In this exercise you will test & run the example programs provided by the Arduino software, as well as to build your first LED digital circuit for this class.

 

Step 1: Download your Arduino

• Go to https://www.arduino.cc/en/main/software and download the Arduino software based on your operating system.
• Install the Arduino software

 

Step 2: Connect your Arduino board to laptop

• Connect your Arduino and laptop with the provided USB cable
• Open the software, make sure that under “Tools -> Board:” your Arduino board type (UNO if your bought the kit) is shown
• Make sure that under “Tools -> Port” It shows the correct COM port for your Arduino USB port (It may also auto-detect the port on your system already)

 

Step 3: Try the Blink tutorial

• Select “File -> Examples -> 01.Basics -> Blink” to open the Blink program
• Press the “upload” button…
• 
• … to upload the program and wait for it to finish. You should see the LED on the Arduino board starts blinking!
• By default, the blink happens every other second. To change the frequency, you can change the value inside  delay(1000), upload the code again to see the result.

 

Step 4: Try the Fade tutorial

Now you are going to build the simplest circuit for the Fade tutorial. Find the following components from your Arduino kit: breadboard, LED (Any color), wire:

Notice that the LED has two lead: The longer lead is positive (+) and the shorter lead is negative (-), indicate the direction of current flow, from (+) to (-).

Now connect the components:

• Put one end of the wire to the GND pin (there are several on the board) and another end to the vertical blue (-) rail on breadboard.
• Put the positive end of the LED to digital pin 9 (label ~9) on the Arduino board. Put the negative end of the LED to the vertical blue (-) rail on breadboard.
• When finished, select the Fade code from “File -> Examples -> 01.Basics ->Fade” and upload the program. You should see the result similar to the above photo, with the LED intensity varying.

 

Step 5: Try the PWM (Pulse-Width-Modulation)

• First download the customized code here: Link
• You will need four more LEDs in addition to the one you have above. Choose any color you want.
• The black wire will remain in its previous connection
• All of these five LEDs will have their negative end connected to  the LED to the vertical blue (-) rail on breadboard, and their positive end will be connected to different pins: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10. See the picture below:

• Upload the program to see its result. The higher the pin number, the higher intensity you will have on the LEDs.

 

You now finish the Arduino practice!