Have you seen some really cool stuff being made with a thing called Arduino? What is Arduino anyway? It sounds like an Italian sandwich with extra cheese or something... Well - it's that and a lot more. I hope this video can help explain some the basic premise of the Arduino!

Have you ever wanted to change the font color in the Arduino IDE? Maybe it is hard for you to read the light grey comments in the Arduino IDE, or maybe you prefer something a little bolder. Whatever your reason, in this short video, I demonstrate a relatively easy way to change the font color of comments.…

In many cases while using an Arduino, you will want to see the data being generated by the Arduino. One common method of doing this is using the Serial.print() function from the Serial library to display information to your computer’s monitor. In this week’s episode we will talk about the intricacies of the Serial.print() function. This is the seco…

In many cases while using an Arduino, you will want to see the data being generated by the Arduino. One common method of doing this is using the Serial.print() function from the Serial library to display information to your computer’s monitor. In this week’s episode, we will talk about the intricacies of the Serial.print() function. This is the fir…

There are a couple good use-case scenarios for making a secret knock detector using an Arduino. You are a spy who needs to authenticate your cohorts You are a super hero who wants a secret knock to open the entrance to your lair Whatever the reason - by the end of this tutorial you will know how to use an Arduino, a piezo transducer and a couple ot…

In this video we demonstrate how to create pseudo random numbers with Arduino - with a useful twist. This lesson was inspired by the following viewer question: How do I create Random Non-Consecutive numbers with Arduino? P.S. These are the best tutorials that a complete idiot like you could ever make, thanks. -Chris Let's overview exactly what we w…

I don’t subscribe to many magazines, but I love my subscription to Make: magazine. And even though I rarely have time to sit down and enjoy a magazine in peace and quiet (parents forget what peace and quiet means), I still manage to get through my Make: magazine cover to cover. I like it that much! This video is a short review of why I enjoy Make: …

Understanding how the Arduino IDE sets up its file directory system can spare you some confusion when it comes to saving, organizing and opening your Arduino sketches (or sketches you have downloaded from the internet). This week’s episode covers the following: The Arduino Sketchbook folder How to change the default location where your Arduino sket…

In this video we talk about an Arduino shield designed to teach you about shift registers, I2C, SPI, temperature sensors, real time clocks, analog to digital convertors and flash memory chips - all this on one awesome Arduino shield! Electronics Concepts can be Intimidating Like any industry or hobby, electronics has its fare share of acronyms. A c…

This week's Episode is what I am calling an intermission, which is basically me taking a break from hardcore Arduino tutorial making, and present a less technical topic. In this intermission video, I walk through the process I use when creating Arduino tutorials and some of the software that helps me do it. Here is a list of software I use when cre…

If you ever have a project using two or more Arduinos, it's likely you'll want them to work together. Say for example you have one Arduino connected to an LCD shield, and another Arduino controlling an LED matrix. You want both to do something when you press a single button - how can this be done? It turns out to be extremely easy. This video will …

In this video we will be talking about some key points to keep in mind when assembling an Arduino shield from a kit. Many of these tips will apply equally well to any type of electronics kit you are assembling. So you just bought an awesome Arduino shield - it's going fly you to the moon and back, but before you start using it you have to do some b…

In this episode I talk about the video channel that I host on YouTube. If you have watched any previous episodes of this channel then you know I focus on Arduino related topics. The purpose of the channel is to help people learn about using Arduino. Specifically, the target audience is electronics hobbyists who are interested in learning to use Ard…

If you have been learning about Arduino for any amount of time, than you have probably come across the term Breakout Board. Now, you might think, as I did when I first heard about breakout boards, that they were some fixture for practicing your Kung Fu fighting. In this lesson, we will discuss what breakout boards are, how they can accelerate your …

If you are learning about Arduino, you have no doubt come across the term Arduino Shield. This tutorial will explain what Arduino Shields are, why they are awesome, and several things to consider when buying shields. cool electronics ideas that you have. Now the Arduino in and of itself is pretty amazing - you can do a lot of stuff with an Arduino …

So you just opened up your fancy new gadget - maybe an awesome DSLR camera, or the newest gaming system, or maybe a new Blu-ray player. As you gladly tear away the packaging - you notice a small book that feels like it was printed on 4th generation recycled newspaper - it’s the instruction manual. As you skim the pages you realize it was first writ…

In this tutorial we describe using RGB LEDs of the Common Cathode Type. We will describe setting up the circuit, talk about the LED and discuss the code used to adjust the hue.

This video tutorial talks about using the random() and randomSeed() functions with Arduino. It is pretty straight forward, but there are some intricacies worth noting. Creating truly random numbers in Arduino is harder than you might think. The closest we can get in Arduino, and just about anywhere else, is using pseudo random numbers. That is, num…

Ever ever spent too much time searching for a 220 ohm resistor or just one more jumper wire? Are you sure you had that extra LED, LDR, [Fill in the blank], but have no idea where it went? Do you just want to throw up a quick circuit and get to coding? Travel a lot and want an easy way to learn Arduino on the road?…

Do you have an application where you want multiple buttons for different user inputs? Maybe you have a timer and you want one button for minutes and another for hours. But there is a problem – you only have room for one button! In this tutorial, we are going to use Arduino to explore how to make one button have the functionality of two or more. Cli…

If you are just getting started with Arduino, you might be wondering what the heck all this HIGH and LOW stuff everyone is talking about really means. At first I just figured everyone using micro-controllers was just on some type of emotional roller-coaster, until I began to realize that HIGH and LOW are actually abstractions. But let us not talk i…

Floating Pins on Arduino have always been a bit of mystery to me. It just never made much sense. I did this video more for my own sake - just to concrete it in my brain. I hope it can add some solidarity to your understanding as well...

Let's not be duped by people trying to sell us authentic Arduino's that are counterfeit. This video will show you the one way to be sure you get the real deal, and five methods of telling if you bought a counterfeit or not.

In the last couple of episodes we have talked about Arduino shields and breakout boards. In this video, we will review a specific Arduino shield that makes developing projects and debugging sketches on the Arduino extremely easy - it's called Dr. Duino.Arduino Shield for Arduino Shields The Dr. Duino is an Arduino Shield. As would expect, it fits s…

In this lesson we discuss some common shorthand for simple arithmetic in Arduino. We cover several compound operators that add, subtract, multiply and divide making it easy to increment variables in useful ways.

This lesson discusses what to do when you open an existing program and realize that you simply don't understand all the stuff that is going on. It also talks about using the ADXL345 triple axis accelerometer breakout board to control the hue of a Red-Green-Blue (RGB) LED.

This lesson covers three easy ways to implement some form of acceleration in your Arduino sketches. It will cover the following: Linear Acceleration Exponential Acceleration Messing Around with the Square Root function What is Acceleration? Acceleration is the rate of change of something over time. Acceleration would help describe things like: Have…

Discussion: In this lesson, we're going to discuss two very special functions that you will use in every single Arduino sketch that you write. They're called Setup and Loop. Specifically, we’ll cover: How Setup Operates and the type of code that it executes How Loop Operates and the type of code that it executes Loop Function’s Responsive Outputs H…

Discussion: In this lesson, we're going to do an overview of functions. This will be just a general discussion to lay out a framework for understanding how functions work and how we can use them. More specifically, we'll be talking about: Function Calls Function Parameters Passing Arguments Different Ways Functions Work In an earlier lesson, we sai…

Discussion: We're going to explore some of the specific data types you'll encounter as you begin to program with Arduino. We’ll tackle data types in more detail, to include: Integer and Integer Qualifier Long Float Byte Boolean Character Data Types Recap Let's review what we’ve learned in previous units. We know that when we create a variable, we n…

Discussion: This lesson covers one of the most fundamental of all programming concepts: Variables. This is a really exciting topic because once you have a handle on how variables work, you have one of the biggest keys to understanding how programming works. Specifically, we'll be discussing: Memory Data Types Declaring a Variable Naming Conventions…

You Will Need: The Arduino IDE installed and an Arduino connected to your computer. Discussion: In this lesson, we're going to be talking about programming syntax. We'll be introducing some of the basic programming syntax that you'll be using every time you write a sketch. Specifically, we'll be talking about: what programming syntax is comments th…

Discussion: Will the Chicken Cross the Road? So there's this chicken, and he's on the side of the road. He wants to cross the road. He wants to get to the other side. Before he steps out and crosses the road, he looks both ways. That is a rational thing to do. If he doesn't look both ways, and he just steps out, he's going to get smashed by a car, …

Discussion: In this lesson, we're going to do an overview of the Arduino toolchain. The toolchain includes all of the software tools that are between us pressing the Verify/Upload buttons and that code actually getting loaded onto the integrated circuit on the Arduino board. I definitely want to stress the keyword overview because there is a lot go…

Discussion: This lesson continues our quest of learning more about programming and electronics. In previous lessons, we already discussed several reasons why we have chosen to use an Arduino board as the tool to help us learn. Specifically, we chose the Arduino Uno board. The Uno is the baseline Arduino board, being the one around which other Ardui…

Discussion: Now that you have downloaded and set preferences, you need to become familiar with the Arduino Integrated Development Environment, or IDE for short. It works just like a text editor program. I'm only going to cover what I think is important for us to know right now. We do a deeper dive on an as needed basis as we progress through the co…

Discussion: Before you begin using the Arduino IDE, you must first learn how to download, install, and set your preferences. This lesson is specifically tailored for those who use a Mac. (The last lesson covered this same topic, but for PC users.) I'm currently running Mac OS X Yosemite. You are probably running a newer version of Windows. However,…

Discussion: Before you begin using the Arduino IDE, you must first learn how to download, install, and set your preferences. This lesson is specifically tailored for those who use a PC. The next lesson will cover this same topic, but for Mac users. I'm currently using a Windows 8.1. You are probably running a newer version of Windows. However, the …

Discussion: The following videos will show you step by step how to download and install the Arduino Integrated Development Environment, or IDE for short. We'll also be setting up some preferences in the IDE. The phrase Integrated Development Environment may sound complicated and crazy, but it's really not. To be perfectly honest, it looks and feels…

Discussion: Before we can start diving into programming the microcontroller on the Arduino, we need to have a solid understanding of the tools used to make it happen. Therefore, in this particular lesson, we're just going to do an overview of what you'll learn in this familiarization module. As the name implies, this module will get you familiar wi…

Discussion: In this video, I’ll explain what parts you'll need to complete this Arduino Crash Course. Immediately below this discussion section, there is a summary checklist of links for these parts. You're welcome to check it out! The links take you to Jameco, a United States based electronics supplier. I'm actually one of their affiliates. So, if…

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If Statement (and else-if), Comparison Operators and Conditions In the last lesson, we learned about the if statement. The if statement was the perfect choice for setting up instructions to run only when certain conditions were met. “If 30 seconds has passed – stop the heating element” or “If the sensor perceives a wall – turn 180 Degrees”. This le…

Let’s expand the repertoire of output that we can use by looking at the function analogWrite(). I experienced much confusion with analogWrite(), because I suspected that it had to do with the analog pins on the Arduino. The function, however, has nothing to do with the analog pins. There are 5 pins on most Arduino boards marked with ‘PWM’ next to t…

In the last lesson you learned about using the analogRead() function to collect data from a sensor connected to one of the Arduino analog pins. The range of data we received from the analogRead() function was mapped between 0 to 1023. What if we want to know the actual voltage being applied at the pin? If you like this tutorial, click here to check…

Knowing if something is on or off can be extremely useful, but often you will want to know more. How bright is the light? How fast is the satellite moving? These types of answers are often analog – they cover a large range of values, not just on or off. The Arduino handles analog inputs with 6 dedicated pins, labeled A0 through A5. These pins have …