Arduino projects, a little suggestion needed - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: kingoft
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 15, 2017, 09:20:01 pm
content: hi, i'm a student and eager to learn embedded. some of my friends suggested me to start with arduino, however i've gone through and successfully tried some basics likeline following robotandlight blinking.As i'm new in electronic + programming thing, it seems that its gonna take much more time for me to get hands of making projects like motion detector application orwireless displayIs there any way to learn more than just basics in less time or do i have to follow the same path which i have to learn things step by step which might take months even year?thank you

author: bitseeker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2017, 10:13:46 pm
content: What subjects or skills are you currently good at? How long did it take you to achieve that level of proficiency?As with most skills, it takes time and practice to learn more than just the basics. Some learn faster than others or have better methodologies for learning, but there's still a non-trivial amount of time that must be invested.In this so-called age of instant gratification, worthwhile endeavors still take effort to achieve. So, be patient with yourself, don't give up, and enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2017, 10:46:44 pm
content: There's probably an app for that...Learning takes time, enjoyment comes from the 'ah ha' moment and solving a problem even if it take hours/days/weeks...Learning is a life long process - so get use to taking time to do it.cheers,george.

author: retrolefty
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 15, 2017, 11:05:46 pm
content: Your friends advice is very good. It's hard to find a better beginner's platform then Arduino, especially the 8 bit versions. The hardware is cheap, Asian arduino nano clones go for just a few dollars. And don't forget to enjoy the journey as well as your end goals.Good luck.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 15, 2017, 11:34:33 pm
content: I am an amateur radio operator, I used an arduino to give a digital voltage and current display (and crude crowbar circuit) for a linear power supply for one of my transmitters.I would look at your other electronic interests and merge an arduino into that.From my limited experience C (or variants) seem to be applicable in other areas so it is time well spent.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2017, 02:01:37 am
content: Think of something you want or need. Maybe it's a light. A clock. A gadget to help you do something. A toy for somebody's birthday...And then make it. You won't have any idea HOW to make it, that's fine, that's how you learn, you pick a little piece of the project, and learn how to do that, then the next piece, and the next piece.... until eventually your project is complete and you look back on it and say "hey, now I know how to do all that stuff".

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 16, 2017, 02:30:59 am
content: Quote from: sleemanj on August 16, 2017, 02:01:37 amI would also suggest this approach.You know what you want to achieve - you just have to find out how to do each part of it. You will bedrivenby the desire to find solutions, specific to a number of real objectives. This is a lot more motivational than drudging through endless hours of coursework that can have limited engagement. It's the excitement of doing something thatyouwant that makes the difference.You certainly won't get afulleducation on the features and capabilities of the platform and you are likely to use some sub-optimal choices - but you WILL get an excellent framework of understanding, where filling in the gaps will come.

author: zeqing
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2017, 04:17:26 am
content: use some kind of beginner kits or follow some kind of bootcamp such ashttps://community.embarcadero.com/blogs/entry/iot-bootcamp-2017, 1 week would be OK for the very basic usages.

author: kingoft
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 16, 2017, 09:15:26 pm
content: Quote from: sleemanj on August 16, 2017, 02:01:37 amthanks ! you remind me of how did i actually started it all. one piece at a time !I'll try little more basics before making a leap to something really cool

author: kingoft
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 16, 2017, 09:19:10 pm
content: Quote from: bitseeker on August 15, 2017, 10:13:46 pmThanks ! Do appreciate it

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2017, 03:13:50 am
content: As someone a decade down this rabbit hole, the best thing i can suggest it keep building things that are slightly outside your comfort zone,Most of my knowledge developed from me trying to do something in a way that now seems very foolish, but it meant i learned the how and why the better alternatives exist.One of my first involved arduino projects that I approached was dumping a bank of parrellel roms from a bit of test equiptment i was trying to repair in case i later bricked it.Now this definatly doesnt set the tone for the complexity you need to meet, it was an example of i needed to do something suited to a microcontroller and early on i had enough free time that me playing around for 6 hours with shift registers was better value than a $160 eeprom programmer.