New book and projects kit: An Arduino Workshop

An Arduino Workshop[/b]
Are you puzzled about the Arduino but
finding it difficult to get all the pieces in one place?

The Arduino, designed for the novice, has become so popular that there is now an embarrassment of riches when it comes to amount of information and hardware available. So much stuff is out there that some folks have trouble puzzling out what they need to just to get started.
This text, An Arduino Workshop, and the associated hardware projects kit bring all the pieces of the puzzle together in one place. The author, Joe Pardue, writes the monthly Smiley's Workshop series in Nuts&Volts magazine and is known for his breezy writing style and lucid illustrations that help folks understand complex technical topics.
With this text and parts kit you will learn to: - Blink 8 LEDs (Cylon Eyes) - Read a pushbutton and 8-bit DIP switch - Sense Voltage, Light, and Temperature - Make Music on a piezo element - Sense edges and gray levels - Optically isolate voltages - Fade LED with PWM - Control Motor Speed - And more?
Learn more at www.smileymicros.com
If you want to see the first three chapters, you can find them in the 'Excerpts of chapters 1, 2, and 3' hyperlink on http://www.smileymicros.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=82&MMN_position=136:136
Smiley
P.S. I understand that some folks may find this spammy, but I started a thread at: http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1269807740/11#11 to see if this was okay and didn't get an negatives.

Nice to see that people are still making "hardcopy" books!

It's nearly impossible to find them usually! I mean, there's the "Making things talk", but that is the only one that comes to mind :P.

Well, there is Massimo Banzi's Getting Started with Arduino which I think is a great introductory book, and Oxer and Bleming Practical Arduino that has a bunch of more advanced projects. My book kind of falls in the middle of those two, but I also provide a kit of parts to go along with the text.

Frankly, one of the reasons that hard-copy books are becoming rarer in technology is that in general all the information is available for free on the Internet. But the trick is finding things in an orderly presentation with the hardware to go along with it. That's the niche for my book.

Smiley

Ah yes, I had forgotten about Massimo's book! :stuck_out_tongue:

I agree that it can be difficult to get organized data without falling head-first into the pool of advanced knowledge that is the internet ;D!

And let's not forget about 'Practical Arduino' from Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings -- practicalarduino.com. Available at most dead tree stores such as Amazon, B&N, Borders.

dead tree stores

Just read this article a little while ago about how it's actually worse to use electronic media (such as buying the kindle) rather than buying several books due to the materials required to create the device (gold, platinum, etc.), the energy it consumes, and the fact that it will eventually (relatively quickly) end up in a landfill (whereas paper can be recycled :)).

Just thought I'd add that little tidbit ;D!

Did you read that article on-line or in print? ::slight_smile:

Did you read that article on-line or in print?

On-line ;D. The main point of the article was advising against buying things like the Kindle or that Sony eBook reader (don't know what it's called), rather than continuing to use an already established computer.

On-line . The main point of the article was advising against buying things like the Kindle or that Sony eBook reader (don't know what it's called), rather than continuing to use an already established computer.

So newly released Apple ipad will help cause more globle warming :wink:

Lefty

http://www.earthshinedesign.co.uk/ASKManual/

:wink:

amazing, can't wait to start learning arduino!!!!! :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Hi smiley,

how many pages are there in the book?

214

It's great to see this come out, Smiley! I think it hits at just the right level, pitched a bit beyond a pure beginner's guide so that it can help people get through the "what next?" hump after doing Blink and other basic things. I think the associated hardware pack will be super-popular, too, that's a great move. One of the things I keep being asked about is whether there's a pack to go with Practical Arduino so I'm sure yours will sell like hot-cakes.

Jon
Freetronics: www.freetronics.com

that's an amazing initiative!
I'm thinking in make something like that in Portuguese.
And how about the demand? Do you have already some stats?

Jon,

Thanks for the nice words. I have your book and think that is excellent and I strongly recommend it for folks as a follow on to my book.

I also think that the hardware kit is a big convenience. Of course all the parts can be gotten elsewhere and possibly for less, but having it all in one place can be a real selling point. I'd imagine that your book would need a bunch of kits since it covers so much territory and a comprehensive kit would be be a bit unwieldy. Frankly though, the hardware side is a hassle that I only do to strictly to support book sales because you really have a time making the hardware pay. You might try it for a couple of the projects in your book and see if the demand is really there.

Radames,
I do get some orders from Portugal and especially Brazil, but I'm not sure how large the demand for something like this would be in Portuguese. I tend to think that folks interested in this sort of thing tend to also know English, but then the Arduino is aimed at a more of a mass audience than what I'm used to, so there might well be a demand. To me, it is telling that the design comes from Italy, but the documentation is in English.

Smiley

Hi Smiley,

I've just been browsing the excerpts, and I really like how you have explained the "Genesis of Arduino".

Just a question, are all of the components included in the "projects kit" used in the projects detailed in the book?.

shame it isn't open source like the arduino itself...

Hi,

Good idea selling the whole kit, buying components can be intimidating for someone new to electronics.

I also have a new book out: 30 Arduino Projects for the Evil Genius. You can find it at Amazon.com and all good bookstores (as they say).

Simon Monk.

shame it isn't open source like the arduino itself...

So, is there no downloadable code provided?.