Electronic Odyssey – pt.1
jafoca | April 1, 2009This one falls on the HARD side of hardware…
Inspired by my good friend Nick, who does EE and works at the product design / idea house TwisThink, I decided to jump into the world of physical computing via Arduino. I apparanty know a thing or two about software, so I thought I would mix it up a bit and learn something about hardware.
Yesterday my electronic odyssey began – my first parts order came thru from Hong Kong based Seeed Studio. Arduino is a pretty common platform, with 5+ suppliers located here in the US, so why would I order from HK you ask? Hehe… Well…. being a project manager for a web design company, i have to admit that I like their website, and the way they have embraced web technology to do more than just have a storefront. They have a cool blog, a wiki talking about their open source PCB fab service, and a forum for tech support and other discussion! Besides that, their logo / graphic design is well done.
So what was in the box?
- 1x Arduino Duemilanove
- 3x 12volt ‘LED berries’ with 9 LEDs each (Nick tested them and we found that the leads on one of them was opposite polarity as the others – watch out)
- 3x super-bright RGB LEDs
- 2x breadboard jumper wire kits
- 2x misc parts bags, including resistors, caps, and small leds
- 1x GIANT RED BUTTON!!! (I told my co-worker that next time he sees that thing on my desk at work, he will not want to find out what it is connected to) (he has it coming…. now i have to figure out what ‘it’ is…)
Unfortunately I made the mistake of not getting a breadboard right away. I am going to do what I can without it, but I will be ordering more parts soon.
