Exploring Arduino (by Jeremy Blum)
What is this book about and why is it?
I started my journey into the world of electronics with the book "Make Electronics", but for modern electronics enthusiasts, it is very desirable to get acquainted with the operation of microcontrollers, such as Arduino. Automation built on Arduino will allow you to realize most of your fantasies in this area, connect numerous sensors, and connect to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 315/433 Mhz radio. And what is also important the controller and sensors are very cheap and easy to use.
There are many resources on the internet and video tutorials on Arduino, but I like reading a book and holding it in my hands, so I chose one of the more popular books "Learning ARDUINO (Second Edition)" by Jeremy Blum.
You can also find this book on the Internet, but I preferred to purchase a paper version.
The book can be purchased here:
I have used the second edition of the book and I recommend it to you. The lessons and required components for the first and second editions of the book differ significantly.
The author (Jeremy Blum) provides readers with the code for all the sketches and video tutorials for all chapters of the book, which can be found here.
I liked the book, although completely unprepared in the field of electricity and lack of understanding of how algorithms work in any language, it may take a little longer to understand the basics. But if, for example, you have previously read at least half of the book "Make Electronics", which provides basic knowledge of electricity, and are familiar with cycles and conditions in programming at a theoretical level, then everything will be in order. Do not be afraid, you don't need to be a programmer to work with Arduino.
Components used in projects (experiments) in the book.
In the book, each chapter contains a list of components needed to perform the chapter's experiments. There is also a complete list of what you need.
The book gives a recommendation on where to get everything you need. The fact is that for half of the experiments you need special components or controllers that are not sold by every electronics store, for example, Adafruit Feather controllers.
In order to go through all the experiments of the book, I had to order everything I needed in the USA (DigiKey store) with delivery to Europe, clear them through customs, and pay a fee. It was not too difficult, but the main thing it is expensive.
At the same time, as it turned out, not all components needed to be ordered specifically in the USA, some of them are easily replaced by cheaper analogs from AliExpress or purchased at a local electronics store, but unfortunately only a part. However, I could save over 50% if I knew what components or controllers is possible to replace.
Moreover, in some situations, the number of components indicated as necessary for the experiment is overestimated.
So, below you will find information on the required components grouped by chapters with a description of their analogues (where possible) and clarification of the actual need (in general for all experiments of the book!).
I also added to the list the necessary auxiliary tools and consumables, which are not mentioned in the book, but they are either necessary or desirable.
The list of components with my comments and links where to buy you can find in the Google-document.
Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 1-7 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491653
1 Adafruit METRO 328 Fully Assembled - Arduino IDE compatible - ATmega328
2 USB cable - USB A to B
3 Half-size breadboard PID
4 Breadboarding wire bundle
5 Tactile Button switch (6mm) x 20 pack
6 Through-Hole Resistors - 220 ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
7 Through-Hole Resistors - 1.0K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
8 Through-Hole Resistors - 10K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
9 Breadboard trim potentiometer - 10K
10 Photo cell (CdS photoresistor)
11 Diffused Red 5mm LED (25 pack)
12 Super Bright Blue 5mm LED (25 pack)
13 Super Bright White 5mm LED (25 pack)
14 Diffused RGB (tri-color) LED - Common Anode
15 TMP36 - Analog Temperature sensor - TMP36
16 Alkaline 9V Battery
17 9V battery clip with 5.5mm/2.1mm plug
18 5V 1.5A Linear Voltage Regulator - 7805 TO-220
19 10uF 50V Electrolytic Capacitors - Pack of 10
20 0.1uF ceramic capacitors - 10 pack
21 1N4001 Diode - 10 pack
22 NPN Bipolar Transistors (2N2222) - 10 pack
23 Mini Robot Rover Chassis Kit - 2WD with DC Motors
24 DC Toy / Hobby Motor - 130 Size
25 Dual H-Bridge Motor Driver for DC or Steppers - 600mA - L293D
26 12V DC 1000mA (1A) regulated switching power adapter - UL listed
27 IR distance sensor includes cable (10cm-80cm) - GP2Y0A21YK0F
28 Standard servo - TowerPro SG-5010
29 Stepper motor - NEMA-17 size - 200 steps/rev, 12V 350mA
30 Speaker - 3" Diameter - 8 Ohm 1 Watt
Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 8-14 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491688
31 Piezo Buzzer - PS1240
32 Adafruit LIS3DH Triple-Axis Accelerometer (+-2g/4g/8g/16g)
32 Miniature 5V Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi (and Other Computers)
33 Assembled Standard LCD 16x2 + extras - White on Blue
33 74AHCT14 - Logic Level Inverter / Level Shifter
34 Adafruit Assembled Data Logging shield for Arduino
34 CR1220 12mm Diameter - 3V Lithium Coin Cell Battery - CR1220
35 SD/MicroSD Memory Card (8 GB SDHC)
35 5V 1A (1000mA) USB port power supply
36 Seeeduino Lite - ATmega32u4
36 Through-Hole Resistors - 100 ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
37 Through-Hole Resistors - 4.7K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
37 Diffused Green 5mm LED (25 pack)
38 Super Bright Yellow 5mm LED (25 pack)
38 2-Axis Joystick
39 74HC595 Shift Register - 3 pack
39 Breadboard Friendly I2C Temperature Sensor - TC74A0 - TC74A0-5.0VAT
Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 15-17 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491690
40 Adafruit Feather 32u4 Bluefruit LE with Headers - Assembled
41 Adafruit Feather M0 WiFi - ATSAMD21 + ATWINC1500
42 Simple RF M4 Receiver - 315MHz Momentary Type
43 Keyfob Single Button RF Remote Control - 315MHz
44 Controllable Four Outlet Power Relay Module version 2 - (Power Switch Tail Alternative)
45 Adafruit 1.2" 4-Digit 7-Segment Display w/I2C Backpack - Red
Additional components and tools I recommend to have
46 SYB-170 is small solderless board to place accelerometer in order not to touch breadboard with Arduino
47 connectors for soldering practice
48 board for soldering practice
49 Solder iron
50 Solder wire with flux
51 Mother-Father connectors to connect sensors
52 Your PC has to be able to read SD cards or, buy the card reader
53 Paper tape to fix components in some experiments