Junk Box Arduino
Ten Projects in Upcycled Electronics
ISBN: 9781484214268
$29.99 (ebook list price)
$39.99 (Softcover list price)
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Got junk?
I have a closet full: electronics I've hauled around for years because they still work, but you can't get the software for them, they won't talk to modern equipment, or some trivial thing has gone wrong and they almost work. There they sit, taking up space.
Not anymore! You can use that old junk for hours of entertainment, and learn computer technology more deeply along the way. No junk box? Wow. Don't worry though, you can still buy nearly all the parts used in this book from your usual electronics suppliers.
- You’ll build the Cestino (it means recycle bin), a powerful 20MHz ATmega1284P based Arduino compatible. Once it's built, you'll know how Arduino compatibles actually work, and how to make your own.
- You’ll learn eight bit ports and binary logic building the Larson (Memorial) Scanner.
- You'll learn how transistors really work (no plumbing analogies here – did you know they're quantum-mechanical devices?) and how to use them without frying them as you build and use the transistor analyzer.
- You'll learn about TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic), and see what the ubiquitous 7400 series logic chips actually do with the TTL chip tester you’ll build.
- You'll learn about logic levels and that high does not always equal true because you can see them when you build a simple logic probe, which you'll use for testing and debugging the rest of the projects.
- You'll learn how to interface EPROM and EEPROM/FLASH memory as you explore the contents of that old video game or BIOS EPROM.
- You’ll learn how ATA drives communicate by exploring that old PATA drive you kept from ten years ago.
- You'll build a role playing game dice roller with a two digit, 7 segment display and learn to use Arduino interrupts for pin multiplexing.
- You'll learn how computers really work by connecting a Z80 microprocessor to memory and peripherals simulated by your Cestino. You’ll even learn a little assembly language.
Sound interesting?
I'm a science fiction writer, not an engineer. Explaining technology so non-technologists can understand it is part of what I do for a living. I'm not going to overwhelm you with technical detail and math. Sure, I'll serve it up when it's needed rather than hide it from you, but even then, it'll be in the context of a project to hand right now, in an easy to read, friendly style. Unlike various Arduino cookbooks, the projects in this book build on each other, and they're there to expose theory and advance your understanding of what's really going on in there, so you can re-use the knowledge in your own projects.
There is no magic in electronics. Not even magic smoke. If I can teach one thing in my technical writing, it's that. Electronics are made up of devices, and each device functions according to physical and logical rules. You can understand these rules and make these devices do what YOU want. And hey, all these chips were in the junk box anyway, right?