

Ask HN: What are the best Arduino starter projects? - larrywright

My arduino Duemilanove arrived today, and now I'm on the hunt for things to build with it. I've seen a lot of things online, but I'm wondering... What are the best projects to start with?
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jws
I would suggest it is whatever feeds your dreams. Many things are possible,
the only caution is to make your first step doable. How about you tell us what
you think would be _cool_ and we could suggest how big the first step should
be?

(For reference if you need help getting started: things I've made from
Arduinos...

    
    
      analog meter display for a bank for T1 network loads
      cylon pumpkin (laugh, but eventually everyone makes one)
      ambient light sensitive LED, using the same LED for sensing as making light
        (pretty nifty trick, makes me wonder my more electronics 
         don't do it. No need for blinding indicators in a dark room)
      2d ultrasonic anemometer
      weather station
      wireless network from ISM band ASK radios
        (worked, but integrated solutions are probably better)
      DC power controller/rationer for solar powered unmanned remote telemetry system
      DC motor controller for http://8ball.lunarware.com 
        (not online yet)
      Multichannel temperature monitor for a cranky air conditioner
        (lots of data, no idea how to interpret, a lesson there somehwere)
      Tiny LED xmas tree for my daughter, 
        red LED ornament blinks secret message in morse code
      Multi channel servo controller from a PWM LED driver.
      USB low speed interface with just a couple pins and resistors.
    )

~~~
streety
ambient light sensitive LED, using the same LED for sensing as making light
(pretty nifty trick, makes me wonder my more electronics don't do it. No need
for blinding indicators in a dark room)

I've recently bought an arduino and have been playing around with it. I'm
definitely a novice when it comes to electronics but I would love to know how
that works.

Do you have writeups online for any of these projects?

~~~
jws
I think I wrote this: <http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/LEDSensor>

The key points are remembering that there is capacitance on the pins of the
microcontroller, and that while forcing an electron across from P to N emits a
photon, absorbing a photon lets an electron back from N to P if it wants to
go.

------
nixme
_Make_ has a whole directory of projects:
<http://blog.makezine.com/archive/arduino/>

For quick prototypes using Ruby, check out RAD: <http://rad.rubyforge.org/>

------
raamdev
The book "Making Things Talk" (O'Reilly) is a great way to start:

<http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596510510/>

~~~
larrywright
I've seen that before, but I'd forgotten about it. Thanks

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nick5768
<http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/>

I would also suggest browsing the rest of her site as it is a treasure trove
of information related to electronics.

~~~
larrywright
That was very helpful - thanks!

------
enomar
That depends entirely on your skill level. If you're not skilled at building
circuits, start my making various configurations of LEDs blink.

Making full RGB displays is pretty neat (and easy) to do with Arduino's pulse
width modulation feature.

[http://video.aol.com/video-detail/arduino-pwm-rgb-led-
mood-l...](http://video.aol.com/video-detail/arduino-pwm-rgb-led-mood-
light/3708580823)

~~~
dws
Getting an LED to blink is a great first step. You'll work through most of the
technology stack to get there.

~~~
larrywright
That is in fact my first project, I'm looking for things beyond that.

------
markessien
Well, I'm working on something ambitious with the Arduino, and you may be
interested in also working on the same project, but maybe as your second
project. Anyone who is interested in getting into hardware hacking from a
programmer perspective on something that I find pretty cool should send me an
email at markessien at gmail com, and I'll send you a notification when I have
the stuff online (3-4 weeks).

------
dbr
Something simple. For my first project, I bought a ultrasonic sensor and a bar
graph led and output the distance sensed on it. Focus on getting accustomed to
the hardware you're working with before you try too challenging.

------
chrisconley
The Arduino site itself has a ton of great examples that helped me get
started: <http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage>

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bprater
You know how the Kitt car had the eyeball that looked right-and-left? Very
straight-forward, terrific starter project. Grab 8 LEDs, some resistors and
you are good to go.

~~~
larrywright
That's a great idea, and sure t amuse my kids as well. Thanks

------
speek
What are the extents of your experiences with soldering/electronic components?

~~~
larrywright
My soldering skills are a bit rusty, but I know my way around electronics.

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andrewljohnson
I'd just like to clear the air and ask the question on everyone's mind.... wtf
are you talking about sir?

~~~
theoneill
_the question on everyone's mind_

Well, at least everyone who's never heard of either Arduino or Google.

------
minimee
any arduino starter kit with Ethernet ???

~~~
larrywright
I don't think so. There is one with Bluetooth however.

