What is the best way for the unitiated to start getting into Arduino

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cocosoft

Joined Jan 30, 2010
2
Hi all I am a 63 yo bloke that has always been a Mr Fixit and just loves learning how everything works so I can repair it when it goes bang. (Computers, monitors, radios, - whatever) I have loved repairing broken gadgets all my life and have been noticing all the extremely interesting Arduino gadgets for ages but just can't make up my mind how to get started in Arduino.
I would like to hear from people as to how they started out given that I have not got a lot of dollars to throw around. Thanks All - Robert
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,618
Welcome to All About Circuits. I hope you will enjoy a long stay with us.

I'm not an Arduino expert but this is how I imagine getting started:

1) Buy an Arduino system.
2) Go to the Arduino website, download the software and follow the instructions.
3) Go to the examples showing how to turn on an LED and follow the examples.
4) Get a buddy to help you along.
5) If you're stuck, come back to this website (All About Circuits) and don't be ashamed to asked questions.
 

ScottWang

Joined Aug 23, 2012
7,397
Are planing to learn how to fixing Arduino or want to play Arduino, whatever which one you like to do, to buy a Arduino to play with and to get to know it then when the board has any problems, it's more easy to just where the problem is.

Arduino.cc
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,155
Ronv found a great price for the kit. If you can swing it, it's a great start.

Another is to start small, and get an Arduino, LED, pushbuttons and a couple of resistors and start playing. Then add a pot. Then an LDR. Each step teaches you more.

I never used a microcontroller before, but had my first application running in a few hours. The Arduino IDE (free) comes with a great library of sample programs to get you started.
 

ISB123

Joined May 21, 2014
1,236
I would order some ATmega328-PU's and burn Arduino bootloader on them in case arduino MCU dies or you just want to use the MCU standalone in other project.
 

ErnieM

Joined Apr 24, 2011
8,377
ronv's approach is best, get a kit with some parts and a booklet of experiments. While a $9 clone may seem inexpensive it has no path for learning, comes with not even a switch nor LED, so it will just sit there, no beep when it starts and boob when it stops and definitely no whirr when it stands still.
 
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