Which Arduino board for a noob?

[therecordingart]

Hello all...

With my school work we've started in to digital labs and exploring counters and what not. Over the next few weeks we'll be getting in to PROMs, and as we go further in to the rabbit hole I'd like to start applying some of this to my audio hobbies.

With all of that said...where do I start with Arduino? There are a few different board options out there, but I'm not sure which way I should go. Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

[The Tone God]

Most people start with the Uno board I believe. Its sort of the core board where you can add external specialized boards "shields" and you can change over to other boards later if you need more processor.

Andrew

[derevaun]

The standard, shield-compatible boards like Uno or Deumilanove are probably the best bet--they provide some power and work nicely parked next to a breadboard. If you get the kind with a through-hole uC chip (this is standard) you can move the programmed chip to a circuit that uses it (with the power and crystal to replace what the board contains) and just get another chip for the Arduino board.

[alparent]

I have the Uno with the through-hole uC chip. Love it. Very convenient. Great support.
I get my uC cheap and burn the bootloader on them myself (all using the Uno board)

But to be honest, you are buying convenience. Because after playing with it for a week. I realised I could have built an Arduino on a breadboard for about 5$. (Get your first uC with a bootloader on it and the rest is so easy.)

But I do appreciate the convenience of having everything on that little board.

So......I don't know how much of a DIY person you are ...or how (if your like me) cheap you are?

The board is great ..........but you can have the same equivalent thing for 5$.........your call!

[DavenPaget]

I have the Uno with the through-hole uC chip. Love it. Very convenient. Great support.
I get my uC cheap and burn the bootloader on them myself (all using the Uno board)

But to be honest, you are buying convenience. Because after playing with it for a week. I realised I could have built an Arduino on a breadboard for about 5$. (Get your first uC with a bootloader on it and the rest is so easy.)

But I do appreciate the convenience of having everything on that little board.

So......I don't know how much of a DIY person you are ...or how (if your like me) cheap you are?

The board is great ..........but you can have the same equivalent thing for 5$.........your call!

Give me a link , bro ! 

[g_u_e_s_t]

i prefer the duemilanove because of the ftdi chip
but you probably cant get them anymore anyways
and its not much of a difference

there are a lot of arduino alternatives out there as well
like the wiring board and all the 32bit alternatives
so 2 thing to consider are:
1. how well is the development software supported
2. how many different shields are there that fit your platform

i think the uno does really well in both camps
so is probably a good way to ge started
and if you want to do more than the uno lets you
then updgrading to a 32bit version later will be easier

[DavenPaget]

i prefer the duemilanove because of the ftdi chip
but you probably cant get them anymore anyways
and its not much of a difference

there are a lot of arduino alternatives out there as well
like the wiring board and all the 32bit alternatives
so 2 thing to consider are:
1. how well is the development software supported
2. how many different shields are there that fit your platform

i think the uno does really well in both camps
so is probably a good way to ge started
and if you want to do more than the uno lets you
then updgrading to a 32bit version later will be easier

O_O what's the difference between using a lesser Atmega chip to do the USB-RS232 now instead of a FTDI ?

[The Tone God]

I thought the newer versions are using a AVR setup to replace the FTDI ?

Andrew

[DavenPaget]

I thought the newer versions are using a AVR setup to replace the FTDI ?

Andrew

Yep . Maybe he thinks that FTDI is better . Of course not .

[g_u_e_s_t]

ive had less driver issues with the ftdi

and when i prototype up my own boards
i can just use an ftdi cable and everything else works the same

[therecordingart]

I just got an Arduino Uno for my birthday and did the initial LED blink thing....now what? 

Your favorite projects?

[cloudscapes]

I just got an Arduino Uno for my birthday and did the initial LED blink thing....now what? 

Your favorite projects?

making an LFO is a nice starter project. simple triangle wave or something. teaches you to do loops, counts, whiles, the adc for pot controlled speed, throw in a condition or two...

[Earthscum]

But to be honest, you are buying convenience. Because after playing with it for a week. I realised I could have built an Arduino on a breadboard for about 5$. (Get your first uC with a bootloader on it and the rest is so easy.)

.....
The board is great ..........but you can have the same equivalent thing for 5$.........your call!

Lol... I read this last night, and this morning in my email was the new Instructables, and in it was this: How to make your own Arduino board

[Ice-9]

Thanks for that link earthscum , i think i might have to make up an Ardunio now.

@cloudscape, Ha fantastic I just scanned your qr code and straight to your web page. Brilliant