Exploring Arduino (by Jeremy Blum)
What is this book about?
I started my journey into electronics with the book "Make: Electronics", but modern electronics enthusiasts should also learn how microcontrollers such as Arduino work. Arduino-based automation makes it possible to build many kinds of projects: connect sensors, use Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and communicate over 315/433 MHz radio links. The controllers and sensors are also inexpensive and easy to learn.
There are many Arduino resources and video tutorials online, but I prefer reading printed books, so I chose one of the most popular titles, "Exploring Arduino, 2nd Edition" by Jeremy Blum.
You can also find this book online, but I preferred to buy a print edition.
The book can be purchased here:
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In Ukraine, the Russian edition
I used the second edition and recommend that edition. The lessons and required components differ significantly between the first and second editions.
Jeremy Blum provides the code for the sketches and video tutorials for all chapters. All materials are available here.
I liked the book. However, readers with no background in electricity or understanding of how basic algorithms work may need a little more time to grasp the material. If, for example, you have read at least half of "Make: Electronics", which covers the basics of electricity, and you are familiar with loops and conditionals at a conceptual level, you should be fine. You do not need to be a programmer to work with Arduino.
Components used in the book's projects (experiments)
Each chapter lists the components required for its experiments. There is also a complete list of the required components.
The book recommends where to buy everything you need, and this is where some difficulties can arise. About half of the experiments require special components or controllers that are not available from every electronics retailer, such as Adafruit Feather boards.
To complete all the experiments in the book, I had to order the required components from DigiKey in the United States, have them shipped to Europe, clear them through customs, and pay import duties. It was not particularly difficult, but it was expensive.
As it turned out, not all components had to be ordered from the United States: some can easily be replaced with cheaper alternatives from AliExpress or bought from a local electronics store. If I had known in advance which components could be substituted, I could have saved more than 50%.
Moreover, in some cases, the quantities listed as necessary for an experiment are higher than actually needed.
Below you will find chapter-by-chapter information about the required components, including alternatives where possible and the actual quantities needed across all experiments in the book.
I also added auxiliary tools and consumables that the book does not mention but that are either necessary or useful.
You can find the component list, my comments, and purchase links in this Google document.
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Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 1-7 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491653
1 Adafruit METRO 328 Fully Assembled - Arduino IDE compatible - ATmega328
2 USB cable - USB A to Micro-B - 3 foot long
3 Half Sized Premium Breadboard - 400 Tie Points
4 Breadboarding wire bundle
5 Tactile Button switch (6mm) x 20 pack
6 Through-Hole Resistors - 220 ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
7 Through-Hole Resistors - 1.0K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
8 Through-Hole Resistors - 10K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
9 Breadboard trim potentiometer - 10K
10 Photo cell (CdS photoresistor)
11 Diffused Red 5mm LED (25 pack)
12 Super Bright Blue 5mm LED (25 pack)
13 Super Bright White 5mm LED (25 pack)
14 Diffused RGB (tri-color) LED - Common Anode
15 TMP36 - Analog Temperature sensor - TMP36
16 Alkaline 9V Battery
17 9V battery clip with 5.5mm/2.1mm plug
18 5V 1.5A Linear Voltage Regulator - 7805 TO-220
19 10uF 50V Electrolytic Capacitors - Pack of 10
20 0.1uF ceramic capacitors - 10 pack
21 1N4001 Diode - 10 pack
22 NPN Bipolar Transistors (PN2222) - 10 pack
23 Mini Robot Rover Chassis Kit - 2WD with DC Motors
24 DC Toy / Hobby Motor - 130 Size
25 Dual H-Bridge Motor Driver for DC or Steppers - 600mA - L293D
26 12V DC 1000mA (1A) regulated switching power adapter - UL listed
27 IR distance sensor includes cable (10cm-80cm) - GP2Y0A21YK0F
28 Standard servo - TowerPro SG-5010 - 5010
29 Stepper motor - NEMA-17 size - 200 steps/rev, 12V 350mA
30 Speaker - 3" Diameter - 8 Ohm 1 Watt
Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 8-14 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491688
31 Piezo Buzzer - PS1240
32 Adafruit LIS3DH Triple-Axis Accelerometer (+-2g/4g/8g/16g)
33 Miniature 5V Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi (and Other Computers)
34 Assembled Standard LCD 16x2 + extras - White on Blue
35 74AHCT14 - Logic Level Inverter / Level Shifter
36 Adafruit Assembled Data Logging shield for Arduino
37 CR1220 12mm Diameter - 3V Lithium Coin Cell Battery - CR1220
38 SD/MicroSD Memory Card (8 GB SDHC)
39 5V 1A (1000mA) USB port power supply - UL Listed
40 Seeeduino Lite - ATmega32u4
41 Through-Hole Resistors - 100 ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
42 Through-Hole Resistors - 4.7K ohm 5% 1/4W - Pack of 25
43 Diffused Green 5mm LED (25 pack)
44 Super Bright Yellow 5mm LED (25 pack)
45 2-Axis Joystick
46 74HC595 Shift Register - 3 pack
47 Breadboard Friendly I2C Temperature Sensor - TC74A0 - TC74A0-5.0VAT
Exploring Arduino: 2nd Edition [Chapters 15-17 Parts Kit] https://www.adafruit.com/wishlists/491690
48 Adafruit Feather 32u4 Bluefruit LE with Headers - Assembled
49 Adafruit Feather M0 WiFi - ATSAMD21 + ATWINC1500
50 Simple RF M4 Receiver - 315MHz Momentary Type
51 Keyfob Single Button RF Remote Control - 315MHz
52 Controllable Four Outlet Power Relay Module version 2 - (Power Switch Tail Alternative)
53 Adafruit 1.2" 4-Digit 7-Segment Display w/I2C Backpack - Red
Additional components and tools I recommend having
54 SYB-170 small solderless breadboard for mounting the accelerometer separately
55 Connectors for soldering practice
56 Board for soldering practice
57 Soldering iron
58 Solder wire with flux
59 Male-to-female connectors for connecting sensors
60 PC with an SD card reader, or a separate card reader
61 Paper tape for securing components in some experiments