HAPPY 2010
Archive for Something / Algo
Learning Arduino – Counting from 0 to 10 in binary
Project 15 of the Arduino starter kit manual introduces the Shift Register. It took me a bit to get my head around the idea but once i did, it’s clear they can b used to control a large number of outputs using a few of the Arduino digital outputs.
Learning Arduino – Intro
Ever since my Fabrica years, i had watched with interest how some of my “co-borsisti” friends played around with physical computing, and having never learned how to do whatever it is they did, had become a sort of frustration; a wish-i-had-learned-that kind of thought floating around in my head, jumping at from time to time. I had always been of the line of thought that the physical world was kind of too messy for me to handle, too impractical, and you need to be in places where physical things have to be available for you to order and actually get in your hands… but after years of coding web stuff for a living i have found myself more and more feeling this urge to explore other ways my coding skills can be used, outside flash and outside a web browser. And let’s face it : those damn blinking LEDs are just so damn cool. I caved. The shinny lights have seduced me. Shinnyyy…
So on my recent trip to London this august, i decided to take advantage of the availability of digital bits and pieces enjoyed there (now i believe every city in the world should have something like maplin electronics, those stores are FUUUUNNN), to get my hands on different pre-made-assemble-youself kits soldering equipment and start learning the basics of physical computing as a hobby and perhaps as a future addition to my semi-nerd skills arsenal.
My friends always played around with Arduino boards, which can be programmed in an IDE similar to processing (easy-piecy), so i figure that was a safe bet, and I ordered online one of those “Arduino Starter kits”, in my case i got this one offered by Robotik in the UK and after a long anxious week, it finally arrived and i have given myself the mission to make some time around my work schedule (and other stuff i have to do), to go trough the exercises that accompany my new starter kit. I hope to at least do a project each week.
The first thing i did once i had the time was to do the whole setup and installation of the environment, and i had no problem with that. I was setup within minutes of getting started using the instructions found online. The process to load a program seems to be as easy as plugging the board, coding something in the IDE, then hitting the play button and then uploading that to the board. I somehow expected more steps but hey! i’m not complaining.
And so i venture off as a total novice and hope not to fry my board too soon into this learning process…