Beginner Arduino related Questions regarding what hardware to buy..

Thanks guys for your replies and great suggestions.... I will start with the breadboard approach as mentioned by terry king to see if my circuit works as intended before soldering everything. I have decided to buy Uno R3 board but I am not 100% sure if it will accomodate all the i/o s for my project. Can somebody help me with this? Also I need help selecting a data loggers which can easily mount on the Uno. Can I buy a single data logger which can write data from all the sensors in log files simultaneously? Or should I buy different data logger for each sensor? Also can you explain how data loggers work?

I have two IR sensors made by Sharp, one for long range and one for short... GP2Y0A710K0F (LR) and GP2Y0A02YK0F (SR) with analog outputs for both of them.

I havn't selected a GPS module yet but it will have one digital output.

3 axis-accelerometer (not selected) will have 3 analog or PWM outputs.

Reed switch will also have one digital or analog (not sure) output.

All of the above with the data logger shield/shields.

So do I have enough i/o if I go for Uno R3?

Also I wanted to know little bit about stacking and prototype boards, i.e. How many maximum number of boards I can stack on UNO. Is it advisable to stack them with prototypes or should I solder them? Can you suggest some baords with 3 axis accelerometers and GPS module?

Thanks again for your support and sorry for so many new questions? As I said I am a noob...

it should relatively easily accomodate all those devices and maybe have a couple spare, assuming of course that your GPS is serial out.

you have 19 pins, 6 of which can be Analog if you want.

the data logger can log all sensors on one card, you don`t need one for each

your reed is best on a Digital pin.

you would write the value of each device to the card one at a time, and keep doing that at regular intervals, i think some people use a spreadsheet to look at the data afterwards.

how they work is simply the same way that Memory works, like a digital camera stores pictures on an SD card, your SD card will store numbers instead of pictures for instance.

as for shield (board) stacking, there isn`t really a limit exactly as long as it`s mechanically stable and and you don`t run out of power to run them, no need to solder them either, in fact I can`t imagine how you would solder them if you wanted to

I think that covers a few of your concerns for now, never apologise for questions either!

it should relatively easily accomodate all those devices and maybe have a couple spare, assuming of course that your GPS is serial out.

you have 19 pins, 6 of which can be Analog if you want.

the data logger can log all sensors on one card, you don`t need one for each

your reed is best on a Digital pin.

you would write the value of each device to the card one at a time, and keep doing that at regular intervals, i think some people use a spreadsheet to look at the data afterwards.

how they work is simply the same way that Memory works, like a digital camera stores pictures on an SD card, your SD card will store numbers instead of pictures for instance.

as for shield (board) stacking, there isn`t really a limit exactly as long as it`s mechanically stable and and you don`t run out of power to run them, no need to solder them either, in fact I can`t imagine how you would solder them if you wanted to

I think that covers a few of your concerns for now, never apologise for questions either!