▷ I want to make a maker project: where do I start?

Have more or less technological knowledge and skills, when starting a Maker project for the first time, many doubts often appear. What hardware am I going to use? How do I program it? Where am I going to learn the concepts that I need, both theoretical and practical? Who and where will you help me when I have questions or problems? These questions often cause us insecurity when we propose to do a Maker project (projects that range from simple personal satisfaction to creating a customized solution to our problem), and many times we have not broken the ice, perpetuating the distance with technology.

This article aims to be the first in a series aimed at guiding the reader who wants to start hardware and software development for the first time, regardless of their technological level. Therefore, we will assume a lack of knowledge enough to delve into more specific articles.

Index of contents

Hardware? Isn't that English cooking tools?

Well, let's see, we are not going to explain everything, but we will introduce it briefly. The hardware is the circuit that we are going to use and configure, which is made up of the different components and how we connect them. When we discuss what hardware components we can use and their characteristics, we will take into account the control and process module (the "computer"), the sensors and actuators that are related to the world and what communications we will use. This process is important because, to put an analogy, we have all come to a friend's house with a hard drive and film to find that he does not know what image connector his TV and laptop have and, upon discovering it, it turns out that he does not have the cable to connect them together.

Time to choose the hardware

The sensors and actuators are more or less flexible and at the same time dependent on the process and control board that we use. Therefore, the first step will be to choose which plate kit is best for us.

Why a kit? So that soldering and discreet electronics (components) are not a complication at first. Many of the factors to take into account will have already been resolved by the manufacturer, and the difficulty step will be much less.

Does that mic look good on me?

There is no perfect micro or plate, the most suitable will depend mainly on two factors: what we will use it for and what experience we have.

It is true that hardware and software are almost never separated, in the same way we will have to work both on our projects. The difference between plates will be to what extent we will put the complexity towards one or the other part. In microcontrollers like Arduino we are more limited in terms of software, but the connection and control of external hardware are more direct. On the other hand, miniPCs like Raspberry Pi have much more software fans but the hardware will require a little more components and configuration to work.

This is not a problem when we carry a little experience, but in the miniPCs a layer of complexity is added so that the software communicates with external hardware that can make a user who is starting out and has no experience in Linux give up.

Arduino

ELEGOO Arduino IDE Compatible Middle Starter Set with Spanish Tutorial and 5V Relay Set, Power Supply Module, Servomotor, UNO R3 Prototype Development Board The most economical way to get started in programming for beginners.; The LCD1602 module includes a connector (it is not necessary to solder it). EUR 31.99

Arduino is perhaps the most well-known DIY project board, given that it has been successful for many years. This position causes their forums and many other pages to present explained projects and resolve doubts on Arduino.

For the newcomer to hardware and software it is the recommended microcontroller board, because it will be much easier for you to find help about Arduino on the internet and acquaintances.

Development in Arduino is basically in C. It is an easy language to learn and with which we will start in good programming practices. There are also versions of other languages that allow programming in Arduino, such as Scratch4Arduino, which brings even more ease to learning programming.

Keep in mind that not only does the original Arduino exist, and other brands make their versions of Arduino fully compatible and of good quality. With the Adafruit Trinket Pro version of arduino I made a project, because it is very small and saves space in the body of our project.

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi 3 Official Desktop Starter Kit (16GB, White)

Latest Raspberry Pi 3 model B (64bit quad core, 1GB RAM) Class 10 microSD (pre-imaged with NOOBS) Official Raspberry Pi Charger 5.1V 2.5A international Official Raspberry Pi 3 Case

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Raspberry Pi is the other great platform for development and education, not secondary to Arduino because it is of another type. While Arduino is a microcontroller that does not have an Operating System, Raspberry Pi 3 is a minicomputer with which to run our programs on Linux distributions and even Windows (in its integrated version, without a graphical interface to see on the screen).

Although many projects can be done on both Raspberry Pi and Arduino (and the like), with the minicomputer we can go much further. But also, to the recently started, it sometimes entails having to fight with elements of the operating system that he did not know and that do not appear in microcontrollers such as Arduino.

Some interesting articles with which you can make the raspberry pi:

Configure the Wi-Fi in fixed IP, program remotely without a monitor or keyboard on the Raspberry, import the path of a file into our program badly… These are typical problems that we all suffer at first, but don't worry because in Professional Review we cover your back.

We recommend using Raspberry Pi for your first projects if you are curious about how an operating system and its programs work.

Other platforms

There are other platforms such as Beaglebone, ODROID, BananaPie, OrangePi, ESP8266, Adafruit Trinket, Pyboard and a long etcetera. Each of them provides its advantages for a certain type of user, but the beginner user who does not have much knowledge of electronics and programming will more easily find help and resources for the best known, Arduino and Raspberry Pi.

Where to buy?

The best place to buy electronics, if you are a beginner, is in a specialized store in your town if there is a friendly seller. They can be very helpful, because they are very knowledgeable people and are part of their work. A good seller understands that helping you enter the world of electronics will have won over a satisfied and motivated buyer for the products they sell. You are also helping local businesses in your area, which may be important to you.

If instead you prefer to buy online, some pages also include tutorials, forums and blogs showing you project ideas and related news (which you can use and read anyway). Adafruit, Sparkfun and Pimoroni and Bricogeek in Spain are the ones I use, with very good resources and news. It can also be purchased on Amazon and RS-online.

Final Words and Conclusions on a Maker Projector

Getting started in Maker development can be a bit frustrating and confusing if we don't seek help, but the satisfactions we are going to have at many points are worth it. We recommend you choose the model that you like the most from one of the most popular platforms and follow the basic tutorials, where you will lose your fear and begin to understand the key concepts.

From Professional Review we recommend that you unleash your curiosity and creativity. Tell us: do you have any project in mind? Can we help you decide where to start based on your interests?