Arduino Inventor's Guide: Learn Electronics by Making 10 Awesome Projects

Arduino Inventor's Guide: Learn Electronics by Making 10 Awesome Projects — page 9
Most of the projects in this book are designed to be built as prototypes that can be easily taken apart and reused However if you really like a project and want to make it permanent check out the appendix to see how to solder your project The tools for solder ing and electronics prototyping are relatively inexpensive and you can buy them from SparkFun https www sparkfun com or any hardware store near you requIred Computer Finally you’ll program the Arduino using a computer and a specific set of software tools Just about any average computer can handle the Arduino software If you have a PC running Windows you’ll need to be running Windows XP Vista 7 8 8 1 10 or newer For Mac users currently the latest version of Arduino is compatible with OS X 10 7 Lion or newer If you’re running a fairly standard version of Linux odds are there is a version of Arduino available As of this writing iOS and Android devices are supported only through beta-release software packages still under testing and devel opment You’re welcome to try these but they may not work and if they do they may not be reliable For Windows Mac or Linux users we’ll walk you through the process of setting up your computer in the first project What’s In thIs Book This book includes 10 hands-on projects as well as a primer on electronics and an appendix that covers soldering and other handy tips The projects start with a simple blinking LED and gradually incorporate different electrical components programming concepts and layers of construction sophistication as the projects progress Each project has separate sections on wiring programming and construction so that you can focus on individual aspects We wrap up each project with a Going Further section that gives you ideas for hacking and modifying the project Remember we want you to use these projects as launching points for your own inventions not as end goals electronics Primer Before jumping into the projects we present the foundations of electricity and electronics and intro duce key concepts used throughout the book xxii inTroducTion