Getting Started with Arduino (Make: Projects)
by Massimo Banzi
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Book Reviews of Getting Started with Arduino (Make: Projects)
Book Review: Fun for tinkerers
Summary: 5 Stars
I love Make magazine. It captures the excitement and joy of tinkering, experimenting, and modifying things for fun. This is an experience I have had over and over through the years, beginning in my early childhood. I was that one kid that always took all of his toys apart, usually putting them back together with "improvements."
I have learned so much from doing things this way, probably more than I have learned from books. I am a book lover, but more than that, I am a tinkerer. I'm never content with knowing theory, I have to get my hands dirty and experiment, often before I bother to learn the theory.
It is this very personality trait that caused me to enjoy a book I read this week, Getting Started with Arduino. The book is published by O'Reilly as part of their Make: Projects series. There is also an accompanying website dedicated to the project.
The book begins with a description of Arduino. This is an open source electronics prototyping platform designed for experimentation and learning. It was originally begun as a way to teach designers how to build prototypes of the projects they are designing, along with simple embedded software development. It turns out that is is a really fun-sounding hobbyist platform, too. I'll get to the "fun-sounding" bit shortly.
The book is written in a way that an interested, but completely inexperienced person should be able to pick it up and read it, comprehend it, and begin to use the platform. I think that is possible. The text gives a clear and easy introduction to electronics without bogging down the casual newcomer in the details. In the long term, you would certainly want to study in greater depth from other resources, but for a person just looking to get started actually doing something, this book is ideal. It describes the Arduino hardware, gives an introduction to programming that is easy to follow and should allow any reader to play along with comprehension.
This is where I was unsatisfied: the software IDE and hardware drivers are easy to install and run on Windows and MacOSX, but not on Linux. There is a link in the book to a page that gives details of how to install on Linux, but it is more complicated and may turn some potential users off of the idea. I know that it's ironic for a tinkerer to not want to tinker, but remember, the target audience is people who love to get their hands dirty without knowing or having to figure out the details in advance. There are links on that page to instructions for installation in various Linux distributions, but all that I checked were at least one release out of date. As I write this, I'm running the 64 bit version of Ubuntu 8.10, but the most recent Ubuntu instructions were for 8.04. Could I figure it out? Of course, but these missing details are disappointing.
My final evaluation is that the project looks like a lot of fun, and the book really is an enjoyable read. I can think of several uses for the hardware without even trying and it would probably be a blast to play around with. I will watch the project and hope to see the usability and interactability with Linux made/kept more up to date. When that happens, I'm in. In the meanwhile, you will probably find me at the electronics surplus/reclamation shop or the swap meet and garage sales for looking for my potential victims, I mean, experimentation platforms.
Finally, I realize that most people use Windows, and a growing percentage, especially among geeks, are using Macs. I'm not an operating system zealot and don't wish to disparage those platforms or the author's choice to support them primarily. I just have a different preference and prefer to put my time and effort into things that work well/easily with my preferred OS.
Book Review: Got me started
Summary: 4 Stars
I've never done anything with electronics before, but I got through this book over the course of a couple days. Surprisingly few difficulties for a beginner. I liked the casual style of the book. The Arduino language was easy to learn and I found myself making adjustments to the code between projects. You learn by doing in this book, so it doesn't feel like arduous studying. Basically, a chapter will introduce a project with some new functions that you haven't learned before - you'll build it and write the sketch (the Arduino code) and then learn what you did. It was fun.
Another reviewer mentioned getting some extras with the book and I heeded his advice. I bought the Arduino Duemilanove Starter Kit through Amazon and it included pretty much everything I needed to go through this book:
(I'll modify the other reviewer's list a bit)
1. 5 x 330 Ohm resistors
2. 1 x Momentary push button switch
3. 6 x LEDs
4. 1 x solder-less breadboard
5. 1 x jumper wire kit
6. The Aruino Duemilanove of course
The things above are all included in that kit.
The only other things you'll want to buy are:
7. LDR (light dependent resistor) [fun sensor to use]
8. Some 10k Ohm resistors [these are recommended in the book, though you can probably get away with the 330 Ohms]
The following devices (9-12) are shown in a setup on page 71 - but with no explanation of how to use them. If you know electronics already, you could probably figure it out. If you're a beginner - I'd say no need to buy (9-12) for use with this book, because although they are pictured - there is no explanation or code.
9. 1 x 9V (or similar magnitude) battery case with leads for a breadboard
10. 1 x small motor (5-9V).
11. 1 x MOSFET or 1 x 5V actuated relay (this is to turn on/off motors)
12. (A diode is pictured, but no indication of what type).
If you want to really build a permanent lamp with the last project the author recommends the items below (13-16). I'd say this is unnecessary. You can build a temporary version with just items 1-8.
13. IKEA "FADO" table lamp
14. RGB LED (RED, GREEN, BLUE all in one LED with four leads)
15. Soldering Iron
16. Hot glue gun
My three criticisms of the book are:
a. No explanation for using a motor
b. The final project is easy to set up, but it introduces the Processing language so you don't understand half of the project (unless you can understand Processing). That said, you do get to combine all the other stuff you did in the book - so that makes it a worthwhile project.
c. Leaves you wishing for more content. It was fun to go through - but pretty quick and light.
Book Review: Not well written for any audience
Summary: 1 Stars
The Author of this book is well intended in his approach to writing but fails miserably. He states outright that his book is not meant for the technically minded; rather it is aimed at artists and hobbyists. The book starts off fine but the issues with the authors writing style compound as one progresses through the various projects coming to a head in chapter 5. The problems with the book are as follows:
- The author attempts to teach programming by providing full programs.
Initially there is some instruction on syntax and structure but it is brief and then the reader is left to interpret what the programs are doing on their own even when there is new syntax in it. This is fairly easy until the book introduces the fade program, then the reader is suddenly bombarded with a program that has new functions and syntax in it with no explanation of structural rules or how the statement operates. After the program is given the reader is asked to try and independently combine this program with a previous one that contained a rather sophisticated trick. This would be like asking a person in a Chinese class to take a phrase learned earlier and combine it with a new one, oh and by the way if you grammar is wrong then no one will understand and you will fail.
- The Author makes no attempt to help the reader visualize program flow.
How about some concept maps or flow charts with comparisons to code and program. . . An analogy would be nice. The author makes use of no tools that would help the reader learn and internalize programming. The reader is left muddled and confused about how curly brackets begin to appear multiple times in a program or what have you.
- Misplaced attempt at teaching the fundamentals of electronics.
In his singular instruction through analogy he uses the common water comparison for electricity to teach ohms law. The problem is there are simple switch circuit built a little later where the 7 pin and right side ground a connected in parallel where the grn has a resistor wired in parallel. I am sure there is a perfectly good reason for this kind of wiring and if so I would like to know. How am I to know when to wire digital inputs this way if I don't know why we did it this way this time?
This book probably deserves 2 stars but I wanted this review to stand out. The 2 star reviews that exist hint at problems but don't really explain the issue. I bought the book after reading many glowing reviews. I am not sure how anyone could give this book a good review though.
Note to author, in the next addition always define new syntax and how it is used, use flow charts, and Make particular note of important routines. If your not going to define syntax tell readers to refer to appendix c during the reading.
Book Review: For the Arduino beginner!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book started out as an online tutorial by one of the "inventors" of the Arduino microcontroller board. Later it was removed from the internet and published as a introductory reference to the electronics and programming knowledge required to experiment with the Arduino. If you are looking at this book or this review, you probably already know what an Arduino board is.
If not, maybe you should learn, huh? The cost of the Arduino and this book is small, and if you're interested in electronics, robotics or programming, you will likely find the Arduino and this book very fascinating.
By the time I bought this book, I had read other online tutorials and had learned quite a lot about Arduino and the Arduino programming environment (Integrated Development Environment, or IDE). As a result, this book was a bit elementary for me by the time I read it. However it will be a VALUABLE introduction to the Arduino newbie.
The book begins by explaining microcontrollers, why and how the Arduino board was developed, and takes the reader through a series of experiments using LEDS, sensors and other neat stuff to get him acquainted with the Arduino and other boards that attach to it, called "shields". If you read this book, perform all the experiments and research the references a little bit, you will become adept (not necessarily proficient) at using and utilizing the Arduino.
I highly recommend this book for those who are VERY new to microcontrollers, especially the ATMEL series of controllers. If you are already familiar with the Arduino and its Integrated Development Environment, spend your money on a slightly more advanced book or, better yet, another Arduino shield to experiment with!
Book Review: Great, but be ready to buy some more parts!
Summary: 5 Stars
While some reviewers decry the intro "fluff" chapters and the simplicity of some of the projects, by the end of this short book, you will have been exposed to many of the capabilities of the Arduino microcontroller. I found the book's projects to be very informative and fun. One warning to buyers: You will need to buy a few more electronic parts to take full advantage of this book and it's projects. Here's what you should get:
1. 5-10 x 10K-Ohm resistors
2. 1 x Momentary push button switch (4 pin), compatible with a breadboard
3. 5 x LEDs of differing colors (most will work with the 3-5V output of the Arduino).
4. 1 x MOSFET or 1 x 5V actuated relay (this is to turn on/off motors)
5. 1 x solder-less breadboard
6. 1 x jumper wire kit (various lengths and colors of short wires)
7. 1 x LDR (light dependent resistor)
8. 1 x 9V (or similar magnitude) battery case with leads for a breadboard
9. 1 x small motor (5-9V).
It seems like quite a bit, but if you get and use these parts with the projects, you will learn how to use sensors to take in data from the environment, have the Arduino process it, and then drive a response (in the form of lighting LEDs, turning on motors, etc.). Fortunately, the Arduino itself is USB-powered, so the other power sources (i.e. the battery case) will only be needed to run things like the motor.