Getting started with Arduino?

Question

I'm going to get an Arduino starter kit like the one below.

• What else do I need to get started?
• What are some good Arduino programming resources?
• What else can I buy/acquire to make my first embedded programming experience more pleasant?
• What are some good beginner projects?

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9284

Answer 1

The website is amazing. www.arduino.cc: Getting Started. Seriously. One of the best get-your-feet-wet-with-out-getting-scared sites I have ever come across. Even the software uploader thingy comes with built in examples that are easy to work with.

• go to the site, poke around
• buy a basic Arduino model, it's cheap
• play with the simple programs and your new toy

Hours of joy. Seriously.

Answer 2

• That kit you linked to is a very good place to start. Another great tutorial for the arduino is up at Adafruit, where you can find another kind of starter kit. Both Sparkfun and Adafruit are great places to buy from.
• Arduino.cc and the forums on that site provide all that you need to know to get started.
• Other Helpful tools (mentioned in the Adafruit tutorial: Multimeter, Soldering iron, Wire cutters and strippers
• Finally: play around. Blink an LED for a while, and ideas will start flooding in. Between Arduino.cc, Sparkfun, and Adafruit, you should be able to learn all that you need to know and come up with some great ideas. Then its up to you to implement them!

Have Fun! You'll learn a lot that way.

Edit: Some other great resources

• Arduino Tutorial Page
• Freeduino Index of Knowledge
• Instructables has some good stuff
• Sparkfun Tutorials

Answer 3

If you like good old fashioned books then get this one: http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Arduino-Make-Projects/dp/0596155514/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257540855&sr=8-1

It probably doesn't have anything you couldn't find online for free, but everything is one place and presented really well.

Answer 4

You will definitely need to go to the Arduino site to get the Arduino IDE, which does not come with your kit. The Arduino Getting Started instructions will help you get the rest of the pieces for your specific environment (the pieces are different for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux). There will be additional quirks if your development workstation is running a 64-bit OS.