Learn Arduino with Olympia Circuits
Learn Arduino
  • Home
    • Get Started
    • How to Use This Site
  • Electronics
    • The Basics
    • Electricity Flows like Water
    • Electronic Components
    • The Arno Board
  • Programming
    • The Basics
    • setup and loop Blocks
    • Variables and Arrays
    • Connecting with the Pins
    • Flow Control >
      • if Statement
      • Loops
      • Delays
    • Functions
    • Serial Communication
    • USB
    • Some Thoughts
  • Projects
    • Projects 1 >
      • 1.01: Blink
      • 1.02 Blink x2
      • 1.03 Blink Faster
      • 1.04 LED Chase!
      • 1.05 Wait To Blink
      • 1.06 Blink a Little Faster Now
      • 1.07 LED Fade
      • 1.08 RGB Blink
      • 1.09 Change RGB Color with SW1
      • 1.10 Fade RGB Colors
      • 1.11 Reaction Time Game
    • Projects 2 >
      • 2.01 Hello World
      • 2.02 Talk Back
      • 2.03 ASCII Values
      • 2.04 Ski Game
      • 2.05 Demonstration of the String Object
    • Projects 3 >
      • 3.01 Read the Potentiometer
      • 3.02 ASCIIbet Soup
      • 3.03 Potentiometer sets LED Brightness
      • 3.04 Potentiometer Sets Blink Rate
      • 3.05 LED Chase, Part II
    • Projects 4 >
      • 4.01 Bringing the Piezo to Life
      • 4.02 Controlling the Piezo with a Function
      • 4.03 Piezo C Major
      • 4.04 Piezo Greensleaves
      • 4.05 Piezo Metronome
      • 4.06 Piezo as an Input
      • 4.07 Piezo as an Input 2
      • 4.08 Metronome II
      • 4.09 Piezo Playback
      • 4.10 Piezo Fireworks
      • 4.11 Piezo Mosquito
    • Projects 5 >
      • 5.01 The Phototransistor
      • 5.02 Light and Sound
      • 5.03 Light and Sound II
    • Projects 6 >
      • 6.01 EEPROM
      • 6.02 I2C Address Scan
      • 6.03 Read the I2C Temperature Sensor
      • 6.04 High Temperature Alarm
    • Projects 7 >
      • 7.01 Arno Phone Home
      • 7.02 Keyboard Alphabet
      • 7.03 Move Mouse
      • 7.04 Draw Squares
    • Special Projects >
      • Bike Light Demo
  • References
    • Arno Pin Key
    • Arno Schematic
    • Project Index

Let's get started...

You've come to the right place to begin learning about the hardware and software that make up the Arduino platform. We use a special Arduino board, called the Arno, that makes it easy to start.  If you don't have an Arduino board yet, you can order one from Olympia Circuits.

You need a laptop or desktop PC to program your Arno (Windows, Mac OS, or Linux).  The Arno connects to your computer with a mini USB cable (included with your Arno board).  You can use Codebender's neat web-based programming interface or the tradition Arduino IDE.

Codebender Setup

Codebender allows you to program your Arno (or other Arduino-compatible board) right from a web browser!  We use Codebender in the Projects so that you can upload a sketch to your Arno as you're learning how the sketch works. 
 Codebender currently supports Chrome, Firefox, and a couple of other browsers (but not IE).  Windows users need to install the Arduino drivers before they can use Codebender or the Arduino IDE.  All users also need to install a browser plugin. Installing the Arduino drivers through Codender quick and easy.  Codebender supplies all of the Arduino drivers from Windows XP on, including digitally signed drivers for Windows 8/8.1.  

Click Here to Install the Windows Driver for Codebender 
(you  may need to manually install the driver after it downloads)

Click Here to Install your Browser Plugin for Codebender

Arduino IDE Setup

If you chose not to use Codebender then download and install the free Arduino IDE (integrated development environment).  You can copy sketches from the Projects and paste them into the IDE instead of using the Codebender window.

Click Here to get the Arduino IDE
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