This is my first post and yes I'm a noob.
Watched a bunch of your guys making wonderful things using Arduino's and thought "yes" I want to give that a try. Brought some hardware then realised I haven't a clue when it comes to software. Lol
So, do people who can create sketches sell(perhaps via a donation) them to people like myself that can't?
Gigs & Collaborations section.
On the other hand, you could have a stab at it yourself, then if you get stuck ask in the 'programming' section.
Often, you can find sketches that people are giving away for free, that do ALMOST what you want. And modifying such a sketch can be much easier than writing it from scratch...
westfw:
Often, you can find sketches that people are giving away for free, that do ALMOST what you want. And modifying such a sketch Canberra much easier than writing it from scratch...
Who had auto complete active? You Canberra given the wrong words.
Weedpharma
Fixed. I hate typing on my iPad.
westfw:
Fixed. I hate typing on my iPad.
There are advantages to being poor 
...R
Hi guys, thanks for your replies.
I'd love to be able to do it myself but after reading this forum I'm pretty sure I've "bitten off more than I can chew". At first it seemed reasonably easy watching you guys do it, respect where it's do, because it's not easy.
Gigs & Collaborations section it is. Maybe give it a go myself once I have something working that I can play around with.
I guess I should ask if what I'm hoping to do is possible before taking this any further.
How difficult would it be to have several remote battery powered sensors consisting of an XBee, Arduino Nano plus a sensor of some sort, ultrasonic, 3 axis accelerometer, camera, for example. Transmitting live data to be displayed and stored on a central battery powered device consisting of a 7 inch LCD touchscreen, Arduino Due, XBee and an SD card module?
It sounded easy when I told my friend about it. Think i should have looked into it more before telling him I'd give it a go. 
You do realize that custom software is often expensive, right?
How difficult would it be to have several remote battery powered sensors consisting of an XBee, Arduino Nano plus a sensor of some sort
Doable. Popular, even. There are some specialized Arduino clones that make it easier, like Funnel IO ([url=http://funnel.cc/[/url] or JeeNode (not a zigbee, but similar) (http://jeelabs.org/2010/12/18/rethinking-the-arduino-hardware-interface/)
At this point in time, I'd be worrying about the choice of radio - Xbee seems is getting expensive compared to the low-cost BTLE and WiFi modules that have been coming out.
westfw:
Doable. Popular, even. There are some specialized Arduino clones that make it easier, like Funnel IO ([url=http://funnel.cc/[/url] or JeeNode (not a zigbee, but similar) (http://jeelabs.org/2010/12/18/rethinking-the-arduino-hardware-interface/)At this point in time, I'd be worrying about the choice of radio - Xbee seems is getting expensive compared to the low-cost BTLE and WiFi modules that have been coming out.
Thanks westfw.
Well at least I know its doable.
ChrisTenone:
You do realize that custom software is often expensive, right?
Paying for someones time is never cheap, but I guess it would be worth it in the end. How expensive, tens, hundreds, thousands?
How expensive, tens, hundreds, thousands?
That depends on whether you hire a professional SW developer to do something original from the ground up, or some slightly-experienced student arduino hacker that's willing to gather the existing free examples into something that almost works. You can figure that a fully-burdened (ie some who makes their living as a consultant, and has to pay their own payroll taxes and business expenses) US-based professional embedded developer costs abotu $100k/y (call that $50/h.) Less for non-US, less-professional... Plus expenses, of course.
And it depends on how well you can explain what you want. Because each time you go back and say "almost, now can you make it do Y" is more hours - potentially a LOT more hours if Y is much different than the starting goal. People who haven't done SW development are typically not very good at defining software either, leading to frustration on both sides.
So ... hundreds to 10s of thousands, probably.
Now, you CAN be sneaky and see if you can get volunteers to "implement open source software for this neat idea", and maybe not spend anything - just look at what has been contributed to the (greater) arduino project for free. I've done "will write code for toys" (send me hardware and I'll make it do stuff" projects that I thought worked out really well, plus "wouldn't it be nice if the bootloader did XX" and similar. But ...
Well the hundreds of thousands is a definite no. Chances are someone has already made something similar and I could buy for hundreds and adapt it to my needs.
I like the idea of "getting volunteers to implement open source software for this neat idea" but I'd rather I at least understood what they were doing. I guess there's no easy way to do this unless I have money to burn, so for me a few months searching Google it is ...
Feel free to ask questions here, once you have things SOMEWHAT more focused and narrowed down.
Meanwhile, note that the forums have both a "sensors" category and a "networking" category...
The new-ish "Arduino 101" seems pretty sensor-oriented, and includes a BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) radio at a relatively low price. BLE has the advantage that many tablets (and phones) already include it, since it's used by (for example) fitness/health monitors.
Ok, I've "jumped the gun" so to speak.
Thanks westfw.
I've brought a 7 inch touch display(MD070SD) which was delivered this morning and I've borrowed an Arduino Mega 2560 off a friend plus a half breadboard, a few other bits and a few cables.
I managed to install the Arduino software, connect my laptop to the Mega, install and run the simple "LED blink". I've also managed to connect a giro and temp module to it successfully.
Here's a question: do I need a shield to connect the display to the mega or can I connect it using the cables like I've seen some do on Youtube?
Edit.
And another: would a NodeMCU be a good idea for remote sensors?
Shadeyman:
Here's a question: do I need a shield to connect the display to the mega or can I connect it using the cables like I've seen some do on Youtube?Edit.
And another: would a NodeMCU be a good idea for remote sensors?
First - slow down. Don't keep jumping from one complex issue to another. Deal with them one by one. Otherwise the advice here will become hopelessly confused. And I don't mean that you should start another Thread. I mean you should get a solution to one problem and only then ask the next question about your project.
If you want advice about connecting the display you need to post a link to its datasheet.
...R
Sorry, I'll slow down. Just asked about the NodeMCU as I plan to order a few things(hardware) in advance to use later on if they were suitable.
The display is a MD070SD - 7 Inch 800 x 480 TFT Touch LCD Display Module MCU Bus CPLD SDRAM For Arduino AVR STM32 ARM and HERE is the datasheet.
Shadeyman:
The display is a MD070SD - 7 Inch 800 x 480 TFT Touch LCD Display Module MCU Bus CPLD SDRAM For Arduino AVR STM32 ARM
How is that going to work with a Mega?
...R
Robin2:
How is that going to work with a Mega?...R
I've no idea, that's why I asked?
I plan to use the display with an Arduino Due and shield that I ordered this morning but was hoping to practice a little first using a Mega. I'm guessing by your reply your saying I can't. But THIS guy managed it.
Shadeyman:
I'm guessing by your reply your saying I can't. But THIS guy managed it.
I was just reading what you posted.
If someone has done it then s/he is the person to ask.
...R