One good thing about Arduino is that there are tons of good materials/references/tutorials/UTube/etc available for it online. Including here of course. And on a personal note here is much more helpful and friendlier than the Arduino forum has been for me.

 

Great that you have it going
There is a fun adventure ahead of you with Arduinos. They are quite versatile.
Here is my VFO for Ham Radio.

A long way from my SW radios of a few decades ago!

That is one example of why an Arduino or similar is so good. The original use can be changed quite easily.

Yes, that’s one of my main motivators in trying to master it. Whether or not I succeed is another matter! Some 20 or so years ago I made a similar attempt to learn how to use PICS. But I confess I finally gave up and returned to my more intuitive world. Designing, drawing and simulating circuits I could understand, mounting components on breadboards, and eventually soldering them up on veroboard or occasionally a home made PCB. In contrast, I see the much greater ease-of-use of Arduino, so I’m more optimistic!

I don't remember if I mentioned Random Nerd Tutorials before. http://randomnerdtutorials.com/
I find their articles to be well worth the cost. Also, they have quite a bit of free stuff too.

Thanks. I’ll add that my list. Right now I’d like to find a book (paper or online, free or not) that would complement the Elegoo tutorials. IOW by one single author, stepping me logically through the topics, aimed especially at someone with electronics know-how but no modern programming or microcontroller skills.

 

I usually recommend the ASK manual https://archive.org/details/ArduinoStarterKitManual as I was under the impression it was officially released as a free download, but a search now does not return many hits so maybe it is not.

 

I usually recommend the ASK manual https://archive.org/details/ArduinoStarterKitManual as I was under the impression it was officially released as a free download, but a search now does not return many hits so maybe it is not.

Yes, it seems to be readable only online.(My shed workshop PC has no internet connection.)

However the ELEGOO PDF guide I've started is downloadable and has twice as many projects.

I've made myself a combined list and I'll copy it here in case it's useful to any other beginner.

 

ight now I’d like to find a book (paper or online, free

Here is a PDF of an earlier version of the "Arduino Workshop" which is a pretty good book. It uses some older devices for some exercises, but is overall one of the better books I've used. This and Simon Monk's Programming Arduino: Getting Started with Sketches, Second Edition (Tab)2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Arduino-Getting-Started-Sketches/dp/1259641635/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22QG2SOABNB5K&keywords=simon+monk+arduino&qid=1558348372&s=gateway&sprefix=simon+monk,aps,179&sr=8-1 are both good starters. They will get you through the basics and introduce you to quite a bit of programming structure in addition to a general overview of interfaced sensors and other usual devices including IOT wifi, graphics devices and etc. Another book I have found to be exceptional is Arduino Programming in 24 Hours, Sams Teach Yourself1st Edition https://www.gettextbooks.com/isbn/9781259641633/. This is much more than the title sounds like and not a beginners book. Once you are familiar with Arduino and comfortable with coding it will nicely fill in various nooks and crannies other books sort of glazed over or omitted. While I'm on the subject of books... I always look for good used books available before paying high list prices. Even some new books can be had at substantial discounts from various booksellers instead of the big-name bookstores. Find the book you are interested in, Amazon usually has a preview to read, and then search with this, for example, to see what is available to order at a discount. https://www.gettextbooks.com/ It scans ~150+ sellers for availability and price including shipping.

 

Thanks Sam, both look good at first glance. I've downloaded the PDF for PC and iPad reading, and ordered the book from Amazon UK.