arduino

>>8103647
That's a /g/ thing. They even have a arduino general, sometimes.

>>8103651
Thanks, didn't know that

>>8103647
yes, yes, yes
>>>/diy/ is more arduino stuff

no, arduino is the electronic version of cancer.
that shit is useless, poorly coded, opaque, will break down/brick easily.

just take a pic and program it like you need it to be.

>>8103647
Arduino's a really good way to include some programmable control and interfacing in hobby electronics projects without getting too bogged down in the specifics of a particular microcontroller.

I think the reason it has a bad reputation is that you can throw together simple projects without learning anything, so that's what most do. It's like when people would learn a little HTML to customize their social media pages and start acting like they were programmers.

If you make an LED blink with a 555, you learn *something*. Maybe not a lot, but you learn to identify resistors, to orient an electrolytic capacitor correctly. Furthermore, the visible workings encourage and reward curiosity: what's the capacitor doing? Why do those resistors go there? What happens when you change them? If you make an LED blink with only discrete components, you'll learn even more.

Arduino lets you skip steps. You don't have to build up your knowledge from the simplest things toward more advanced ones. There's an LED right on the UNO board, and you can make it blink by selecting a sample program from the Arduino IDE. Just change a number to make it blink faster or slower. Between "shields" and libraries, you can build many complex devices without learning anything about electronics at all, learning only tiny amounts of Arduino-specific stuff.

It's possible to entirely waste your time messing with Arduino, in a way that isn't possible messing with discrete components, and simple ICs like 555s and op-amps.

>>8104010
Abstraction is a good thing

>>8104010
So what's a better alternative to arduino for people who really want to learn the right way, concept by concept?

>>8104024
Go to your local electronics store, buy a fuckton of raw metal and silicon and shit and start making your own transistors, you purityfag.

>>8104048
Sounds legit

>>8104024
begin with AVR. You can use an Arduino for it, just don't use the libs, use port manipulation. if you also want the electrics, read an AVR (atmega) datasheet and try it on a breadboard

>>8104024
Get a electronics book and do everything in it.
We used Kaplan - Hands on electronics
Short and covers ton a ground.
Then learn to program microcontrollers like PICs.

That said, I actually like Arduinos because I can send data back and forth over serial with 2 minutes worth of coding time.

If you're completely new to electronics, I might suggest going for a Ruggeduino...all the power of an arduino, plus a ton of safety features so you don't burn it out in the first 30 seconds.
We taught a class on Arduinos at our school once. We started with 30 Arduinos and ended with 6.

>>8104061
>use port manipulation

Fucking retarded newfags man

>Not making your own ports

>breadboard

FUCKING PLEBS.

>Not having the raw copper just laying around and handling it with fucking gloves so that you don't get electrocuted.

Fucking plebs man.

>>8104065
>program microcontrollers like PICs.

Fucking hell

>Not making your own processors from scratch with your bare hands, using only raw copper you get directly from a mine you mined yourself

topkek how does it feel to be a retard?

>>8104024
I don't think you quite understand. Arduino's fine. Arduino's for when you want to make something work, without learning much about how or why it works. That's extremely handy, especially when you're just starting out.

But don't just play around doing toy projects with Arduino hoping this will naturally develop some kind of insight in you. That happens with discrete components, not with a system designed to take care of the details for you.

I'm saying, if you want to learn about electronics, spend at least half of your time doing circuits without a microcontroller.

Tangling with stuff like bare-metal coding of microcontrollers will teach you some fundamental lessons, but mostly, you're going to be learning a bunch of stuff specific to that line of products. Like the guys who tell you to go learn PIC programming are mostly guys who have overinvested in PIC-specific knowledge, and rationalize it by scoffing at stuff that's easier. PIC options are often poorer in cost and performance than Arduino-compatible hardware programmed through the Arduino system, and you can learn bare-metal programming of Arduino-compatible hardware.