What is Arduino?

Arduino is an open source programmable circuit board that can be integrated into a

wide variety of makerspace projects both simple and complex.  This board contains
a microcontroller which is able to be programmed to sense and control objects in the
physical world.   By responding to sensors and inputs, the Arduino is able to interact
with a large array of outputs such as LEDs, motors and displays.  Because of its
flexibility and low cost, Arduino has become a very popular choice for makers and
makerspaces looking to create interactive hardware projects.

Arduino was introduced back in 2005 in Italy by Massimo Banzi as a way for non-
engineers to have access to a low cost, simple tool for creating hardware projects.
Since the board is open-source, it is released under a Creative Commons license which
allows anyone to produce their own board. 

Types of Arduino Boards

Arduino Uno
One of the most popular Arduino boards out there is the Arduino Uno.  While it was not
actually the first board to be released, it remains to be the most actively used and most
widely documented on the market.  Because of its extreme popularity, the Arduino Uno
has a ton of project tutorials and forums around the web that can help you get started or
out of a jam.  We’re big fans of the Uno because of it’s great features and ease of use.

Board Breakdown
Here are the components that make up an Arduino board and what each of their
functions are:

1. Reset Button – This will restart any code that is loaded to the Arduino board
2. AREF – Stands for “Analog Reference” and is used to set an external reference
voltage
3. Ground Pin – There are a few ground pins on the Arduino and they all work the
same
4. Digital Input/Output –  Pins 0-13 can be used for digital input or output
UNO has 14 digital input – output (I/O) pins which can be used as either input or output
by connecting them with different external devices and components. Out of these 14
pins, 6 pins are capable of producing PWM signal. All the digital pins operate at 5V and
can output a current of 20mA.
Some of the digital I/O pins have special functions which are describe below.

 Pins 0 and 1 are used for serial communication. They are used to receive and
transmit serial data which can be used in several ways like programming the
Arduino board and communicating with the user through serial monitor.
 Pins 2 and 3 are used for external interrupts. An external event can be triggered
using these pins by detecting low value, change in value or falling or rising edge
on a signal.
 As mentioned earlier, 6 of the 14 digital I/O Pins i.e. 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11 can
provide 8-bit PWM output.
 Pins 10, 11, 12 and 13 (SS, MOSI, MISO AND SCK respectively) are used for
SPI communication.
 Pin 13 has a built-in LED connected to it. When the pin is HIGH, the LED is
turned on and when the pin is LOW, it is turned off.

5. PWM – The pins marked with the (~) symbol can simulate analog output
6. USB Connection – Used for powering up your Arduino and uploading sketches
7. TX/RX – Transmit(TX) and receive(RX) data indication LEDs
8. ATmega Microcontroller –  This is the brains and is where the programs are
stored
9. Power LED Indicator – This LED lights up anytime the board is plugged in a
power source
10. Voltage Regulator – This controls the amount of voltage going into the Arduino
board
11. DC Power Barrel Jack  – This is used for powering your Arduino with a power
supply
12. 3.3V Pin – This pin supplies 3.3 volts of power to your projects
13. 5V Pin – This pin supplies 5 volts of power to your projects
14. Ground Pins –  There are a few ground pins on the Arduino and they all work
the same
15. Analog Pins – These pins can read the signal from an analog sensor and
convert it to digital.
Arduino Uno has 6 analog input pins which can provide 10 bits of resolution i.e. 1024
different values. The analog pins on the Arduino UNO are labelled A0 to A5.
By default, all the analog pins can measure from ground to 5V. Arduino UNO has a
feature, where it is possible to change the upper end of the range by using the AREF pin
but the value should be less than 5V.
Additionally, some analog pins have specialized functionality. Pins A4 and A5 are used
for I2C communication.

Arduino Power Supply

The Arduino Uno needs a power source in order for it to operate and can be powered in
a variety of ways.  You can do what most people do and connect the board directly to
your computer via a USB cable.  If you want your project to be mobile, consider using a
9V battery pack to give it juice.  The last method would be to use a 9V AC power
supply.
Arduino Breadboard
Another very important item when working with Arduino is a solderless breadboard.
This device allows you to prototype your Arduino project without having to permanently
solder the circuit together.  Using a breadboard allows you to create temporary
prototypes and experiment with different circuit designs.  Inside the holes (tie points) of
the plastic housing, are metal clips which are connected to each other by strips of
conductive material.

Trench – hinahati ang breadboard into right and left.

Basic Rule

(row letters) Poles on the same row are not connected to each other, the columns are
(1-63).
Upper trench and lower trench rows are not connected.

(+) = positive, dadaloy ang current

(-) = ground

(positive and negative signs) Rows are connected, columns are not.

Alphabet=row letter

Jumper wires
On a side note, the breadboard is not powered on its own and needs power brought to it
from the Arduino board using jumper wires.  These wires are also used to form the
circuit by connecting resistors, switches and other components together.
How To Program Arduino
Once the circuit has been created on the breadboard, you’ll need to upload the program
(known as a sketch) to the Arduino.  The sketch is a set of instructions that tells the
board what functions it needs to perform.  An Arduino board can only hold and perform
one sketch at a time.  The software used to create Arduino sketches is called the IDE
which stands for Integrated Development Environment. 

Every Arduino sketch has two main parts to the program:

void setup() – Sets things up that have to be done once and then don’t happen again.
void loop()  – Contains the instructions that get repeated over and over until the board is
turned off.

How not to fry your Arduino

Before you begin plugging things into your new Arduino, it may be good to know what
can damage the board.

1. Drawing more than 40mA from an output pin.

An Arduino can only supply 40mA per output pin, so you cannot drive a motor or a
speaker directly, for example, and you cannot connect an LED directly (without a
resistor). In the course of this Instructable, I'll explain what you should do instead.
Shorting an output in to the +5v, +3.3v or the ground pins, will also kill your board: If
an output pin is at 5v for example, and you connect it to the ground, it draws an
enormous amount of current, and kills your Arduino almost instantly.
The pins go through the circuit board, so make sure you don't place the Arduino on a
conductive (metal) surface, because it will short out the pins.

2. Drawing more than 200mA from all output pins together.

The ATmega chip on your Arduino can only supply 200mA in total, so driving more
than 10 LEDs @ 20mA each, for example, will eventually damage your board.

3. Supplying more than 5v (3.3v) to an input pin.

Supplying more than the operating voltage of the Arduino on any pin is very
dangerous. Some Arduinos that run at 3.3v have 5v tolerant pins, but that's about it.
This also holds true for other devices, like sensors or wireless chips: always check
the voltages: if you connect the output of a 5V Arduino to a 3.3V chip, you might kill
it.

4. Supplying more than 5v to the 5v pin.

The 5v of the Arduino board goes directly to the ATmega chip, that is rated for an
absolute maximum of 6v.

5. Supplying more than 12v to the Vin pin.

There's an onboard 5v voltage regulator on the board, that will overheat and die if
you feed it with more than 12v.

6. Drawing more than 500mA from the 5v pin (when running off an external
power supply.
The onboard 5v voltage regulator can only supply 500mA of current. The 5vUSB has
a polyfuse to limit the current to 500mA.

7. Drawing more than 50mA from the 3.3v pin.

The onboard 3.3v voltage regulator can only supply 50mA of current. This means
that you can not connect power hungry 3.3v devices like an ESP8266 or nRF24L01
directly to the Arduino: you need an external 3.3v voltage regulator.

8. Reversing the polarity of the power supply.

If you swap the 5v or Vin pin with the GND pin, you'll kill the board almost instantly.
The barrel jack has a diode to protect against reverse polarity.

9. Connecting a load to the Vin pin while using USB power.

If you connect a load to the Vin pin while the 5v to the Arduino comes from the USB
connection, current will flow backwards through the voltage regulator, damaging it.

10. Static electricity

Although most chips have clamping diodes as protection against ESDs (electrostatic
discharges), it may be wise to us an anti-static wrist strap, or to remove the carpet
under your desk.