SparkFun Starter Pack for Intel® Edison

The Intel® Edison is an ultra small computing platform that will change the way you look at embedded electronics. Each Edison is packed with a huge amount of tech goodies into a tiny package while still providing the same robust strength of your go-to single board computer. Powered by the Intel® Atom™ SoC dual-core CPU and including an integrated WiFi, Bluetooth LE, and a 70-pin connector to attach a veritable slew of shield-like "Blocks" which can be stacked on top of each other. It's no wonder how this little guy is lowering the barrier of entry on the world of electronics!

This Edison Starter Pack includes everything you need to get started with Intel's® newest computer platform. With this pack you will be able to snap three basic "Blocks" to your Edison to provide basic functionality and turn it into a modular Linux computer.

Note: This item may take longer to process due to battery installed in the equipment and therefore does not qualify for same-day shipping policy. Additionally, these batteries can not be shipped via Ground or Economy methods to Alaska or Hawaii. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

SparkFun Starter Pack for Intel® Edison Product Help and Resources

Programming the Intel® Edison: Beyond the Arduino IDE

January 7, 2015

Intel's Edison module goes beyond being just another Arduino clone. Check this tutorial for advice on how to get the most out of your Edison by writing code in C++!

General Guide to SparkFun Blocks for Intel® Edison

January 5, 2015

A general guide for using SparkFun Blocks for Intel® Edison in your next project!

Edison Getting Started Guide

December 5, 2014

An introduction to the Intel® Edison. Then a quick walk through on interacting with the console, connecting to WiFi, and doing...stuff.

Installing libmraa on Ubilinux for Edison

January 5, 2015

libmraa is a tool kit for interacting with various Intel single board computers.

Loading Debian (Ubilinux) on the Edison

December 5, 2014

How to load a Debian distribution (specifically Ubilinux) onto the Edison.

Core Skill: Programming

If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.

3 Programming

Skill Level: Competent - The toolchain for programming is a bit more complex and will examples may not be explicitly provided for you. You will be required to have a fundamental knowledge of programming and be required to provide your own code. You may need to modify existing libraries or code to work with your specific hardware. Sensor and hardware interfaces will be SPI or I2C.
See all skill levels


Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping

If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.

2 Electrical Prototyping

Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels


Comments

Looking for answers to technical questions?

We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.

  • Member #696793 / about 9 years ago * / 1

    in order to flash the latest firmware, I had to follow these 2 steps. https://communities.intel.com/message/254445#254445.

    reboot ota just didn't work for me.

  • did shawn just said i can use the edison that cost $49.99 to operate my $10 toaster??? are this ppl at intel out there minds???? lol not to mention that is only 1.8v wtf?! fucking relay need more then that to trigger a close loop circuit and lets not forget it has to be program which means that $49 is not all u need to spend to even prototype your iot toaster lol smh

  • Member #187616 / about 9 years ago / 1

    Why in the hell is this a starter pack if you cant even flash or do anything besides login from terminal. I am beyond livid that I wasted my time ordering this garbage. THis is not a starter pack this is nonsense. Im just gonna stop now before I go totally off. I can not believe this is even being sold.

  • rwaldron / about 9 years ago / 1

    Is this actually available? I ask because the standalone Base Block is on backorder, but I'm willing to purchase this set if it will ship immediately.

    • M-Short / about 9 years ago / 1

      We do always list the quantities we have in stock on the page (near the price). At the moment it looks like we still have 4 in stock.

Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5

Based on 12 ratings:

Currently viewing all customer reviews.

1 of 1 found this helpful:

pretty ambitious project for me

The last two times I corresponded with you guys at Spark Fun I ended up feeling like a jerk. A know nothing, careless, "what do you mean rtfm?" type. So I am not surprised to be struggling to get Ubilinux BT to pair with my cheap new headset. But I expect to have fun with this setup for a long time, and i wish Intel the best in their struggle with ARM. Thank you. And if I ever get my computer belt going I'll let you know.

Don't let your project get you down! Learning is part of the fun. Happy hacking!

1 of 1 found this helpful:

Easy to get going

Was extremely easy to get going. In a matter of minutes I was in the serial console, running node.js scripts from their XDK IoT IDE.

2 of 2 found this helpful:

great service

Great service. There was a problem with shipping the LiPo battery but it was quickly resolved. I am still trying to get the Edison working as well as the Raspberry Pi but it is clear that the Edison environment is still not very mature. Its too bad that Intel has not settled on a Ubilinux and their default O/S. They are clearly missing out on the RPI momentum. Otherwise, I am rather clear with the Sparkfun blocks. Without Sparkfun, the Edison would likely be as successful as its predecessor. Intel is not so grreat at listening to the needs of the market...

2 of 3 found this helpful:

Tech support non responsive

My base board doesnt mount as a storage device, and the edison gives me an error when i use lsusb. I've contacted tech support through email multiples times, but have yet to receive a reply. I have sent them messages on twitter, and even attempted to chat with them, but they are never available for chat.

I give up. I'm returning this thing and buying the intel dev board from adafruit.

Hi, So sorry to hear that you were having trouble getting a hold of our Tech team. We do not provide support over Twitter. If you have future support issues, please contact us at TechSupport@sparkfun.com

2 of 3 found this helpful:

Still haven't gotten a project off the ground

I haven't found a good step by step start up tutorial to get 'hello world' or blinky light. So it's still pretty much in the box.

New adventures start here

Received my kit just before Christmas and been busy playing with it ever since. It is obvious what the potential for the kit is down the road, there are many many possibilities.

I found the initial experimentation easy for someone familiar with Linux. The moment more decent programming is involved it gets really really hard. That is because documentation for a proper development environment is poor or does not exist and is only written by "those who know" for "those who already know".

Nonetheless, you have to make that investment to get the payoff down the road.

Perfect starter kit!

Very pleased with this kit, I would imagine it is quite easy to transition from Arduino or others to the Edison. I'm still learning about about using MRAA for IO control, and looking forward to exploring the Edison's possibilities!

Also a massive thankyou to SparkFun for prompt international delivery and awesome customer service and communication. Thanks guys.

Good potential

As a relative novice in this level of microprocessor, it would help to see many more projects in detail. I assume this will occur with time and more developers.

Great small dev platform

The intel edison starter kit from Sparkfun is a great way to get started with the intel edison. it keeps things small and avoids the bloat of the bulkier "arduino" form factor boards that try to make into another arduino something that is not. The base block is just right and just enough to break out the pieces of the edison needed to get started. The battery block is excellent as with it the edison is now not tied to a power source. the only improvement Sparkfun ought make here is rather than soldering the battery leads to the board, the battery board should have a standard rc type battery/charging connector as should the battery and the battery should be a separate item such that one may choose an appropriately sized battery for their use. A few minutes with a soldering iron along with the needed rework fixes this however. The gpio block breaks out another serial port, pwm, and some gpio pins - just wish it broke out i2c as well - maybe sparkfun could do a bigger version with say a 40 pin dip footprint. great kit.

Amazing package

This worked right out of the box, and was on my WiFi in minutes.

0 of 1 found this helpful:

Great, small package, excellente performance

The tiny connector allows smalles size and overall height, program resources makes it very flexible.

There's a steep learning curve, but well worth it!

Is it possible for something to be too flexible? Yes - when you have to work through all the different documentation that's available! The Intel Edison can be used in any of three modes (or all at the same time!): * As a Node.js web server; * As an Arduino development bed (with the right Block); * As an Eclipse C/C++ Linux development bed (which is what I wanted it for). The different Blocks available for the Edison make it very adaptable for different projects: my current one uses the Battery Block, the UART Block and the OLED Block, along with a SparkFun GPS device (GP-20U7), to receive and decode the NMEA-0183 messages to display my position, course and speed. The information available for all this exists, but you have to work through both SparkFun's and Intel's documentation - and Intel have completely changed their environment since SparkFun wrote their stuff on programming the Edison. I've got it all working to my satisfaction though: now on to my next project! Hmmm.....