Do you need to buy additional boards with ARDUINO?

Model Railroader Electronics and DCC
1

OK You guys sold me on another tread. I am heading to Amazon to buy it. I am going to purchase a starter set which looks to be good for me to start. Am I correct to think I will be able to do several of my projects for the railroad from the same board? Do you need to buy additional boards for each project? How hard is it to learn the coding?

Stay Safe

Harold

2

It depends on what you use it for. The Arduino UNO has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs.

The starter kit I bought a number of years ago came with Getting Started with Arduino 3rd Edition and it was/is very helpful.

Edit:

I programmed several UNOs for a total of 20 outputs to drive 20 bulbs randomly on and off for structure lighting

Edit 2:

The Arduino outputs are limited to a max of 20ma, enough for a couple of LEDs at 10ma each per port. For higher currents you will need a driver.

Mel

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

3

I started with the official Arduino/Genuino starter kit that includes an Uno, a breadboard, various components (resistors, LEDs, transistors etc), and instructions. Such a kit is a good way to begin.

However I suggest you don’t buy any additional boards yet, especially not Unos. A single Uno is a great learning tool, but not the optimal choice for actually building projects, because it is physically bigger and more expensive than other boards. Get the hang of using the Uno to do various things on a breadboard. Then when it’s time to acutally implement a project you can use a cheaper and more compact device like a Pro Mini ($10 for an authentic one, $3 for a knockoff). Keep the Uno for experimenting.

4

I agree with speedybee. I have several smaller NANOs as well as the biggie, MEGA.

This is a NANO with a Blue Tooth wireless module for panning the camera.

The NANO expansion board on top of the NANO is Mel made from perf board.

Mel

My Model Railroad
http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

Bakersfield, California

I’m beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

5

see Arduino Programming Questions forum. i’m always surprised that people think learning to write code isn’t hard. then i see the problems people post on the forum that are fairly basic

6

Learning to code (in the case of the Arduino, C++) can be a challange for someone who has never learned programming. If you have a logical mind it is not impossible. A good book on Arduino programming is essential. Once you know one programming language it is fairly easy to learn another. The syntax can be the hardest as old habits die hard. Don’t get frustrated. My first day with C++ resulted in some colorful langauge. All my fault, of course. Have fun.

7

many of us learned C from the inventors (ritchie), K&R.