Well hello there

[Cylindric]

Aloha Builders,

just thought I'd pop in a quick 'hello' here.  I'm about to venture into the deep and dark field of Arduino projects, so figured it might be polite to say Hi before bombarding you all with innane questions and baffling scenarios.

First project will have to be something with a high WAF so that I don't get shot down from the offset, after that, the sky's the limit!   Something cute* and responsive I suppose.

o/

Mark

(*cute = Chaotic Untidy Tangle of Electronics, until my construction skills improve)

[Cylindric]

Heh, might as well start off with a general "right track" question I suppose.

To get started I was thinking of getting one of the starer-kits I see around the web, for example the Starter Kit from oomlout.  There seems to be a bunch of generally-handy components in there for experimental tinkering, and my back-of-an-envelope adding-up seems to indicate a cheaper price than buying the bits separately.

Basically I'm starting with all the tools, but none of the components, as I think those spider-legged transistors I have from 15 years ago have probably been sitting in a damp shoe-box in the shed for a bit long.

For £56 I'd get the following, plus some gubbins (printed guides and stuff):

• 1x Arduino Uno board (328)


• 75x Piece Jumper Wire Bundle


• 1x USB Cable


• 1x Multi-compartment Plastic Storage Box


• 1x 9v Battery - Arduino Adapter


• 10x 5mm Red LEDs


• 10x 5mm Green LEDs


• 1x 10mm Red LED


• 1x Toy Motor


• 1x Mini Servo Motor


• 1x 8-Bit Shift Register (74HC595)


• 1x Piezo Element


• 2x Pushbuttons


• 1x Potentiometer (10k)


• 1x Photo Resistor


• 1x Temperature Sensor (TMP36)


• 1x Relay (5v DPDT)


• 2x Transistors (2N222A)


• 31x Resistors (560 Ohm x25, 2.2k Ohm x3, 10k Ohm x3)


• 2x Diodes (1N4001)

[CrossRoads]

Unless the leads onthe transistors have corroded beyond usability, I would bet they are still good. Maybe some cleaning with an eraser might be needed.

[Cylindric]

Doesn't warrant a "Gallery" post yet - it's more exciting for me than anyone else, but I've just managed to get my test robot doing the initial bits of what I wanted!

It can independently move forwards and backwards, it detects objects ahead of it and reverses away and turns to a new direction

Couldn't have done it without the help from the insanely patient and tolerant folks on this forum!

I've attached the only picture I have at the moment, which is the v0 version that can only move forwards until it hits something   This was before the H-Bridge and Ultrasound went in, but it looks pretty similar.

[ajarnjoshua]

To get started I was thinking of getting one of the starer-kits I see around the web, for example the Starter Kit from oomlout.  There seems to be a bunch of generally-handy components in there for experimental tinkering, and my back-of-an-envelope adding-up seems to indicate a cheaper price than buying the bits separately.

Does anyone offer kits like 2-3x that size, enabling more project options right from the start?? If so can anyone suggest some websites? I just keep getting redirected to Makezine and Sparkfun websites. The project is looking like a load of fun, looking forward to seeing it in the gallery.