Arduino: The basics

With this website being all about Arduino, it seems appropriate to talk about what Arduino really is. In the post I explain important parts about the Arduino that you should know. With the capability of the Arduino Uno, you can make lights turn on, motors turn, small sensors track, rovers move, and so much more.

The Arduino is based off its microcontroller. This microcontroller is essentially the brain of the Arduino. Its an integrated circuit where all processes of the Arduino runs directly through it. The microcontroller I'm using, the one for the Arduino Uno, can run small programs. Thinking about it this way, and you may see hints of resemblance to a computer. Well, that's right; its like a computer but a very small low processing one. The microcontroller is shown below.

Next, lets talk about the pins of the Arduino. The pin connectors - or ports - make it possible to connect all sorts of things to the Arduino; However, not all ports are the same. The power pins receives(?) and transmits power to other circuitry as long as it is 3.3V or 5V. Too much power received can damage the Arduino and what its connected to.

Other pins include the Analog pins. These pins measure voltages continually. The Analog pins are the ones labeled A0 - A5.

The TX and RX pins receives serial data. This data can be received from modules its connected to or even a computer

The last pins, pins 2 - 12, are for inputs and outputs given digitally. They use binary - 0s and 1s - to perform specific functions. An example is an Arduino connected to a motor driver receives a 0, it turns off or slows down. When it inputs a 1, it turns on or speeds up.