6 Hacking Arduino

6

Hacking Arduino

Microcontrollers are essentially low-powered computers on a chip. They have input/ output pins to which you can attach electronics so the microcontroller can, well, control things. Utilizing a microcontroller used to be quite a complex process, largely because the microcontroller needed to be programmed. This was often done in assembler or complex C. But there was a lot to learn before you could do anything useful. Because of this, it discouraged their use in casual projects where you just wanted to hack something together.

Enter the Arduino (Figure 6-1). The Arduino is a simple-to-use, low-cost, readymade board that lets you use a microcontroller in your projects with a minimum of fuss.

The Arduino sells in vast quantities and has become the platform of choice for makers and hackers in need of microcontrollers.

The popularity of Arduino is due to many factors, including its:

● Low cost ● Open-source hardware design ● Easy-to-use integrated development environment (IDE) to program it with ● Plug-in shields that add features like displays and motor drivers that clip onto the top of the Arduino

All the programs for the Arduino used in this and later chapters are available for download from the book’s accompanying web site (www.hackingelectronics.com).

The examples in this book are designed to work with both the Arduino Uno and the Arduino Leonardo. However, two of the projects, in the sections “How to Type Passwords Automatically” and “How to Make a USB Music Controller” (see Chapter 9), only work with Arduino Leonardo.

The Leonardo is the newer board. You may have some compatibility problems with this board and some Arduino shields. This includes any Ethernet Shield prior to the R3 Ethernet Shield. So, if you have an older Ethernet Shield, then the section “How to Control a Relay from a Web Page” will work on an Arduino Uno, but not a Leonardo, unless you have an R3 shield.