The SparkFun Inventor's Guide is your map for navigating the waters of beginning embedded electronics. This guide contains all the information you will need to explore the 16 circuits of the SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Arduino V3.2. At the center of this guide is one core philosophy - that anyone can (and should) play around with electronics. When you're done with this guide, you'll have the know-how to start creating your own projects and experiments. Now enough talking - let's get inventing!
This guide is also available as a downloadable PDF, if you prefer. Click here for the download.
**For Starter Kit for RedBoard - Programmed with Arduino users: ** For those who have Starter Kit for RedBoard - Programmed with Arduino, you are able to follow through experiments 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11.
SparkFun Inventor's Kit - V3.2 SparkFun Inventor's Kit - V3.2 KIT-12060**As you may have seen from [our blog post](https://www.sparkfun.com/news/2241), we recently moved our injection mold for SIK…
RetiredHere is all the parts in the SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Arduino:
If you’re new to electronics and programming, the SparkFun Mini Inventor's Kit for RedBoard is a great way for beginners to get their foot in the door at half the cost of the SIK. SparkFun Mini Inventor's Kit can be taken straight out of the box to help you make a slew of basic circuits.
Here is all the parts in the SparkFun Mini Inventor's Kit:
Please note: Experiments marked with \*\*double asterisks\*\* are for both the SparkFun Mini Inventor's Kit and the RedBoard SIK V3.2. Experiments without asterisks will only be available to those who purchased the RedBoard SIK V3.2.
In this SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Arduino guide, you will learn the following:
We live in a unique time where we have access to resources that allow us to create our own solutions and inventions. The DIY revolution is composed of hobbyists, tinkerers and inventors who would rather craft their own projects than let someone do it for them.
A Computer for the Physical WorldThe RedBoard in your hand (or on your desk) is your development platform. At its roots, the RedBoard is essentially a small portable computer. It is capable of taking inputs (such as the push of a button or a reading from a light sensor) and interpreting that information to control various outputs (like a blinking LED light or an electric motor).
That's where the term "physical computing" is born - this board is capable of taking the world of electronics and relating it to the physical world in a real and tangible way. Trust us - this will all make more sense soon.
The SparkFun RedBoard is one of a multitude of development boards based on the ATmega328. It has 14 digital input/output pins (6 of which can be PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ISP header, and a reset button. Check out our RedBoard Hookup Guide, to get yourself familiar with the RedBoard.
Download the Arduino IDEIn order to get your RedBoard up and running, you'll need to download the newest version of the Arduino software first from www.arduino.cc (it's free and open source!). This software, known as the Arduino IDE, will allow you to program the board to do exactly what you want. It’s like a word processor for writing programs. With an internet-capable computer, open up your favorite browser and go to Arduino download page.
Check out our Installing Arduino IDE tutorial, to see in detail on how to install the Arduino IDE on your computer.
Connect your RedBoard to your ComputerUse the USB cable provided in the SIK kit to connect the RedBoard to one of your computer’s USB inputs.
Install FTDI DriversDepending on your computer’s operating system, you will need to follow specific instructions. Please go to How to Install FTDI Drivers, for specific instructions on how to install the FTDI drivers onto your RedBoard.
Getting Started in the Arduino IDENow, it's finally time to open up the Arduino software. You'll be presented with a window that looks a little something like this:
Before we can start jumping into the experiments, there are a couple adjustments we need to make. This step is required to tell the Arduino IDE which of the many Arduino boards we have. Go up to the Tools menu. Then hover over Board and make sure Arduino Uno is selected.
Please note: Your SparkFun RedBoard and the Arduino UNO are interchangeable but you won’t find the RedBoard listed in the Arduino Software. Select “Arduino Uno” instead.
Select a Serial PortNext up we need to tell the Arduino IDE which of our computer's serial ports the RedBoard is connected to. For this, again go up to Tools, then hover over Port (Serial Port in older Arduino versions) and select your RedBoard's serial port.
Window Users: This is likely to be com3 or higher (COM1 and COM2 are usually reserved for hardware serial ports). To find out, you can disconnect your RedBoard and re-open the menu; the entry that disappears should be the RedBoard. Reconnect the board and select that serial port.
Arduino IDE version 1.6.1 serial ports is under "Port." In older versions it is under "Serial Port"
Mac Users: Select the serial device of the RedBoard from the Tools, then hover over Port. (You will be hovering over Serial Port if you have older versions of the Arduino IDE) On the Mac, this should be something with /dev/tty.usbmodem or /dev/tty.usbserial in it.
Arduino IDE version 1.6.1 serial ports is under "Port."
Linux Users: Please visit the Arduino Learning Linux section, to learn more about Arduino on Linux.
Download Arduino CodeYou are so close to to being done with setup! Download the SIK Guide Code. Click the following link to download the code:
SIK Guide CodeCopy “SIK_Guide_Code_32” into “examples” folder in the Arduino folder.
Window Users: Unzip the file “SIK_Guide_Code_32”. It should be located in your browser’s “Downloads” folder. Right click the zipped folder and choose “unzip”. Copy the “SIK Guide Code” folder into Arduino’s folder named “examples”.
Mac Users: Unzip the file “SIK_Guide_Code_32”. It should be located in your browser’s “Downloads” folder. Right click the zipped folder and unzip. Find “Arduino” in your applications folder. Right click (ctrl + click) on “Arduino”. Select “Show Package Contents”. Then, click through folders Contents > Resources > Java > examples. Copy the “SIK Guide Code” folder into Arduino’s folder named “examples”.
Suggested ReadingBefore continuing on with this tutorial, we recommend you be somewhat familiar with the concepts in the following tutorial:
At SparkFun, our engineers and educators have been improving this kit and coming up with new experiments for a long time now. We would like to give attribution to Oomlout, since we originally started working off the Arduino Kit material many years ago. Both the Oomlut and SparkFun versions are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 Unported License
To view a copy of this license visit: http://creativecommons.org/by-sa/3.0/ Or write: Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA.
Time for the fun part!Continue on to the first experiment and in no time you will be blinking an LED!
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