So, I am building something for my Engineering class, and I have to use an Arduino. The thing is I don't know which one to use. My circuit will contain a 16*2 LCD screen, a 10kohm potentiometer(optional), 4 LED's(that will blink), one piezo/buzzer/speaker (whatever the heck you want to call them), and 6 pushbuttons. I said the potentiometer is optional because I don't really think so that I would have to connect it to the Arduino. I am building a laptop overheating detector, that will set off a piezo/buzzer/speaker alarm that will be controlled by the Arduino. So, that's why I am unsure of the potentiometer, since it will control the volume. What do you think I should do? Which Arduino should I buy? I need to start ordering parts soon.
The product link is here so you can see for yourself, which product I am using-
Pushbuttons - Mini Pushbutton Switch - COM-00097 - SparkFun Electronics
LCD - Basic 16x2 Character LCD - Black on Green 5V - LCD-00255 - SparkFun Electronics
Potentiometer - Rotary Potentiometer - 10k Ohm, Linear - COM-09939 - SparkFun Electronics or Rotary Potentiometer - 10k Ohm, Logarithmic - COM-09940 - SparkFun Electronics (Still haven't figured out whether to use a Linear or Logarithmic. If you guys can advise me which one to use for controlling a Piezzo/Speaker/Buzzer, it would be helpful too :-))
Piezo and the LED's will be the plain old ones you may have seen in other projects.
Thank you guys for your help 
Buy a standard arduino kit and learn how to use and programme it first.
it sounds like you have a lot to learn. Do you understand c programming .?
20AJ0931:
So, I am building something for my Engineering class, and I have to use an Arduino. The thing is I don't know which one to use.one piezo/buzzer/speaker (whatever the heck you want to call them)
So, that's why I am unsure of the potentiometer, since it will control the volume.
I think your first setup should be an UNO.
And a breadboard, and jumper wires.
Three different things.
Piezo is flat (like a coin), and can be used a microphone or speaker (with tone code).
Buzzer needs a DC voltage to make a single tone (you hear them at the supermarked checkout).
Speaker (8ohms) needs exra hardware.
Not sure what you mean there. An Arduino can produce a tone (for a piezo disk), or a DC voltage (for a buzzer).
But an Arduino can't drive a speaker directly. An amplifier is needed for that. That amp can have a (log) volume pot.
Linear pots are mostly used with an Arduino, e.g. to generate a variable voltage for an analogue pin.
Leo..
How do you expect to detect that the laptop has overheated? Wouldn't a temperature sensor be in order too?
Any arduino board is suitable for that. Many people feel the Uno is the easiest to get started with; I tend to recommend clones with CH340G's (download the drivers - they don't come with the IDE) instead of genuine ones or faithful clones. The CH340G clones seem more resistant to abuse, judging by the volume of posts here from people who've bricked the genuine ones, and they're a lot cheaper to replace if you do manage to damage them. Make up your karma by donating the difference to Arduino.
Hi,
UNO or a derivative with added features are fine. The How-To Get Started HERE may be a good place to start with whatever kit you decide on.
Temperature measurement: DS18B20 is easy to use. See This Page
LCD display Info HERE
DISCLAIMER: Mentioned stuff from my own shop...
Hi, Thank you for your replies. I am currently learning Arduino. I already developed a script on python that can find the temperature and I plan to use pySerial to make it communicate with Arduino. I talked to my engineering teacher and he suggested that I should get an Arduino too, just like you guys suggested. He also advised me to get a 10kohm pot to use it with a piezo which he can provide. Just a few questions-
1.Can pushbuttons be used to increment and decrement certain values? If so, will each pushbutton take a separate pin on Arduino?
2.For controlling piezo volume, should I use a linear 10k ohm or logarithmic 10k ohm?
3.If I set up an 'if' statement to start the piezo when a certain condition is true, does my volume pot also needs to be connected to the Arduino, or can be separate and independent?
I know UNO has 13 digital and 5-6 analog pins. I am new to Arduino. From the materials I listed in my previous post, can you guys help me figure out which component needs to be connected to which pin?
I will be really grateful. Thank you
Simple way is one pushbutton per pin (between pin and ground), with the internal pull up resistor enabled.
Or between pin and +5volt, with external pull up resistor.
Or a switch matrix.
Or a string of switches/resistors on one analogue pin.
Or an external pin expander chip.
Or...
Log pots are better for volume, because it matches out non-linear hearing.
First go throught the examples that come with the IDE.
Then you know most of the things you have asked.
Leo..