Arduino for the newbee

[raptor1956]

I did some programming about 23-31 years ago but haven't really done much coding since then.  And, the type of programming I did back in the day was very 'basic' like as the stuff I programmed were 6-axis robots while working at IBM.  The programming language, VAL and then VAL II was very basic like so my experience with C like languages was and is very limited.  I did futz around with Visual Basic a bit about 16-20 years ago but nothing serious.

OK, so I see that the newest Teensy (3.5 and 3.6) are getting to the point where they have enough power to begin to do some pretty interesting things and I'm interested in getting my feet wet with them.  But, I'm wondering if I need to start a little more basic before moving to the more powerful Teensy units.  In my poking around on this I think I see a good place to start might be something like the Arduino MEGA 2560 (USA) as it's more capable than the beginners units but certainly not in the league as the 180MHz Teensy 3.6 or 120MHz 3.5.  It might even be useful seeing the limits that a 16MHz unit has and if I can get my project to work or nearly work with the 2560 then the Teensy 3.5 or 3.6 would almost certainly be able to handle it.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any thoughts on the best place to start given the expectation that I would likely progress beyond the 2560 class units pretty quickly.  I'm not against using a more capable programming environment, but I think starting with the more basic like Arduino sketches would make getting started quicker and easier.

As a baseline for the kind of project I'm looking at and without giving away too much about it let me say that I need to be able to control 6-8 temperatures and some other aspects of those same 6-8 things.  Yeah, not very informative, but I'd rather not get more specific at this time.  I have other project ideas that would involve the use of 3 or more motors in a precision positioning system like a telescope mount.


Brian

[ez24]

I want to see how this goes with the C++ vs C debate

[Bigfoot]

Brian,
 I would suggest start anywhere. The Mega2560 is a good choice being cheap, easy to obtain and plenty of I/O pins, the Arduino IDE will let you target whatever board you choose. I use Teensy boards extensively due to the compact design and capabilities.  If your interested in using stackable shields then look for a stackable board like Mega2560.  Teensy is easy to breadboard for experiments.  Essentially the teensy 3.5 and 3.6 will allow you to start out on basic stuff and then progress to the more advanced stuff.  The only real issue to be concerned with is logic voltage either 3.3v or 5v  when interfacing and using shields.

Bigfoot

[imidis]

I've started with buying some atmega328p Arduino clones, for myself I've found them a good starting point. Cheap and relatively easy for me to understand.

[EBRAddict]

Nothing beats have a genuine Uno around to test with when you're beating your head against a wall. Almost all the tutorials, programs and videos on the internet usually reference that layout.

The Teensy community support and libraries are great. Teensy + VisualMicro IDE is my go-to. PSoC comes in second due to its easy setup and great (fantastic, really) documentation.

If you want to learn how to program registers then go with a STM32 Nucleo F0/L0 board. The Keil MDK IDE is free for up to 256kB programs and the boards are cheap.

[JacquesBBB]

I agree that the best start is with an arduino uno. Even if you switch rapidly to something else, it is
Useful to have the uno as a reference.

[rrinker]

 I have a couple of Unos and a Mega, but my project will use a combination of Nanos for the main controller and plain ATTiny 85 chips for the servo drivers. Pretty much anything I would build up with an Uno I plan to just use Nanos. I supposed I could even go to plain ATMegas328 chips but then I need to supply the oscillator and all that stuff - at the prices I've found Nanos for, it's almost not worth it.
 I do most of my development using the Uno, but the finished product will instead have the Uno - easy to mount in a set of pin headers.

[cowasaki]

I have a couple of Unos and a Mega, but my project will use a combination of Nanos for the main controller and plain ATTiny 85 chips for the servo drivers. Pretty much anything I would build up with an Uno I plan to just use Nanos. I supposed I could even go to plain ATMegas328 chips but then I need to supply the oscillator and all that stuff - at the prices I've found Nanos for, it's almost not worth it.
 I do most of my development using the Uno, but the finished product will instead have the Uno - easy to mount in a set of pin headers.

I know it's a bit late now but just in case anyone reads this later or you paused for a while.  You can program a 328 to run at 8MHz without the need for an external clock.  On that basis it is a good choice for a simple project as it is still a small IC but gives a good selection of accessible pins.