Arduino: Basics

There is a tremendous amount of information about Arduino on the web.

The “Introductory” section of this Manuals and Curriculum page on Arduino website has an excellent and short set of links to books, tutorials, and manuals.

Getting Started

The definitive source of information is the Arduino home.

Instructions for downloading and installing the Arduino software on your computer (free and safe) is here.

A small number of inexpensive components are all that is required to implement most of the tutorials and examples.

Some of our favorite tutorials:
Lady Ada
Tom Igoe‘s on the Arduino website
Tod E. Kurt‘s Spooky Arduino
Tronixstuff’s Arduino tutorial, over 40 chapters and growing monthly

For a deeper understanding of basic electronics

The Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series
All About Circuits – Volume I – DC

Digging deeper:

Arduino Duemilanove schematic is here.