Let’s go shopping!

Why do you need all this stuff?

I’ll admit, a tricky part of making building hardware easy is finding a balance between cost, the complexity of tools, and actually having everything you need to get started with as few roadblocks as possible. Some things you might already have laying around, like a micro-usb cable, or can find at a nearby store, like the wire twist or screw terminals, so feel free to acquire parts however is easiest. This is the best way to save in costs!

The three online stores I recommend to purchase parts are Sparkfun.com, Adafruit.com, and Amazon.com.

The Starter List

Below is a detailed list of parts to build your own alt ctrl starter kit. You can also jump right to this Amazon Parts List so it is easy to purchase what you need.

Image	Item	~Price
You can get the Teensy LC cheaper without the metal legs (male headers) pre-attached, but to easily connect to it you’d need to also buy headers and solder them on.
	Teensy LC w/ headers	$22.95 (1 pc.)
You might already have a cable, it just needs to be capable of sending data (like a micro-usb cable used for a phone).
	Micro-USB Cable	$8.99 (1 pc.)
Get any breadboard, just no smaller then 400 points (one that looks like this).
	Breadboard	$4.99 (1 pc.)
This is for cutting wire and stripping the end of wire to expose the metal.
	Hakko Wire Stripper/Cutter	$11.00 (1 pc.)
Strand wire wraps easily (such as a button lead), solid pushes into breadboards easily (to connect to a Teensy pin). You can also find packs with multiple colors to be more organized, just stick with 22 AWG (the diameter of the wire.)
	22 AWG Strand Wire - 100ft	$10.00 (1 pc.)
	22 AWG Solid Wire - 100ft	$9 (1 pc.)
Attach wire together (like strand and solid) with twist or screw terminals.
	Wire Twist Terminals	$9.99 (158 pcs.)
To get started I suggest some sort of arcade buttons, which we will focus on first, but which are totally up to you. A joystick just acts like four buttons.
	Mini Arcade Buttons	$11.99 (12 pcs.)
	Large Arcade Buttons	$12.00 (6 pcs.)
	Joystick	$11.99 (1 pc.)
	Satefy Glasses	$4.95 (1 pc.)

Image

Item

~Price

You can get the Teensy LC cheaper without the metal legs (male headers) pre-attached, but to easily connect to it you’d need to also buy headers and solder them on.

Teensy LC w/ headers

$22.95 (1 pc.)

You might already have a cable, it just needs to be capable of sending data (like a micro-usb cable used for a phone).

Micro-USB Cable

$8.99 (1 pc.)

Get any breadboard, just no smaller then 400 points (one that looks like this).

Breadboard

$4.99 (1 pc.)

This is for cutting wire and stripping the end of wire to expose the metal.

Hakko Wire Stripper/Cutter

$11.00 (1 pc.)

Strand wire wraps easily (such as a button lead), solid pushes into breadboards easily (to connect to a Teensy pin). You can also find packs with multiple colors to be more organized, just stick with 22 AWG (the diameter of the wire.)

22 AWG Strand Wire - 100ft

$10.00 (1 pc.)

22 AWG Solid Wire - 100ft

$9 (1 pc.)

Attach wire together (like strand and solid) with twist or screw terminals.

Wire Twist Terminals

$9.99 (158 pcs.)

To get started I suggest some sort of arcade buttons, which we will focus on first, but which are totally up to you. A joystick just acts like four buttons.