Hello
I just ordered my Arduino and I am very much looking froward to learning how to use it. A question that I have though is what accessories should I get to help me get started with it? I got the Arduino starter kit and the motor shield from Makersshed.com which looks like it includes a lot of parts to get me started but I wanted to know what other people find useful to have? Should I get some transistors, relays, resistors? And what types should I get? I also want a recommendation on a good thermocouple which I can use to measure to temperature outside in order to have the Arduino open my window. I usually get my parts from digikey so if you have any recommendations from their catalog feel free to include them.
http://www.ladyada.net/library/equipt/kits.html has some recommendations for tools
A 50 value 1/4W resistor kit would probably come in handy
Some breadboards, jumper wire kits, capacitor kits, LEDs, and a few other items would also be useful
You can use a Dallas DS18S20 temperature sensor, which is quite popular
I actually saw the Dallas. Overall im am just starting off and I know nothing about handling the data stream. I was actually looking on ebay at some of the multimeter thermocouples since there cheap and are just based off resistance which is easy to read. Finally, since it looks like I may be needing some transistors, any recommendations on what type or model to use?
Oh, I also found some nice resistor assortments on ebay for around $10. I would post a link but it would be useless in a month for anyone looking for advise.
There is an example with code here Arduino Playground - OneWire
It may actually be easier to use the DS18S20 than a thermocouple
As far as transistors go, it depends, what are you planning to make?
I am just planning on driving LEDs and small hobby motors. A link to a motor example is below. I also have some heavier duty 12v motors on gear boxes but I dont have a use for them at the moment. I also will probably be powering some heavy duty relays which I can use to handle much larger and high voltage loads.
You'll probably need a couple of quality high current power supplies to provide external power to your motor shield
The motor shield has a terminal block for external power but watch out for the current limits on the L293D
http://www.ladyada.net/make/mshield/
"4 H-Bridges: L293D chipset provides 0.6A per bridge (1.2A peak) with thermal shutdown protection, 4.5V to 36V"
You might need some high power transistors and it wouldn't hurt to have a spare motor shield or motor shield ICs laying around in case something catches fire
In fact it might make sense to grab a couple of L293D's, assemble and test them on a breadboard first before your try it on the motor shield, that way if something goes wrong you won't fry the whole motor shield
I was a bit surprised they didn't use IC sockets on the motor shield or any heatsinks, although they say it has thermal shutdown protection
Trust but verify
I am actually not looking to control the speed of the motors, just when they stop. Therefore im just looking for a good transistor to run the motors or a good relay. By doing it this way I could just use two relays to start/stop the motor and switch polarity to reverse. The reason I got the motor shield is to experiment with RC servos as well as with stepper motors. Overall, im not going to risk burning out the motor shield at the moment. Are there any good transistors that I should get for small loads like small motors, relays, and LED banks?
Maybe a bare L293D would take care of your small motors
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Main/DirectionalMotorControlWithAL293D
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Main/InterfacingWithHardware#Output
Specifically check this out Arduino Playground - DCMotorControl
If you want to drive DC motors that's probably the way to do it
There is some info for interfacing with relays and LEDs also on the "InterfacingWithHardware" page
Thanks. That looks great.
No problem
Please post pictures when you're done
Sure. I am going to try to automate my window but it may take a while. Ill post pics when im done.