wait wait i think i know this one... is that from battlestar galactica?

I made a daft punk helmet-- but for time constraints I couldn't have an LED matrix going because i couldn't figure out coding for the 4794 LED driver--so i ended up making a modified Knight Rider program. I may redo it all later and do it right, if i ever figure out how to work the shift-registers. But anyway, here it is:

http://randomthingsitinker.blogspot.com/2009/04/daft-punk-helmet.html

(a bit basic, i know, but any thoughts on it?)

ah, that's really neat! (my dad saw that and claimed he "figured it out," but apparently he was wrong)

Wow, that's very impressive! i like it a lot! so you could detect when the magnets would attach to one another? did it complete a circuit between the two? its really neat! any problems with it tangling? =P

yeah i was looking at those earlier for my project; they look like some of the best options out there, but they are a bit expensive if you intend to buy a lot of them.

What do you need them for? or at least, what makes the sparkfun buttons inadaquate for your project? a bit more info could helm out with finding what you want =P

The last project of this manual: http://www.earthshineelectronics.com/files/ASKManualRev3.pdf

i just finished making one of these with 74HC595's

for those looking, here it is: http://www.robotshop.com/dfrobot-digital-vibration-sensor-3.html

there's no mention of a pinout, but i'd guess it would follow 1: Vin 2: ouptut 3: Gnd

but of course, I'm not sure about that. It really sucks that they don't tell you the pinout, did you get any documentation with it when you bought it?

i wish when I was starting out someone had told me about sponges, and tip care. It sucks when you're learning on your own and your tip gets eaten away and you're wondering what the heck is happening. i finally learned about a wet sponge to clean the tip and that saved some life, but from what i'm reading i should switch to a brass/copper scrubbie sponge. i'm headed out to the store soon to go get one soon...

some links:
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/Standalone
http://www.instructables.com/id/uDuino-Very-Low-Cost-Arduino-Compatible-Developme/
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/AtmegaStandalone

It's also possible, I think, to program the chip in the arduino board you already have, then pull it out and put it in the circuit that you want. Overall, though, even with an external programmer, the project is simple enough to do.

From the paragraph on the right side of the arduino.cc homepage:

"The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing)."

Based on wiring. Wiring came first.

I agree with Osgeld. Start off with basic stuff-- making an LED blink, fading and LED with a pot, interfacing an LED with an encoder to fade or something, displaying something on an LCD, and then finally get to displaying the rotary encoder output on the LCD. From there, you can work on adding more than one of the encoders, and keep building it until you get to where you want

Type in atmega328 datasheet into google, or have people point and laugh

http://tinyurl.com/23u7ktl

oh come on do you really expect someone just starting out to be able to find that after looking through that many pages of raw data? I've been doing this for a year now and am only just now understanding how to read basic datasheets (H-bridges, shift registers, etc.) It's people like Lefty that make this community thrive; people with sound EE understanding willing to share their knowledge.

This is relevant to me; mine does that too, but it's never been a problem for me so far. But, as Paul said, I dunno what's happening with it. Sorry.

Hi, does anyone know of any 3D CAD files for the arduino? I don't mean the schematic or layout files, I'm looking for a 3D model that I can use in 3D modeling (Autodesk Inventor). So does anyone have these, or should I just take the time and make a model myself?

open it up, you might find a stepper motor, a spindle motor, led(s), cool looking boards that I (to be honest) have no idea what they do. you may have some nice headers as well. But to be honest there aren't that many reusable parts (well, for electronics anyway. they make cool art materials). just take your screwdriver and go.