Thank you Jimmy and Morris for taking the time to reply and I will keep your advice in mind as the article develops in my mind and finally is vomited onto paper (or keyboard). <br>Any other suggestions/feedback are very welcome and very much appreciated.<br>
<br>Tim<br>MindKits Chief Ninja<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 4, 2009 at 4:43 PM, jimmy allen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jimmy1248@gmail.com">jimmy1248@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I would say that I your target audience.<br>
I only started programming at the beginning of last year in QBasic.<br>
Only been working with micros for a half a year.AVRs for a few<br>
months(not very much though)<br>
<br>
A 7 segment display is fairly cool.That was one of my first thing that<br>
I did on my ATTiny2313<br>
I didn't take too much work ,mainly creating a bit table(assigning the<br>
digital outputs into variables kind of like a library) then calling a<br>
procedure and passing a number or letter(the one you want to<br>
display)through to it.<br>
<br>
A good thing to add would be links to more information so that if you<br>
get people interested they can easily follow on.<br>
<br>
I have been looking into Arduino and building one for myself (there is<br>
some stuff under the bootloader(AVR) mail listing.But i will repeat<br>
the more relevant stuff .<br>
On their site they have instructions on how to build an Arduino<br>
<a href="http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardSerialSingleSided3" target="_blank">http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardSerialSingleSided3</a> which could<br>
be added.<br>
<br>
The flashing LED is good one as it is very easy to get going<br>
Maybe taking a push button in(getting a response from the user)<br>
7 seven segment dislpay flashing out H E L L O simple but fairly<br>
cool(more than flashing LED).<br>
<br>
As I am still learning the basics you could always try some of you<br>
ideas on me and could give you some feed back on how good they are if<br>
you want<br>
<br>
Good luck<br>
<font color="#888888">Jimmy<br>
</font><div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
On 8/4/09, Morris <<a href="mailto:skibear@gmail.com">skibear@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Tim<br>
><br>
> Programming an Arduino is hard and has many show-stopper problems for<br>
> the novice. I think your articles will have to dedicate a large amount<br>
> of space to the basics of the development environment and how to program<br>
> the Arduino ... complex stuff for a novice who just wants to achieve<br>
> some project using an Arduino.<br>
><br>
> One alternative worth considering is to install python, pyserial and<br>
> pyduino on a PC, and Standard_Firmata sketch on the Arduino (I<br>
> personally would have loved to have just a hex file for the Duemilanove<br>
> with instructions for using avrdude).<br>
><br>
> Benefits:<br>
><br>
> 1) For an article series, there are lots of fantastic things you can do<br>
> with a PC that has a hardware interface. PC's are traditionally<br>
> difficult to interface with real hardware - the Arduino is a great<br>
> solution to that problem!<br>
><br>
> 2) Python: Python is brilliant for novices. Python programming at the PC<br>
> allows you to quickly try different programs, with debugging "print"<br>
> statements. You can assume a novice will just "get" Python with little<br>
> explanation, whereas C is an advanced topic (types anyone!?). I have<br>
> very little experience with Python but it has been a pleasure to use<br>
> (and it is well known to be a great language for novices and experts<br>
> alike).<br>
><br>
> 3) Avoiding getting depressed by C/IDE frustrations (I have experience<br>
> in those areas and I still find them to be a huge timesink). The<br>
> electronics interfacing is where most of my time goes and I reserve my<br>
> frustrations for that area!<br>
><br>
> 4) You can presume a lot about a user's knowledge of PCs.<br>
><br>
> My idea of a good series of articles is one that gives some excellent<br>
> examples of fun things to do, where it is obvious how to modify those<br>
> examples to do something else I want to do.<br>
><br>
> The main downside is that the Standard Firmata does not have servo<br>
> control and I agree servos would be fantastic for your articles (there<br>
> is a servo firmata but it is very limited). I love servos and want to<br>
> control them from my PC (I intend to integrate<br>
> <a href="http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ComponentLib/Servo" target="_blank">http://www.arduino.cc/playground/ComponentLib/Servo</a> into the Standard<br>
> Firmata but am away for a month so not going to happen soon!).<br>
><br>
> Disclaimer: I am a programmer by trade, have an EE degree, and have<br>
> worked in embedded design so I am not your target audience!<br>
><br>
> I do think it is a great topic for a series of articles!<br>
><br>
> Cheers<br>
><br>
> Morris<br>
><br>
> On Mon, 2009-08-03 at 23:00 +1200, Tim Carr wrote:<br>
><br>
>> Hi all, I'm hoping I may be able to help me with some ideas. I've been<br>
>> asked by APC Magazine in Australia to write a series of articles<br>
>> related to getting started with Arduino. APC have picked up on the<br>
>> growing popularity of the platform and I've been tasks with writing a<br>
>> complete beginners article that gives them an interesting grounding in<br>
>> Arduino in just 2-3 magazine pages and followed on by one or two more<br>
>> advanced articles.<br>
>><br>
>> The challenge I see is not so much in the technology but in picking an<br>
>> interesting first project that leaves them with the desire to<br>
>> experiment and extend their knowledge. As a result I'm loath to start<br>
>> with the blinking light 'hello world' as I imagine there must be<br>
>> better options that haven't been thrashed. I must admit though, at<br>
>> this point it really does seem to be the best fit. Please prove me<br>
>> wrong....please.<br>
>><br>
>> So, my question is this: When you started building robots, what really<br>
>> took your fancy and what do you feel may be a good starting<br>
>> 'micro-project' for others to start with?<br>
>><br>
>> One aim (that may be asking too much) is to develop the howto in such<br>
>> a way that the initial article demonstrates the key essential elements<br>
>> of Arduino setup and use while being easily extended in the second<br>
>> article to produce something fun and functional. So perhaps the first<br>
>> may be setting up a servo to move and the second may make it follow<br>
>> the light (I'm not sure if that's too hard for newbies but you get my<br>
>> drift).<br>
>><br>
>> Thanks in advance for any thought you can share on this.<br>
>><br>
>> --<br>
>> Regards,<br>
>> Tim<br>
>> MindKits Chief Ninja<br>
>><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Regards,<br>Tim<br>MindKits Chief Ninja<br>