After helping tens of thousands of people get started with the world of electronics and Arduino-based microcontroller projects with the Arduino Workshop book, it was time to help and guide people further into more complex ideas and concepts that can enable a greater variety of possibilities.

To make this possible the great people at No Starch Press have published my latest book – “Arduino for Arduinians – 70 Projects for the Experienced Programmer“, which is written for several groups of people:

• Those who have worked through “Arduino Workshop” or a lesser book and are curious to learn more about what can be done with an Arduino or compatible board,
• Anyone with some experience in electronics and coding, who is happy to skip into more intermediate topics straight away.
• People who need a reference book for the wide variety of hardware and software tools described in the book,
• You. Yes, you. Learning is for a lifetime, and you’re reading this – so why not continue with the world of electronics and microcontrollers? Or give a copy to someone who enjoys learning more about technology?

Arduino for Arduinians is printed using a convenient lie-flat technology, so you can have the book open to your side and not worry about the pages flapping about and losing your position while working on your projects. All the required code is included in the book, however you can also download them along with a list of parts and supplier information from the book’s website.

Anyone with a modicum of Arduino knowledge can use this book, and if you’re coming from a different microcontroller platform – I genuinely believe you can get started with this book as well.

In some of the chapters, the use of external circuitry is required for ease of assembly, and in these cases you can download gerber files to have your own PCBs manufactured by one of the many low-cost providers. A sample of the project prototype PCBs are shown below:

And unlike some other books, each and every project has been built and tested so you can be confident of finding success very quickly.

The 8-bit Arduino platform is still, in my opinion, an inexpensive and most approachable way of learning about electronics and microcontrollers – and opens up a whole new world of creativity or even the pathway to a career in technology. A copy of Arduino for Arduinians will help the accomplished Arduino beginner continue with their journey.

To learn more about Arduino for Arduinians, you can review the table of contents, download a sample chapter, Arduino sketches and parts list and order copies for yourself and others from the No Starch Press online store. Orders from No Starch Press also include a free electronic copy so you can get started immediately.

You can also purchase copies from amazon, kindle, or your preferred bookseller.

If you are reading via Kindle on a PC – don’t copy and past the code from the Kindle reader. Instead, download the files from the book website.

And whatever you do, have fun and make something!

Reading is big in Québec, and [pepelepoisson]’s young children have access to a free mini library nook that had seen better days and was in dire need of maintenance and refurbishing. In the process of repairing and repainting the little outdoor book nook, he took the opportunity to install a few experimental upgrades (link in French, English translation here.)

The mini library pods are called Croque-Livres, part of a program of free little book nooks for children across Québec (the name is a bit tricky to translate into English, but think of it as “snack shack, but for books” because books are things to be happily devoured.)

After sanding and repairs and a few coats of new paint, the Croque-Livres was enhanced with a strip of WS2812B LEDs, rechargeable battery with solar panel, magnet and reed switch as door sensor, and a 3.3 V Arduino to drive it all. [pepelepoisson]’s GitHub repository for the project contains the code and CAD files for the 3D printed pieces.

The WS2812B LED strip technically requires 5 V, but as [pepelepoisson] found in his earlier project Stecchino, the LED strip works fine when driven directly from a 3.7 V lithium-polymer cell. It’s not until around 3 V that it starts to get unreliable, so a single 3.7 V cell powers everything nicely.

When the door is opened, the LED strip lights up with a brief animation, then displays the battery voltage as a bar graph. After that, the number of times the door as been opened is shown on the LED strip in binary. It’s highly visual, interactive, and there’s even a small cheat sheet explaining how binary works for anyone interested in translating the light pattern into a number. How well does it all hold up? So far so good, but it’s an experiment that doesn’t interfere at all with the operation of the little box, so it’s all good fun.

This week New York City is the city of Makers, with Makercon conference and World Maker Faire coming up on our agenda!

You can begin on September 24th, with Massimo Banzi taking part to the session TECH: Cheaper, Faster, Better of Makercon (at 3.30pm local time) to discuss the future of maker development platforms – particularly microcontroller boards – and they paths toward being more powerful, less expensive, and more accessible to a broader range of Makers than ever before.

In the meanwhile, watch the video from 2014 edition:

On the weekend, September 26th and 27th, we’ll be joining Atmel booth in Zone 3 for the 6th annual World Maker Faire. We’ll be exhibiting some of our latest products and cool projects made with Arduino.

Here’s a memo of presentations made by Arduino team:

Saturday h.1.00 PM to 1.30 PM Center Stage – NYSCI Auditorium
State of Arduino by Massimo Banzi

Saturday 3:15 PM —3:30 PM Center Stage – NYSCI Auditorium
Who Are You Making For?  by Tom Igoe
Tom will share a few stories of makers whose work has inspired him in and out of the classroom, and discuss how their stories and motivations led to the things they’ve made.

Saturday 11:30 AM — 11:45 AM  Zone 3 – Make: DIY
Getting Started with Arduino (3rd edition) by Michael Shiloh
Co-author with Massimo Banzi of ‘Getting Started with Arduino’, Michael takes you through the microcontroller’s latest iterations.

Sunday 11:15AM – 11:30 AM Zone 3 – Make: DIY
Getting Started with Arduino (3d edition) by Michael Shiloh
Co-author with Massimo Banzi of ‘Getting Started with Arduino’, Michael takes you through the microcontroller’s latest iterations.

Over the last few years you may have noticed a few of my Arduino tutorials, and during this time many people have mentioned that I should write a book. And now thanks to the team from No Starch Press this recommendation has morphed into my first book – “Arduino Workshop“:

Now into the fourth print run, “Arduino Workshop” is one of the few books on the market that can take the reader from zero knowledge to understanding the Arduino development platform, and working with a huge array of add-ons and technologies. You don’t need to buy any other preliminary book – this starts from the absolute beginning. And a huge “thank you” to all those who have purchased and supported the book so far – and it’s now available in Traditional Chinese, Korean, German and Polish.

“Arduino Workshop” offers a professionally edited and curated path for the beginner to learn with and have fun. It’s a hands-on introduction to Arduino with 65 projects – from simple LED use right through to RFID, Internet connection, wireless data, working with cellular communications, and much more. Plus the reader also learns about electronics, good coding and other interesting topics.

Each project is explained in detail, explaining how the hardware and Arduino code works together. Plus we teach you how to read and understand circuit schematics and use this clear method of describing circuits which prepares the read for further electronics learning.

The reader doesn’t need any expensive tools or workspaces, and all the parts used are available from almost any electronics retailer. Furthermore all of the projects can be finished without soldering, so it’s safe for readers of all ages.

The editing team at No Starch Press, our technical editor Marc Alexander and myself have worked hard to make the book perfect for those without any electronics or Arduino experience at all, and it makes a great gift for someone to get them started. After working through the 65 projects the reader will have gained enough knowledge and confidence to create many things – and to continue researching on their own.

Or if you’ve been enjoying the results of my thousands of hours of work here at tronixstuff, you can show your appreciation by ordering a copy for yourself or as a gift. If you’re still not sure, review the table of contents, index and download a sample chapter from the Arduino Workshop website.

Arduino Workshop is available from No Starch Press in printed or DRM-free eBook (PDF, Mobi, and ePub) formats. And the eBooks are also included with the printed orders from No Starch Press so you can get started immediately. 

Autographed copies are available from Tronixlabs. 

Furthermore for readers outside of the United States wishing to save on postage, Arduino Workshop is available from many stores in various countries, for example:

• Australia – tronixlabs.com (autographed on request),  Altronics, Freetronics, Jaycar (soon) and Little Bird Electronics
• New Zealand – nicegear
• United Kingdom – Book Depository
• Germany – dpunkt.de
• Poland – Helion
• China –  Amazon
• Sparkfun and their distributors (part number BOK-11932)
• Like your store listed? Send link via Contact Page

And you can also find Arduino Workshop for sale from all the popular booksellers around the globe such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and so on.

Over the last few years you may have noticed a few of my Arduino tutorials, and during this time many people have mentioned that I should write a book. And now thanks to the team from No Starch Press this recommendation has morphed into my first book – “Arduino Workshop“:

Now into the fourth print run, “Arduino Workshop” is one of the few books on the market that can take the reader from zero knowledge to understanding the Arduino development platform, and working with a huge array of add-ons and technologies. You don’t need to buy any other preliminary book – this starts from the absolute beginning. And a huge “thank you” to all those who have purchased and supported the book so far – and it’s now available in Traditional Chinese, Korean, German and Polish.

“Arduino Workshop” offers a professionally edited and curated path for the beginner to learn with and have fun. It’s a hands-on introduction to Arduino with 65 projects – from simple LED use right through to RFID, Internet connection, wireless data, working with cellular communications, and much more. Plus the reader also learns about electronics, good coding and other interesting topics.

Each project is explained in detail, explaining how the hardware and Arduino code works together. Plus we teach you how to read and understand circuit schematics and use this clear method of describing circuits which prepares the read for further electronics learning.

The reader doesn’t need any expensive tools or workspaces, and all the parts used are available from almost any electronics retailer. Furthermore all of the projects can be finished without soldering, so it’s safe for readers of all ages.

The editing team at No Starch Press, our technical editor Marc Alexander and myself have worked hard to make the book perfect for those without any electronics or Arduino experience at all, and it makes a great gift for someone to get them started. After working through the 65 projects the reader will have gained enough knowledge and confidence to create many things – and to continue researching on their own.

Or if you’ve been enjoying the results of my thousands of hours of work here at tronixstuff, you can show your appreciation by ordering a copy for yourself or as a gift. If you’re still not sure, review the table of contents, index and download a sample chapter from the Arduino Workshop website.

Arduino Workshop is available from No Starch Press in printed or DRM-free eBook (PDF, Mobi, and ePub) formats. And the eBooks are also included with the printed orders from No Starch Press so you can get started immediately. 

Autographed copies are available from Tronixlabs. 

Furthermore for readers outside of the United States wishing to save on postage, Arduino Workshop is available from many stores in various countries, for example:

• Australia – tronixlabs.com (autographed on request),  Altronics, Freetronics, Jaycar (soon) and Little Bird Electronics
• New Zealand – nicegear
• United Kingdom – Book Depository
• Germany – dpunkt.de
• Poland – Helion
• China –  Amazon
• Sparkfun and their distributors (part number BOK-11932)
• Like your store listed? Send link via Contact Page

And you can also find Arduino Workshop for sale from all the popular booksellers around the globe such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and so on.

The post Arduino Workshop – A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects appeared first on tronixstuff.

Introduction

Recently we saw a neat project by the people from Evil Mad Scientist – their “Peek-O-Book“, a neat take on a book with a shy monster inside, based on hardware from their Snap-O-Lantern kit. Not wanting to fork out for the postage to Australia we decided to make our own version, of which you can follow along.

This is a fun project that doesn’t require too much effort and has a lot of scope for customisation. There’s no right or wrong when making your own (or this one!) so just have fun with it.

Construction

First, you’ll need a book of some sort, something large enough to hide the electronics yet not too large to look “suspicious” – then cut the guts out to make enough space for the electronics. Then again it’s subjective, so get whatever works for you. Coincidentally we found some “dummy books” (not books for dummies) that were perfect for the job:

After spraying the inside with matt black paint, the inside is better suited for the “eyes in the dark” effect required for the project:

The “book” had a magnet and matching metal disk on the flap to aid with keep the cover shut, however this was removed as it will not allow for smooth opening with the servo.

The electronics are quite simple if you have some Arduino or other development board experience. Not sure about Arduino? You can use any microcontroller that can control a servo and some LEDs. We’re using a Freetronics LeoStick as it’s really small yet offers a full Arduino Leonardo-compatible experience, and a matching Protostick to run the wires and power from:

By fitting all the external wiring to the Protostick you can still use the main LeoStick for other projects if required. The power is from 4 x AA cells, with the voltage reduced with a 1n4004 diode:

And for the “eyes” of our monster – you can always add more if it isn’t too crowded in the book:

We’ll need a resistor as well for the LEDs. As LEDs are current driven you can connect two in series with a suitable dropping resistor which allows you to control both if required with one digital output pin. You can use the calculator here to help determine the right value for the resistor.

Finally a servo is required to push the lid of the book up and down. We used an inexpensive micro servo that’s available from Tronixlabs:

The chopsticks are cut down and used as an extension to the servo horn to give it more length:

Don’t forget to paint the arm black so it doesn’t stand out when in use. We had a lazy attack and mounted the servo on some LEGO bricks held in with super glue, but it works. Finally, here is the circuit schematic for our final example – we also added a power switch after the battery pack:

To recap  – this is a list of parts used:

• Dummy book
• Freetronics LeoStick and Protostick
• micro 9G servo
• two 5mm LEDs
• one 68Ω or thereabouts resistor
• assorted wire
• 9V battery snap (used as some 4 x AA cell holders need this)
• 4 x AA cell battery holder and 4 x AA cells
• SPDT switch
• 1N4004 or similar rectifier diode
• box, chopstick, odds and ends to mount the hardware

After some delicate soldering the whole lot fits neatly in the box:

Arduino Sketch

The behaviour of your “book monster” comes down to your imagination. Experiment with the servo angles and speed to simulate the lid opening as if the monster is creeping up, or quickly for a “pop-up” surprise. And again with the LED eyes you can blink them and alter the brightness with PWM. Here’s a quick sketch to give you an idea:

int angle;
int d; // for delays
int ledPin = 9; // LEDs on digital pin 9

#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo;

void setup()
{
  myservo.attach(4); // servo control pin on digital 4
  pinMode(9, OUTPUT); 
  randomSeed(analogRead(0));
  myservo.write(10);
  delay(5000);
}

void behaviour1()
{
  for (angle = 10; angle <=40; angle++)
  {
    myservo.write(angle);
    delay(50);
  }
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  delay(250);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  delay(250);  
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  delay(250);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  delay(250);    
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  delay(1000);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  delay(250);    
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  delay(1000);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  delay(250);    
  digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  delay(1000);
  digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  delay(250);    
  for (angle = 40; angle >=10; --angle)
  {
    myservo.write(angle);
    delay(5);
  }
}

void loop()
{
  behaviour1();
  delay(random(60000));
}

You can watch our example unit in this video.

Frankly the entire project is subjective, so just do what you want.

Conclusion

Well that was fun, and I am sure this will entertain many people. A relative is a librarian so this will adorn a shelf and hopefully give the children a laugh. Once again, thanks to the people from Evil Mad Science for the inspiration for this project – so go and buy something from their interesting range of kits and so on.

And if you enjoyed this article, or want to introduce someone else to the interesting world of Arduino – check out my book (now in a third printing!) “Arduino Workshop”.

The post Project – Arduino “Book Monster” appeared first on tronixstuff.

Over the last few years you may have noticed a few of my Arduino tutorials, and during this time many people have mentioned that I should write a book. And now thanks to the team from No Starch Press this recommendation has morphed into my book – “Arduino Workshop“:

Now into the third print run, “Arduino Workshop” is one of the few books on the market that can take the reader from zero knowledge to understanding the Arduino development platform, and working with a huge array of add-ons and technologies. And a huge “thank you” to all those who have purchased and supported the book so far.

“Arduino Workshop” offers a professionally-edited and curated path for the beginner to learn with and have fun. It’s a hands-on introduction to Arduino with 65 projects – from simple LED use right through to RFID, Internet connection, wireless data, working with cellular communications, and much more. Plus the reader also learns about electronics, good coding and other interesting topics.

Each project is explained in detail, explaining how the hardware and Arduino code works together. Plus we teach you how to read and understand circuit schematics and use this clear method of describing circuits which prepares the read for further electronics learning.

The reader doesn’t need any expensive tools or workspaces, and all the parts used are available from almost any electronics retailer. Furthermore all of the projects can be finished without soldering, so it’s safe for readers of all ages.

The editing team at No Starch Press, our technical editor Marc Alexander and myself have worked hard to make the book perfect for those without any electronics or Arduino experience at all, and it makes a great gift for someone to get them started. After working through the 65 projects the reader will have gained enough knowledge and confidence to create many things – and to continue researching on their own. Or if you’ve been enjoying the results of my thousands of hours of work here at tronixstuff, you can show your appreciation by ordering a copy for yourself or as a gift. If you’re still not sure, review the table of contents, index and download a sample chapter from the Arduino Workshop website.

Arduino Workshop is available from No Starch Press in printed or DRM-free eBook (PDF, Mobi, and ePub) formats. And the eBooks are also included with the printed orders so you can get started immediately. Furthermore you can also find Arduino Workshop for sale from all the popular booksellers around the globe.

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

The post Book – “Arduino Workshop – A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects” appeared first on tronixstuff.

Over the last few years I’ve been writing a few Arduino tutorials, and during this time many people have mentioned that I should write a book. And now thanks to the team from No Starch Press this recommendation has morphed into my new book – “Arduino Workshop“:

Although there are seemingly endless Arduino tutorials and articles on the Internet, Arduino Workshop offers a nicely edited and curated path for the beginner to learn from and have fun. It’s a hands-on introduction to Arduino with 65 projects – from simple LED use right through to RFID, Internet connection, working with cellular communications, and much more.

Each project is explained in detail, explaining how the hardware an Arduino code works together. The reader doesn’t need any expensive tools or workspaces, and all the parts used are available from almost any electronics retailer. Furthermore all of the projects can be finished without soldering, so it’s safe for readers of all ages.

The editing team and myself have worked hard to make the book perfect for those without any electronics or Arduino experience at all, and it makes a great gift for someone to get them started. After working through the 65 projects the reader will have gained enough knowledge and confidence to create many things – and to continue researching on their own. Or if you’ve been enjoying the results of my thousands of hours of work here at tronixstuff, you can show your appreciation by ordering a copy for yourself or as a gift

You can review the table of contents, index and download a sample chapter from the Arduino Workshop website.

Arduino Workshop is available from No Starch Press in printed or ebook (PDF, Mobi, and ePub) formats. Ebooks are also included with the printed orders so you can get started immediately.

In the meanwhile have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe  for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column? And join our friendly Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other –  and we can all learn something.

The post Book – “Arduino Workshop – A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects” appeared first on tronixstuff.