In this article I will be sharing the basics of arduino. This is a guide for complete beginners who want to learn something cool this summer and what could be better than good old Arduino. So lets see what arduino is and how you can use it to make cool projects.
What Is Arduino?
Arduino is an open-source hardware and software company that designs and manufactures Microcontroller development boards. There are many models of arduino available in market. All of these boards have different microcontroller ICs and have a different form factor.
In this article I will focus on Arduino Uno (image above). Let’s know more about it.
What is Arduino Uno?
UNO is the most popular development board by Arduino. It is the most widely used microcontroller in makers community. This credit card sized development board packs a lot of features which can be utilized to make truly amazing projects.
Technical Specification:
1. ATmega328P Microcontroller IC
2. 32kb flash memory
3. 1kb EPROM
4. 2kb SPRAM
5. 16Mhz clock speed
6. 14 I/O pins (6 of which support PWM)
7. 6 Analog Pins.
Arduino can be powered through USB, 6v-12v via power jack or 6v-9v through Vin pin.
Software:
To use Arduino we have to program it i.e burn a piece of code. To burn this code we need a software called IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
Arduino IDE is the software that will help us program any Arduino board.
It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux OS. Download and install it as any other application.
The language we will be using to write the code is very similar to C++ so of you already familiar with it you are all set to go.
First Project:
To learn anything we have to start using it. Now that you are familiar with what arduino is, we can make our first project.
Things you require are:
1. Arduino UNO board with USB cable
2. Breadboard and Jumpers
3. LED
4. Arduino IDE
After gathering all the things lets get started, We will make a LED blink. Blink is like the hello world of arduino language. First let’s see how to make the circuit.
Circuit Diagram:
As you can see in the circuit diagram the circuit is very simple. LED is connected on a breadboard. With a 220ohm resistor connected to the anode. The other end of resistor is connected to digital pin 2 of arduino. The cathode is connected to GND pin of arduino. Now we can program the board to control the LED.
Coding:
Open the Arduino IDE and write the following code:
int LED = 2; //initializing pin 2 as variable LED
void setup()
{
pinMode(LED, OUTPUT); //sets pin 2 as output
}
void loop()
{
digitalWrite(LED, HIGH); //turns LED on
delay(1000); //wait for 1 second
digitalWrite(LED, LOW); //turns LED off
delay(1000); //wait for 1 second
}
After writing the code connect your Arduino to the computer via USB cable. Follow the steps to upload the code:
1.Click ctrl+s to save the code, name it “blink”.
2.Open tools and click on port. Select the comport to which the arduino is connected. In my case it is Com5 so I will click on it.
3. Now click on the arrow icon on top left corner which will upload the code on arduino.
4. Now you should see the LED blink.
Final Note:
This was a very basic introduction to arduino. In next articles I will dwell more into advance projects. For now you can experiment with adding more LED’s and making changes to the code accordingly.
Have fun and feel free to ask any doubts.
Also read What are the essential electronic parts for Arduino projects?
