Here are five useful hints to start working your experiments with Arduino.

You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

That’s what the wise man (one of the many around) says. This is one of those moments when the mix inside your head is as much powerful as potentially disruptive. The wish for news and the need to get involved collide when you try to complete your first project, and at the same time with the inclination to compulsive buying.

Here are five hints you should read once every time you go to bed.

It seems obvious, but it’s not. I often had to do with boys wishing to apply the “MC theorem” (where MC means My Cousin once did it). They often have a vast amount of too advanced boards, and spent their finances on a myriad of components only useful for really complex projects, not valid to start with. A Starter Kit saves both your money and your time, because it is conceived to offer only the components useful to beginners.

This one could look like a counterintuitive approach. We are learning new technologies after all. But while blogs, websites and youtube are everywhere, they might hide some traps. Many projects you will find on the Net are just plain wrong. The concepts behind them are often taken for granted, or just badly exposed. Internet is not the Holy Bibbia, and erven a channel with thousands of followers might not represent the Holy Grail. Do your own experiences and always think with your head.

Everything looks hard at the beginning. That’s quite normal. It does not matter if you just burned out a LED just because in the heat you misunderstood the connection or put the wrong resistor. Shat hippens, everyone burned out components at the beginjnin. They call it “learning curve”. Go on, don’t giver up, and always remember: the solution to a problem is often easier than you think.

Did you ever noticed that strange piece of paper coming out of the box or the components’ sleeve? Well, be sure to read it all, because if you do it many harsh problems will instantly go out. Knowing the pinout of a single component will allow you to mount it the right way, avoiding errors that could worn it out. When you don’t feel comfortable and have doubts, always check twice the cabling of the components before giving power to the circuit.

While Internet is not necessarily your teacher, dedicated forums and groups might often turn useful. You are not the first to be a beginner and have a problem. Your problem could very well be addressed and solved. And even if it weren’t, open a new thread, and you will find someone who will help you solve it.

REMEMBER: always respect who tries to help you. Befriend the one who writes you back trying to offer a possible solution to your peoblem. Those strange forumites who write instead of just lurk don’t get a remuneration: to help you they subtract time to his/her projects, and probably to his/her family. Be polite. You will soon realize that trust inside a community doubles your learning 9odds. And the realization of your projects as well.

Always follow these five hints when you start working with Arduino. They are simple hints that will help you to realize your final projects, no mattter how difficult they are.