Arduino??????

so i have been hearing about all this tuff for quite some time. im very bord right now. i have no job and no place to be at all this summer :(. so i want to make something. im trying to learn c# as some of you know from my last thread. but the book isnt giving me any projects its jsut tell me what to do. i do better with a more do it and see what happens kind of approach. so my question to all you guys with a drinos is what can i get i already am getting this board.

http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?ma...products_id=50

i guess i just want to know what else i should get for a complete blank slate. i have no idea where im going with any of this, or what im going to be using any of it for but hey i figure what the hell i dont have anything better to do. so im looking for a any ideas/help and a kick in the right direction.:)

If you haven't ordered the Arduino yet, I'd recommend getting the Starter Pack. It's $35 more, but comes with a bunch of stuff that'll be really useful if you're just starting, and let you do a lot of small projects without having to run out and get random stuff.

I use a Seeeduino from Seeedstudio.com. Its the same as a normal arduino, just red, cheaper and can also do 3.3v if you like.

I recommended the following to get started.

1x Seeeduino or Arduino $27
1x Seeed Studio Arduino protoshield remixed $12
1x Mini bread board (for protoshield) $3
1x Normal Sized breadboard $5
1x Jumper Wire pack $6
1x Cheap 16x2 Parallel LCD screen from ebay ($5)

1x seeedstudio Catalyst pack (trimmed version will work) $53 If you get this you can omit the jumper wires above and the breadboard.

This will give you enough projects to do to cover all summer and then some of the winter. And as always we are always here to help!

you guys are very very helpful. i think this is the only website where the head guy actually come in the forum and speaks to people on a regular basis. but thank you . its going to be a little bit be for ei actually get this stuff probably around mid july early august.

I guess I should note that there are no projects listed with the kit I recommended, it is just basic components that will allow you to build plenty of simple circuits.

well i need something that will get me started like simple but yet challenging.

First step: Make the LED blink. :P

Then move on to making an RGB LED change color

Some other odds and ends that would be good to pick up are some assorted resistors. They always come in handy when your prototyping a circuit. Potentiometers are also a good idea to have on hand as well.

^^ yes. I picked up an assorted 500-pack of resistors at radio shack for cheap, it was worth it :D I also got the "getting started with arduino" book, and it's got a few cool simple projects in it as well :up: