Good afternoon..I'm very new to the Arduino world and wanted to say Hi !
I am very excited with the endless possibilities that these boards can achieve, but as a newbie I have no idea where to start!.
I have a project in mind (i.e controlling my garden lights over ethernet) but am overwhelmed with the choices of parts and the software looks a little bit frightening! let me know if I am trying to run before walking
So a little gentle guidance and advice from the experienced ones would be most welcome.
My question is what parts should I be looking at and software / apps to control said parts
Looking forward to your replies...Apologies if I have posted in the wrong area !!
Welcome to the world of Arduino, hopefully you will find it a long and exciting visit/journey.
To be able to help, you will need to flesh out your project idea with a lot more detail so it can then be broken down into simple components/steps.
You say you want to control your garden lights but what type of lights are they, how are they powered and controlled now, what level of control do you need (on/off or fading).
What do you mean when you say control over Ethernet? Do you just mean CAT-5 cable, wireless/wired web interface or what?
The list goes on but you will get the idea.
Firstly my Led garden lights are in situ and are controlled via a time switch at the moment.
I can run a cat 5 cable out to an arduino board which I shall mount beside the time switch.
I would like to build a board which has an ethernet port so it will be fed from my router and a simple programme where I can toggle a button on my android phone and operate a relay to switch on/ off the lights.
If you are completely new to the Arduino I suggest you first explore several of the example programs that come with the Arduino IDE.
IMHO it is not practical to lay out a list of components before you have a good understanding of the system.
Ideally buy an Uno for learning as it is the best beginners board - most software and add-ons work with it and it just plugs in and works.
If your budget is very tight you might want to consider a Yun which has WiFi and Ethernet as standard as well as a small Linux computer. I think the price of the Yun is about the same as (say) an Uno plus an Ethernet or WiFi shield - neither of which has the Linux power of the Yun.
You can also get a cheap ESP8266 Wifi device which will work with an Uno.
bellozanne:
Firstly my Led garden lights are in situ and are controlled via a time switch at the moment.
Will you replace the current time switch or just supplement its workings with an Arduino?
I can run a cat 5 cable out to an arduino board which I shall mount beside the time switch.
CAT5 is good but you can also do WI-FI on Arduino if the range is suitable. In fact using a cheap ESP8266 WI-FI module you might be able to do without the Arduino all together.
I would like to build a board which has an ethernet port so it will be fed from my router and a simple programme where I can toggle a button on my android phone and operate a relay to switch on/ off the lights.
This is all very doable and has most likely already been done by other people. Try "toggle relay using android phone and esp8266" in Google to see some examples.
I am hoping to replace the time switch altogether (leaving an double pole switch in place(for maintenance purposes))
The reason I am looking to run a CAT5 cable is because the WiFi at my shed has poor strength so a wired connection seems to be the best option. Also for me, building the project and getting it to work will be the reward and a learning curve now that my interest has been peaked with Arduino.
When I have time I do trawl through older posts and projects and have found some very useful info to whet my appetite
so looking forward to getting started.
I am looking at ordering an Arduino uno, mega, ethernet shield and relay shield to play with for now .
I'm sure anything that I don't use will be used in the future.
again thanks for your support and please do throw in any advice in the meantime.