ABC : Basic Connections - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 01:35:19 pm
content: Hi everyone!I’m really excited to announce that I have finished my new book ABC: Basic Connections, a reference manual for wiring diagrams and pinouts for Arduino-related projects!We’re currently preparing the Kickstarter campaign that will be launched by the end of the month. The book will be printed on high quality, A5 (8.27 x 5.83 inch), color, 200g/m2, coated, removable sheets in a custom ring binder, made in Spain. The sheets can be easily detached from the book so users can use only the ones they need when building a specific project. This will allow us to offer “expansion packs” in the future that could be added to the binder.I updated and improved all the schematics and pinouts featured in the 2013 version of the book and added many more unreleased designs (over 100 sheets, more than double compared to the 2013 edition, with a new design standard). We’re focusing not only on high quality pinouts and schematics, but also on explaining how each circuit works and helping the user understand the code. For every page of the book and every schematic, an online tutorial page with a description and code examples will be made available.Here is a sneak peek of some of the pages:I hope you like it!

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 02:23:21 pm
content: I got three of your previous edition and was very impressed. They made great gifts for novices, but I liked the artwork enough to keep one for my library. Also useful to pull out when visitors to the workshop ask how to wire something up.I also love your collection of microcontroller board pinout charts. And it has had a great flow on effect, as since you started that project the standard of documentation for lots of hardware projects has really improved.Glad you're doing a Kickstarter this time, instead of IGG.

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 03:06:33 pm
content: Some notes and observations from the pictures.second picture: do you really need 1w resistors and do you really need so "precise" resistors in a guide for beginners? It's only 5v and then you have the voltage drop over the two leds and the voltage drop in the npn transistor so it's (later edit: NOT) like there's a lot of power to be dissipated in the resistors. Besides, 2.2 ohm is a standard resistor value, so you won't need to create custom resistors. Or, maybe you could just put two 1 ohm resistors in series instead of arranging 4 resistors in parallel.for rs232 maybe you should make it clear that it's possible to use ceramic capacitors or electrolytic ( the drawing shows the + sign which would hint at using electrolytic capacitors/polarized capacitors only).If ceramic, 1uF and a 25v or higher rated voltage should be used, for electrolytic I guess 16v would work.Not sure if you're mentioning it in other pages, but saying it just in case. Some beginners may have problems finding electrolytic capacitors with 1uF AND 16v ... such small capacitance is usualy found in capacitors rated for 50v or higher.Maybe you should make it clear in your book that it's often OK to use capacitors rated for higher voltage as long the voltage rating is above the maximum voltage on that chip (which would be +/- 10..12v )And in the particular case of max232, it will work just fine even with 10uF electrolytic capacitors for example, which would be more commonon page with the h-bridge and l293D you have an input pin and say 4.5v .. 36v but then you put there 100uF / 16v .. some beginners may be literal and use a 16v capacitor but use a 19v .. 24v power supply they have around and maybe a 24v motor.on last picture ... yeah, it's 500mA per pin and you can connect 2 or more pins together for more current, but note the chip itself can only handle a smaller current overall, some versions are rated for 2.5A in total. So you may not have 7 x 0.5 = 3.5A but a bit smaller value.Maybe you should offer an early copy of your book to engineers like Dave and others on this forum (not me, i don't consider myself good enough for that) to go through it and point out potential issues.The blue capacitor icon .. the + is not always the longest lead, some capacitors are sold with pre-cut leads of same size. Maybe it would be better to add in the drawing a sort of black bar or negative strip with the minus side on the side with the negative lead.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2017, 04:42:21 pm
content: Thank you Kean, I really appreciate it!Wow mariush! Thank you! You’re right, I’m taking note of the mistakes you pointed out to fix them.Sometimes I find it’s not easy to condense so much information in one tiny page and also satisfy a wide audience.That’s why I’m preparing online content to complement the book (code, more info, etc.).I’m sending several hard copy and PDF pre-release units this week to some reviewers (Including one for Dave) . There is still time for reviewing everything until manufacturing starts after the campaign is over so hopefully I will be able to fix the mistakes and add/remove content to make a great book!Guys, I really appreciate your contributions, they really are of great help.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2017, 10:41:23 am
content: This is the book page:and the on-line content:The components listThe breadboardThe board connectionsCode examples

author: stennic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 11, 2017, 12:14:44 pm
content: I agree with wilfred about the use of the yellow triangles. For example I don't think 5V needs a separate warning attached. On the 12V I can understand the point in warning the the user from connecting it to 5V, but is it needed every time or maybe just the first few projects? Same thing with the reminder about connecting all the grounds, this should be obvious after the first few project (also good troubleshooting practice to find missing grounds)Maybe stick to 3 symbols instead of the 5 or 6 you use now? Combining the information and light bulb-symbols to one "nice to know/general info", the warning triangle and one DANGER-symbol (personally I would use a red version of the yellow triangle)The warnings about max current got me confused for a second, maybe talking about the sum of all outputs would be clearer? Or just output from the arduino/device?These are obviously just my personal opinions, but I think keep it simple applies here and will make the book easier to useThe visual design looks great and should be easy to read by beginners of all ages

author: mariush
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2017, 02:28:23 pm
content: I'm not that enthused by the "LED Cluster Basic Connections page" ... seems too .. restrictive.I think it would be easier to teach people the basics about LEDs : forward voltage , that they're current controlled not voltage controlled therefore you need the resistor to limit the current. Then you can introduce the universal formula derived from V = I x R ..Input voltage - number of leds x forward voltage = Current * Resistance ... so resistor value = (Vin - n x Vled) / currentYour drawing seems to suggest 12v - 2v = I x 1000 = > I = 10/1000 = 0.01 or 10mA , 2 leds would be 8/820 = 9mA and so on... sSo make it obvious that red leds would have a forward voltage of 1.7..2v while white or blue leds may have up to 3v forward voltage. Sure, your drawing shows red leds but unless you say so, some beginners may think these resistor values are like "magic constants" that would work the same for everything.Also may be worth mentioning about power disipton in the resistor limiting the current ... ex 1000 ohm , 12v in , one red led . 10mA ... P = I^2 x R = 0.01a x 0.01a x 1000ohm = 0.1w which means while 0.125w rated resistors would work, it would be smarter to use 0.25w resistors so they won't heat as much.Maybe have an "essential formulas page" v= i x r , p = v x i = i x r x i = i^2 x r and so on ...Agree with the exclamation point icons .. also would suggest not overlaying those icons over wires and other drawings. Plenty of room to layout that text without breaking other drawings. (see led cluster image)that "absolute" with red background seems unnecessarily scary to me. You have enough room to add a couple of lines which would say the same thing without being so scary. Something like"Each output pin is capable ofmaximum40mA, but it's highly recommended to not exceed 20mA per pin.In total, the output current through all the output pinsmust notexceed 200mA."Also another thought ... in some pictures you're using a 3.3k resistor at the base of the 2n2222 and 4.7k resistor in other pictures. Are you teaching the basics of transistors anywhere, do you explain about transitor being turned on completely, or in a semi-open region .. about voltage drop between pins etc ...When I was younger, this video helped me a lot in understanding how npn transistors worked and how to choose base resistors :

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2017, 01:57:31 pm
content: The definition of the symbols is specified at the beginning of the book. The yellow triangle means “useful tips about common pitfalls and limitations of the circuit” It’s true that perhaps using it for +5V is unnecessary, I’m considering removing it for that particular case.The symbol is closest to whatever I’m pointing at. If I say something about the ground wires, the symbol would be next to the GND symbol. That’s why it’s sometimes on the right and sometimes on the left side of the text.The book is not meant to be followed in increasing order of difficulty, so I don’t think I should remove the warnings after the first few pages. The individual sheets can be detached from the binder to be used independently whenever they’re needed for a particular project.As I mentioned, I believe it’s really hard to condense that much information about all the possible nuances and combinations about a particular circuit. If I were picky I would have also used a pull-down resistor for the transistor, but I prefer to keep it simple, because it will work as is . The book represents a simple and functional circuit, and the online content will support it with additional information, tips, and the code.This one in particular is “4: LED Custer”, the basics about LEDs is explained on page “1: LED”. There is a page with the essential formulas at the beginning of the book.This book is meant to help hobbyists to quickly and easily find a clear and functional schematic for a particular project. I believe there is no other alternative for this and I want to solve this problem with this book (and the online content).Again, thank you very much for your comments, I really appreciate it.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2017, 02:07:05 pm
content: ...and yes, there's another error on card 3 - 3 lead LEDs."Green LED turns on where pin 2 is set to HIGH"

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 13, 2017, 09:54:49 am
content: Gathering up all your feedback I redesigned the electrolytic capacitor, now it’s much more clear to read. Do you like it?

author: stennic
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 13, 2017, 10:16:38 am
content: Looks a loot clearer now!Maybe just tweak the lead placement a little? In my eyes it looks like the leads are placed 90oto the stripe, spreading the leads a little might help. But that shouldn't be unclear to anyone, it's just a visual detail

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 08:54:13 am
content: Hello everyone!I'm super excited to announce that after months of hard work, my latest book, ABC: Basic Connections is available now on Kickstarter, starting at only €21 for the early bird special!ABC: Basic Connections is the essential reference book that every maker should have in their toolkit. A collection of neat, easy to read, high quality circuit diagrams and pinouts that will show you how to properly connect almost anything to your Arduino, ESP8266 or ARM mbed compatible board.Get yours athttps://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pighixxx/abc-basic-connections-the-essential-book-for-maker

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 09:33:38 am
content: Ouch €25 shipping to Australia. Probably justified for the weight, but hard to justify for my use.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 09:55:35 am
content: Hi Kean,We're doing everything we can to offer affordable shipping to all of you, but unfortunately it's not easy to do it for some countries, considering the complexity of the logistics and that the book weighs almost 1kg.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 10:03:24 am
content: I understand. Dealing with shipping is what has put me off doing another Kickstarter myself. Or even selling on Tindie

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 10:43:35 am
content: Yes, we honestly tried our best. Most campaigns just offer 2 shipping tiers (local and rest of the world). We are going to be shipping from Spain, Germany, Italy and the US, only because we expect a high volume of sales from those conuntries, it's very risky for the rest of the world.

author: ElektroQuark
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 16, 2017, 11:55:01 am
content: The shipping cost to Spain is VERY GOOD, so I suppose the shipping charges are in the low side.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 17, 2017, 11:49:39 am
content: Hi guys,Some of you have had concerns about shipping costs for selected countries. We're doing everything in our power to offer affordable shipping to all of you. Unfortunately it's extremely hard to do it for some countries, considering the complexity of logistics and that the book with packaging weighs 1.2kg.We believe we’re offering the best shipping rates on Kickstarter for an item of this kind. Anticipating high demand from the United States, for example, we are able to send pallets in a shipping container to New York and fulfil those pledges from there. But it’s not possible to do that for countries with lower demand. I hope you can understand.Considering your concerns we have made a decision.We’re reducing the already amazing Kickstarter price of ABC: Basic Connections, from €25 to €23!!Here´s the project update with further info:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pighixxx/abc-basic-connections-the-essential-book-for-maker/posts/1887511

author: timothyaag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2017, 07:52:09 pm
content: Just backed. I really like the clean, straightforward design. 7€ shipping in US seems OK to me!

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2017, 09:49:47 pm
content: On the LED clusters breadboard, you show a +5 input that's never utilized in the circuit. Neither are the bus bar crossovers.On the Arduino page, "Absolute MAX per pin 200mA for the entire package" needs to have "per pin" removed to make sense.

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2017, 08:18:00 am
content: Thank you for pointing it out!Those pictures were posted 11 April, we fix them during the review process and the pictures on the Kickstarter campaign already reflect those changes.It’s really great that you guys are sharing this, it’s really helpful for me!

author: pighixxx
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2017, 01:19:22 pm
content: Hello everyone!Dave showed a sneak peek of ABC: Basic Connections in his latest mailbag video!https://youtu.be/qmxpZmrMucM?t=36m47sIf you want to know more, you can visit abcthebook.comThank you guys for your support!

author: DragonTales
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 24, 2018, 11:38:30 am
content: Hi PigHiXXX,Where can I get a copy of this manual?

author: DragonTales
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: April 24, 2018, 11:40:15 am
content: Hi PigHiXXX,Your website is no longer acive. abcthebook.com

author: bitwelder
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2018, 12:41:44 pm
content: Quote from: DragonTales on April 24, 2018, 11:40:15 amHe also no longer atwww.pighixxx.com(website returns an database error), but he seems to have moved to :http://www.pighixxx.net

author: ziplock9000
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2018, 04:23:45 am
content: So it seems this project and the person just vanish towards the end of 2017 and has not blogged, tweeted or updated anything since October 2017. What the hell happened to what seemed like a sure fire success of a project?

author: timothyaag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 25, 2018, 05:39:53 pm
content: I'm a backer. There were apparently multiple print issues and in his most recent update(Jul 5 2018) he's run out of money and needs to sell his lab equipment to finish the project. He's been awful at communicating so we're pretty annoyed even if the delays are not entirely unreasonable. He also hasn't released any of the digital material even though the material was deemed good enough to print months ago, and at who knows what cost. All in all a disappointing project. I hope he gets everything in order because I love the content.

author: ziplock9000
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2018, 01:11:11 pm
content: Quote from: timothyaag on July 25, 2018, 05:39:53 pmRan out of money eh. Didn't his kickstarter raise double the amount needed and where did the $100K go to if nothing has been shipped?

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 26, 2018, 02:08:21 pm
content: Quote from: ziplock9000 on July 26, 2018, 01:11:11 pmDouble the amount requested also means double the deliverables, so it's not all gravy. 100K Euros / 3K books = 33.3 Euros per book. Including shipping costs, I believe. Which when you consider actual costs, doesn't leave a huge margin for serious errors. And errors are pretty common in startup projects.

author: Reptile-Addict
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 15, 2018, 02:34:33 pm
content: On the 31st of July I received the digital version of the book.

author: ziplock9000
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2018, 02:35:58 pm
content: Was that all you ordered not the printed version?

author: timothyaag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2018, 06:26:39 pm
content: Quote from: ziplock9000 on August 15, 2018, 02:35:58 pmI don't remember there being a tier that included the digital copy and NOT a printed copy. By 'digital version of the book' I assume he means the PDF dated November 2017 that we recently got from the project creator. Interestingly, the PDF is dated the same month as one of his updates saying they were in the middle of printing and almost ready to deliver...I was kind of insulted by it, because we've been asking for it for months, yet he kept holding it without explaining why, then he finally gives in but sends us an old one. We could've had this content since November and found any and all errors for him so he didn't have to deal the errors at PRINT time. He likes to make unusual decisions and not explain them so we can only speculate why he's doing things this way.Oh, and he said he'd be back in a few days to update us and it's been over two weeks without a word.