Arduino Tutorial Series : Lesson 02 - Getting Started

Hardware ...

Biggest problem Arduino beginners face is " What Arduino board should I buy ? "

Well, it depends on what you are planning to do with your Arduino. For a complete beginner who is just trying out simple projects, Arduino UNO or Arduino Nano is recommended. Arduino UNO is recommened board for beginner for another reason, that is most of online tutorials and books are based on Arduino UNO platform. But it doesn't matter hugely because there is no major difference between them.

The only reason for going for a larger Arduino like Arduino Mega is More GPIO pins. That means you can connect more components for your arduino.

Many smaller Arduinos are designed for use in small projects. They carry less GPIO pins compared to others.

Software ...

The only software platform you need to start Arduino programming is Arduino IDE. This can be downloaded from Arduino website for free https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Installing Arduino IDE

• Go to the Arduino download page and download the latest version of the Arduino software.

• Connect your Arduino to the computer using the USB cable.

• Run the installer and proceed. This will install Arduino IDE and drivers need to work with Arduino hardware.        

• Check Device manager in Windows to make sure the driver is installer properly. 

Otherwise, update the driver manually...

• Open Arduino IDE and Select Tools - Serial Port and select the correct serial port of connected Arduino.

• Goto Tools - Board and select your Board.

Now, You are ready to start programming your Arduino ....