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Looks pretty cool - I've been very eager to get into hardware hacking (after getting comfortable with functional programming). I wondered about the "legitimacy"

by sgrove 17y ago

Looks pretty cool - I've been very eager to get into hardware hacking (after getting comfortable with functional programming). I wondered about the "legitimacy" of Arduino boards and if they could really support real world apps, so I googled for some examples... Simply put, it's amazing. This alone (open source gameboy!) is worth learning it: http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2008/10/using-inputshield-to-make-open-source.html http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2008/10/using-inputshield-to... And a quick link to some other projects that I imagine will spark a few hn minds: http://hacknmod.com/hack/top-40-arduino-projects-of-the-web/ http://hacknmod.com/hack/top-40-arduino-projects-of-the-web/ How common are local meetups for the hardware hacking novices? Hardware people are sometime hard to connect with (even harder than the average CS student...). I'd love to start diving into this!

SingAlong 17y ago
Arduino are mostly used by starters. Coz it's very easy to learn programming it. There's always been discussions on Arduino vs Picaxe (like Intel vs AMD) :P here http://letsmakerobots.com/node/80 http://letsmakerobots.com/node/80 and http://letsmakerobots.com/node/5696 http://letsmakerobots.com/node/5696 I guess they mean Atmel vs Picaxe, coz the Arduino is actually a dev board that uses the Atmel ATmega328 chip (previously ATmega168). If you are starting out, it's better you start with an Arduino, later when you are a pro, you can buy only an ATmega and use it. I have a lot of electronic guys laughing at me when I said I bought an Arduino for $30, coz they said it could be done with just a $3 ATmega chip. But it's a lot easier doing things feeling safe that there's a community to support you when something goes wrong. Arduino dev board isn't for finished products (although you can use it). Basically meant to make physical computing easier to learn for hobbyists. The Arduino Duemilanouve has currently is sold with an ATmega328 chip that runs at 32Mhz and has 32kb of memory. The older Arduino Duemilanouve or Diecimelia boards came with a ATmega168 chip running at 16mhz and 16kb memory (2kb for bootloader + 14kb programmable). If you are looking to make something complex like mobile computing stuff, you should checkout Gumstix at gumstix.org (often refered to as computer-on-module) and also the ARM-based 400mhz Beagleboard (beagleboard.org $149). Beagleboard, I heard lacks a sound module though. The Arduino's programming syntax is similar to C, and it's simpler when compared to programming a barebone chip like ATmega or Picaxe. P.S: I'm not a pro. I just learned how to control a DC motor with the Arduino last month. So I might me wrong.
chriskelley 17y ago
If you're near LA, there is Machine Project (http://machineproject.com/ http://machineproject.com/), probably a good place to meet some hardware hackers. Also http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Workshops http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Workshops has a list of workshops in many other areas. Most of them (including Machine Project) look pretty introductory.
HeyLaughingBoy 17y ago
I don't know about meetups outside NYC. NYC has the guys from Make doing meetups periodically. I've been doing hardware essentially my whole life :-) If you have something you want to talk about, bounce ideas off, or just want to know how to start, you can contact me through my profile. I love talking about this stuff.

by sgrove 17y ago

SingAlong 17y ago

Arduino are mostly used by starters. Coz it's very easy to learn programming it. There's always been discussions on Arduino vs Picaxe (like Intel vs AMD) :P here http://letsmakerobots.com/node/80 http://letsmakerobots.com/node/80 and http://letsmakerobots.com/node/5696 http://letsmakerobots.com/node/5696 I guess they mean Atmel vs Picaxe, coz the Arduino is actually a dev board that uses the Atmel ATmega328 chip (previously ATmega168). If you are starting out, it's better you start with an Arduino, later when you are a pro, you can buy only an ATmega and use it. I have a lot of electronic guys laughing at me when I said I bought an Arduino for $30, coz they said it could be done with just a $3 ATmega chip. But it's a lot easier doing things feeling safe that there's a community to support you when something goes wrong. Arduino dev board isn't for finished products (although you can use it). Basically meant to make physical computing easier to learn for hobbyists. The Arduino Duemilanouve has currently is sold with an ATmega328 chip that runs at 32Mhz and has 32kb of memory. The older Arduino Duemilanouve or Diecimelia boards came with a ATmega168 chip running at 16mhz and 16kb memory (2kb for bootloader + 14kb programmable). If you are looking to make something complex like mobile computing stuff, you should checkout Gumstix at gumstix.org (often refered to as computer-on-module) and also the ARM-based 400mhz Beagleboard (beagleboard.org $149). Beagleboard, I heard lacks a sound module though. The Arduino's programming syntax is similar to C, and it's simpler when compared to programming a barebone chip like ATmega or Picaxe. P.S: I'm not a pro. I just learned how to control a DC motor with the Arduino last month. So I might me wrong.

chriskelley 17y ago

If you're near LA, there is Machine Project (http://machineproject.com/ http://machineproject.com/), probably a good place to meet some hardware hackers. Also http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Workshops http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Workshops has a list of workshops in many other areas. Most of them (including Machine Project) look pretty introductory.

HeyLaughingBoy 17y ago

I don't know about meetups outside NYC. NYC has the guys from Make doing meetups periodically. I've been doing hardware essentially my whole life :-) If you have something you want to talk about, bounce ideas off, or just want to know how to start, you can contact me through my profile. I love talking about this stuff.