ARDUINOGuide created by an awesome Grade 9 girl

Arduino■Arduino is an open-source electronics platform

with easy to use software and hardware. The boards are able to read inputs and turn it into an output.

■The kits usually come with a book that starts you off with some simple projects that allows you to get used to how it works and to begin to understand circuits.

■It also has an app that allows the user to code programs in Java that can be uploaded to the Arduino Board and run.

Setting Up Arduino■Download Arduino

from the website, and install.

■Connect your Arduino board to your computer via USB cable. The green light labelled ’ON’ will turn on.

■Make sure that you configure your Arduino board - otherwise it will not register your code.

Basic Functions of AppVerify

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Kit Parts■ Arduino Uno■ Battery Snap■ Breadboard■ Capacitors■ DC motor■ Diode■ Gels (red, green,

blue)■ H-bridge■ Jumper wires■ LEDs■ LCD

■ Male header pins■ Optocoupler■ Piezo■ Photoresistor■ Potentiometer■ Pushbuttons■ Resistors■ Servo Motor■ Temperature sensor■ Tilt sensor■ Transistor■ USB Cable

Breadboard & Arduino Duo■The breadboard is where

you build your circuit. Any mistakes can have huge effects on how it functions.

■The most important thing to do first, is to make sure that the negative (black/ground) and positive (red/power) leads are plugged in properly and in the right place.

Resistor’s■They resist the flow

of electrical energy in a circuit, changing the voltage and current as a result.

■Resistor values are marked using coloured bands, and each colour corresponds to a number.

LED’s■Light Emitting Diodes

(LEDs) are a type of diode that illuminates when electricity passes through it.

■Electricity only flows in one direction.

■The anode connects to power while the cathode connects to ground.

The longer leg is called the Anode (+)

The shorter leg is called the Cathode (-)

Circuits Pt. 1■ When using an Arduino, it becomes clear very quickly that

having a basic understanding of a circuit is useful.■ Circuits are closed loops of wire with a power source, and

something to do with the power.■ In a circuit, electricity flows from a point of higher potential

energy (power or +) to a point of lower potential energy (Ground/GND or - ).

■ Circuit Measurements;Current is the amount of electrical charge at a specific

point during the circuit and is measured in Amps/Amperes.

Voltage is the difference of energy between one point in a circuit and another and is measured in volts.

Resistance, which is measured in Ohms (Ω), is how much a component resists the flow of electrical energy.

Circuits Pt. 2■ There needs to be a complete path from the energy source

(Power) to the point of least energy (Ground) to make a circuit. If this is not done properly the circuit will not work.

■ There are two types of circuits;Series Circuit:A series circuit is a circuit in which resistors are

arranged in a chain, so the current has only one path to take. The current is the same through each resistor.

Parallel Circuit:A parallel circuit has two or more paths for current to

flow through. Voltage is the same across each component of the parallel circuit.

Basic Circuits & Programming

Example – Spaceship Interface■ The Spaceship

Interface is the first proper Arduino Project, and also happens to be the easiest in my opinion.

■ You make a control panel with a switch and lights that turn on/change when the switch is pressed.

■ As you can see in the code, input only has two states– commonly referred to HIGH (voltage) and LOW (no voltage).

Example – Keyboard Instrument ■ This project allows the

user to hook up a number of switches that produce a number of different tones depending on what you put in.

■ However, not only do you create a ‘Keyboard Instrument’, you also construct a resistor ladder.

■ Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of this project.

Example – Motorised Pinwheel■ In this project, the Arduino

is programmed to spin a colourful pinwheel using a motor.

■ One of the bigger parts of this project is understanding that controlling motors are much harder than controlling LEDs no matter what the code looks like.

■ If/When you complete this task for yourself, make sure that you have a tight hold of the motor as it is quite powerful and is hard to control if you are unprepared for it.

Arduino – Reflection Pt. 1■ I have found Arduino to be a fun unit with little restrictions. I have a

much better understanding of circuits and how they function. My understanding of code has also improved even though I could have focused on it more. I should have spent more time playing around with the kit in general as I wish that I had done more.

■ I really enjoyed how I was given the choice as to which projects I got to do instead of working systematically through them as the first few were quite boring from the look of it.

■ If I had more time I would most likely have spent more time on how the programming actually works and would have gone onto the internet to find more interesting projects that I could do with the Arduino kit. I also would have liked to see if I could change the speed of the motor with the spinning pinwheel as it was very fast and hard to keep a hold of.

■ As a side note: I would have loved to find a way to organise my Arduino Kit better as there is a box with almost everything in it all jumbled up and hard to find when attempting to find the smaller components.

Arduino – Reflection Pt. 2■ Being able to use the Arduino Kit gave me a glimpse at

what I could do in the future with IT. I found that I do enjoy doing hardware, however I would like to have a further look in to software as I feel as if I haven’t given it a proper go at all.

■ I have found that this experience has encouraged me to continue in IT and that I would like to see where this takes me in the future.

■ The best thing about this unit was the fact that there was not a formal Criteria for it and that I could focus on having fun instead of my writing.