SparkFun Inventor's Kit Experiment Guide - v4.0

Contributors: Joel_E_B

Install the Arduino IDE and SIK Code

The following steps are a basic overview of getting started with the Arduino IDE. For more detailed, step-by-step instructions for setting up the Arduino IDE on your computer, please check out the following tutorial.

Download the Arduino IDE

In order to get your microcontroller up and running, you'll need to download the newest version of the Arduino software first (it's free and open source!).

This software, known as the Arduino IDE, will allow you to program the board to do exactly what you want. It’s like a word processor for writing code.

Download Arduino Code

You are so close to to being done with setup! Download the SIK Guide Code. You can also download the code from GitHub or click the following link to download the code:

Place the SIK-Guide-Code folder in the Arduino IDE examples directory:

• Windows: drag the SIK-Guide-Code-V4.0a folder into C:\Program Files\Arduino-x\examples
  
  
  Note: For those that automatically installed the Arduino IDE on a Windows 64-bit computer, the Arduino program folder may be located in the "C:\Program Files (x86)..." folder.
• MacOS: Right-click on the Arduino IDE app and click "Show Package Contents...". Drag the SIK-Guide-Code-V4.0a folder into Contents/Resources/Java
• Linux: see http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/Linux

Connect the Microcontroller to your Computer

Use the USB cable provided in the SIK kit to connect the included microcontroller (RedBoard or Arduino Uno) to one of your computer’s USB inputs.

Install FTDI Drivers

Depending on your computer’s operating system, you will need to follow specific instructions. Please go to How to Install FTDI Drivers, for specific instructions on how to install the FTDI drivers onto your RedBoard.

Select your Board: Arduino/Genuino Uno

Before we can start jumping into the experiments, there are a couple adjustments we need to make. This step is required to tell the Arduino IDE which of the many Arduino boards we have. Go up to the Tools menu. Then hover over Board and make sure Arduino Uno is selected.

Select a Serial Port

Next up we need to tell the Arduino IDE which of our computer's serial ports the microcontroller is connected to. For this, again go up to Tools, then hover over Port (Serial Port in older Arduino versions) and select your RedBoard or Arduino's serial port. This will be the same serial port seen when installing FTDI drivers.

With that, you're now ready to begin building your first circuit!