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General project discussion / help
Did you make a robotic coffee pot which implements HTCPCP and decafs unauthorized users? Show it off here!
By Smileymsg
#199574
I am looking for a beginners kit for electronics. In particular, I want to understand how to build simple lighting, then move up to lighting that blinks and then to blinking lights in patterns, etc. Eventually I would like to understand more about motors, including stepper motors. I want a kit geared towards adults. I plan on using this knowledge to build models with lights, and move up from there. The lighting is my primary interest right now. I hope to one day be proficient at basic and intermediate circuitry.
By madbodger
#199613
There are a few ways to get into lighting. A good start is with LEDs, which are cheap, easy to use, and safe (low voltage). An ordinary Arduino style board comes with an on-board LED you can turn on and off (this is how a lot of people get started). After that, you can add external LEDs (along with current limiting resistors) for more LEDs. You can also look at addressable LEDs, which let you send commands to them to set their color and brightness. You can hook a bunch of them to a single controller. There are also LED strips without controllers, so you can control large numbers of LEDs at once using transistors. Another route is boards like AdaFruit's Circuit Playground Express (which has several addressable LEDS built in), and the new Crickit, which includes an addressable LED interface, as well as motor and solenoid drivers, for when you want to branch out. You can even use the motor drivers to control stepper motors.