push buttons, photoresistors, resistors | LCD screen, RFID reader, keypad, motion and distance sensors, servo, 8x8 LED matrix | OLED screen, 16-button keypad, 4-digit display, rotary encoder, buzzer |
| USB cable | Not included | Included | Included |
Yes. Day 0 assumes you have never written a line of code. It walks you through putting MicroPython on the board, setting up Thonny and blinking your first light, and every lesson explains its code as you go.
A computer running Windows, macOS or Linux for Thonny, the editor the lessons use, and a micro-USB cable that carries data. The cable is not in the box. A charge-only cable will not work: the computer will not see the board.
Only through ChromeOS's Linux environment, which the Day 0 lesson walks through step by step. Many school-managed Chromebooks have that switched off.
Online, in the Neon Realm course on craftingtable.com. Start with Day 0, which covers the one-time setup.
No. Day 0 to Day 5 and the nine Python projects are on video. Days 6 to 10 are written lessons with the story, the wiring and the code.
No. The Pico WH's pins come attached, and every part plugs into the breadboard.
No. One payment. No subscription, and nothing expires.
Twenty lessons, a real Raspberry Pi Pico WH, and Python from your very first line.
Ships to the US, Canada, the UK and Australia: $12.35 flat shipping in the US, $18 to Canada, the UK and Australia. Send any physical order back within 30 days of delivery and we refund it when it arrives. Opened and used is fine; it just needs all of its parts. The customer pays return shipping, and the original shipping charge isn't refunded. Questions: support@craftingtable.com.
Sold by CraftingTable (formerly Inventr.io). All kits