Do you have everything you need?

Not much is needed for this lesson, just a USB cable and an Arduino or compatible.

Make sure you've gone through Lesson #0 and Lesson #1 first! This lesson assumes you have installed Arduino IDE software and drivers!

Assembled Arduino board, preferrably an Uno or Duemilanove (or whatever the latest version is)

Arduino compatibles will work but there's a lot of issues with ultra low cost 'Arduino compatibles' (e.g. eBay, Amazon, etc) where they have shoddy substitutions that can bite you later. It's good to have at least one known-genuine Arduino UNO!

Available at Adafruit

OR

You can also use an Adafruit Metro which is a drop-in replacement for the UNO, some components like the LEDs are in different locations.

Available at Adafruit

AND

USB Cable, any length. The cable should match your Arduino's USB connector. Official Arduino UNOs use USB "Printer Cable", a blocky cable. Some compatibles use USB Mini-B or Micro-B.

USB Cables available at Adafruit

A HUUUUUUGE number of people have problems because they pick a 'charge only' USB cable rather than a "Data/Sync" cable. Make 100% sure you have a good quality syncing cable. Srsly, I can't even express how many times students have nearly given up due to a flakey USB cable!

This guide was first published on Sep 02, 2016. It was last updated on Sep 02, 2016.

This page (Lesson Parts) was last updated on Sep 01, 2016.

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