N8MDP: Arduino

BUY AMERICAN!	Arduino

Interesting Arduino Videos

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).

Arduino Uno

Arduino Leonardo

Arduino Due

Arduino Mega ADK

The Arduino is a great little tool for controlling things around the ham shack. In my case, I used it to control my webcams. My Arduino Uno also has an Ethernet Shield connected so that the antenna switch is controllable over the internet.

Arduino Ethernet Shield

These boards are designed to stack on top of each other, sharing the pins as shown below:

Arduino Stack

There are many different types of Arduino's and different shields fore experimenting. A good listing of the different types of boards is listed at arduino.cc/en/MAIN/Products.

Arduino's are very easy to use and program. One of the best resources for learning how to use and program the Arduino is the book titled "Arduino Cookbook" by Michael Margolis. The book is available from Amazon.com. I highly recommend this book for starting out.