Beginner’s Crash Course to the Arduino

Animate Your Projects with Arduino

FREE LESSON + FREE 7-DAY TRIAL

Make real progress on your creative electronics goals by building and coding 30+ Arduino projects in real-time with me. Access our entire library of past course broadcasts plus new LIVE courses!


Learn By Doing

Start Now – Watch the First Lesson Free!

With so many online tutorials available where you can simply copy and paste code and duplicate what’s on a wiring diagram, it seems easy to start building Arduino projects on your own. That’s how I started out. But inevitably, I ran into code errors that I didn’t know how to fix and got stuck when trying to build more unique project ideas from scratch.

That’s why I created a build- and code-along style course that meets you where you’re at and then maximizes your growth so you can build just about any of your ideas – even if you don’t have a computer science or electrical engineering background. Learn by building useful projects from scratch in real-time with me – no previous coding or electronics experience is necessary – to understand how each device works, how to connect it in a circuit with the Arduino and how to program it.

$19.99/MONTH + FREE 7-DAY TRIAL!

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Create & Code With Me Side-By-Side

Get the Course Kit

Although you can watch and participate without building anything, getting hands-on with the process is where the real learning and growth happens. We’ll be using the ELEGOO Super Starter Kit for the course which contains every component you need at an incredible price.

What We’ll Do Together

15 REAL-TIME, CODE-ALONG LESSONS

Create side-by-side with me and learn to write Arduino programs for almost any project.

USE 20+ POPULAR COMPONENTS

Become proficient with some of the most popular components and combine them to give your projects more functionality.

WIRE & BUILD 30+ PROJECTS

Learn to build circuits on a breadboard and wire components to the Arduino so you can control them with your program.

CODE 50+ PROGRAMS FROM SCRATCH

Starting from zero you’ll be able to program your Arduino with variables, data types, math operators, conditional statements, loops, functions, libraries and more!

Course Activity Feed

Explore member projects, post your own, try a community challenge, get personalized feedback and ask me and other members questions. You’re not alone on your creative journey!

Learn Arduino code even if you're a beginner.
Learn how to wire popular Arduino components.

Taking a Course is Just The Beginning


Unlike other course platforms, your creative journey doesn’t end after the last lesson. Accelerate your growth with a supportive and inspiring group of peers as a member of our Engineering Artists community.

In addition to this course, members have access to:

COURSES

  • All live and on-demand courses for a more well-rounded skillset.
  • New LIVE lessons with real-time chat every month.
  • All course activity feeds.
  • Updates & revisions to all courses.

BUILD TOGETHER SESSIONS (via ZOOM)

  • LIVE virtual community making sessions where we dedicate time to our projects, share skills, showcase what we’re working on, ask questions and interact with peers.

COMMUNITY

  • A community of supportive and engaged makers who are excited to offer encouragement, accountability, and feedback on your projects (including me).
  • A mobile app to help you stay connected with our community anywhere, anytime.

$19.99/MONTH + FREE 7-DAY TRIAL!

40% OFF ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS

Previous Live Recordings

Watch On Demand, Build & Code in Real-time

Arduino Tutorial for Beginners, How to Blink LEDs

Lesson 1

Intro to the Arduino & Blinking LEDs

This first lesson takes you from little to no knowledge of the Arduino to writing your first programs, building your first circuit and blinking LEDs in a variety of patterns with code.
RGB LEDs Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 2

Controlling LED Brightness with PWM & Mixing Colors with RGB LEDs

We learned how to turn an LED on and off but what if you want a level of brightness in between? We’ll be using the Arduino’s PWM pins and learn a new function for controlling the brightness of LEDs. Then we’ll explore RGB LEDs which allow you to mix different levels of red, green and blue to create a nearly endless array of colors.
Potentiometers Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 3

Potentiometers and the Serial Monitor

Potentiometers are important components for unlocking more functionality from your projects. It’s a variable resistor whose resistance depends on the position of the knob. You can use them to adjust the volume of a speaker, brightness of an LED, speed of a motor and so much more. We’ll also begin using the Arduino IDE Serial Monitor to read values coming from our potentiometer. We often need to see real-time readings from sensors and other components that interact with the environment and the Serial Monitor is an easy way to do this right in the Arduino software. But perhaps more important, the serial monitor is a valuable troubleshooting tool for both components and code. After reading values, we’re going to turn it around and allow users to control what actions the Arduino performs with user input in the Serial Monitor.

Push Buttons Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 4

Push Buttons & Switches

Push buttons are core components of Arduino projects because it gives a user the ability to trigger a variety of actions and makes your electronics projects more interactive. In order to incorporate buttons into your circuits and have them behave reliably, you’ll have to understand the concept of pull up and pull down resistors. In this lesson, we’ll start with a few popular projects like using buttons as momentary switches, toggle switches and even a dimmer.

Buzzers Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 5

Alarms & Music with Buzzers

Buzzers can be used in your projects to sound alarms, add sound effects and even play music! We’ll start with active buzzers which are the easiest to use because all you have to do is apply 5V to get it to go off – very much like the LEDs we’ve been working with. Then we’ll move on to passive buzzers which give you cleaner and better tone control that’s perfect for sound effects and songs.

Photoresistor Tutorial, Thermistor Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 6

Photoresistors & Thermistors

Photoresistors are light-dependent resistors whose resistance changes depending on the amount of light hitting the sensor. This makes them perfect for light-controlled switches and projects. When paired with a relay (which we’ll cover in a later lesson) they can be used to turn on a light bulb when it gets dark, track daylight in a weather station, and much more. Similar to photoresistors, thermistors change resistance depending on the temperature. You can build projects that perform an action like lighting an LED or sounding an alarm when the temperature goes above a certain point or even turn on other components like fans and motors. They’re ideal for equipment control and protection circuits.

Servos Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 7

Servos

It’s time to put some motion into our projects! Servos are great for acting as levers, pulls, robot arms, gauge indicators and anything that needs 180 degrees of rotational movement. In order to start using servos, we’re going to learn about libraries, how to incorporate them into your code and create different movements. Then we’ll build a few projects integrating our servo with other components to perform different actions.

Stepper Motors Tutorial, DC Motors Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 8

Stepper and DC Motors

Servos are cool but you can only move them from 0 to 180 degrees. For continuous rotation, stepper and DC motors are where it’s at. A stepper motor is a very precise motor that you can instruct to rotate one step at a time and provide great torque at low speeds. They are used in CNC machines, 3D printers and in robotics. DC motors will give you the ability to put your project on wheels as well as give it other spinning features. Since these components can draw more current than an Arduino pin can provide, we’re going to learn how to power them externally and connect them to their corresponding motor drivers to give us control over speed and direction of rotation.

Joysticks Tutorial, Tilt Switches Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 9

Joysticks

The first thing that comes to mind when you think of joysticks is gaming. Although these components can be used to create a variety of games with your Arduino, they’re also useful for controlling robots, motors and servos. Joysticks are composed of 2 potentiometers (one that changes with up and down movements and another for left to right movements) and an off/on switch that is activated by pushing the knob down. We’ll learn to read the values coming from our joystick and then use them to perform a variety of actions like changing the brightness and colors of LEDs and controlling servos and motors.

7-segment Displays Tutorial, LCD Display Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 10

Displays

Displays like LCDs or the 7-segment variety allow you to untether your projects from the computer by giving you another more portable way to display information rather than the serial monitor. Displays require more wiring than the components we’ve worked with so far so we’ll go through the connections together and then program a few messages and animate text. Then we’ll program a simple calculator to output the results on the screen. In later lessons, the LCD screen will make a cameo as we display different sensor readings.

Humidity & Temperature Sensor Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 11

Humidity & Temperature Sensors

The popular DHT11 humidity and temperature sensor gives you two functionalities in one! It’s relatively simple to use but we’ll have to download and install an external library. These sensors are an essential part of weather station projects and when paired with an LCD, you can read values on the go! We’ll also connect other components that will perform different activities based on changes in temperature and humidity.

Ultrasonic Sensors Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 12

Ultrasonic Sensors

Ultrasonic sensors can measure distance and are great for obstacle avoidance and robotics projects. Like a bat, it uses a method similar to echolocation to determine how far it is from an object. The sensor sends out a signal and waits to hear the echo. It then measures the time from when the signal was sent to when the echo was received and we can convert this into distance. We can then display this information on an LCD screen and even create a push button distance scanner.

Shift Registers Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 13

Expand your Pins with Shift Registers

Now that you know how to connect a variety of components to your Arduino, you’ll be inspired to build larger and more complex projects. But what happens if you don’t have enough pins for your creation? That’s where shift registers are helpful. They only require 3 pins on your Arduino and you get 8 outputs – not a bad deal! We’ll be working with the 74HC595, or 595 for short, one of the most popular ones for electronics projects.

5V Relays Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 14

Relays & Transistors

The pins from the Arduino can power a variety of components up to 5V but anything requiring more voltage or current can damage the Arduino if you try to hook it up directly. To incorporate higher power devices like fans, lights, motors, heaters and other household appliances into your projects you’re going to need a 5V relay. The Arduino can be programmed to turn on the relay (which then powers your larger device) when a certain event occurs.

IR Remote & IR Sensor Tutorial with Arduino

Lesson 15

IR Remotes & Receivers

Using remote controls with your Arduino projects is a great way to control robots, lights, relays and more – wirelessly. We’re going to learn how infrared remotes send information to the Arduino and then we’ll use that information to trigger different actions and control other devices.

FAQs

My Beginner’s Crash Course to the Arduino is designed for the absolute beginner. It assumes that you’ve never coded before and are new to building circuits and hooking up components. That being said, intermediate Arduino builders and coders will find the wide range of components covered and practical examples useful in solidifying and enhancing their skills.

Although you can take the course without building or coding anything, the real mastery happens at your workbench – making mistakes and knowing how to fix them. If you are truly interested in building projects with the Arduino then you will need to buy components – starter kits offer the best value. This course uses the ELEGOO UNO Project Super Starter Kit but just about any Arduino starter kit will do.

You have access to all courses, live events and replays as long as your membership is active, including revisions and updates we make during that time to any courses.

Courses cannot be downloaded. You can watch any of the courses live or at your own pace as long as your membership is active.

At this time, we only offer a membership model. This provides far greater value and support to you than purchasing any of our courses individually for a one-time fee. But we may consider an additional one-time fee purchase model in the future depending on member feedback.

We believe our community component is a key factor in taking your skills to the next level, achieving your goals and growing as a well-rounded creator. Taking a course is just the beginning of your journey. Most other online learning platforms rely on passive consumption of video content with minimal support once the course is done. Our Engineering Artists community focuses on active creation and community to help you unlock your full creative potential.

We offer a 7-day free trial PLUS the first lesson of every course is free so you can see if our courses, live events and community are right for you. Be sure to cancel before your free trial expires to avoid being charged. You can also cancel anytime during your membership.

You can’t get a refund for any payments made after your free trial ends.

Still have questions? Free free to contact me!

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