Are you learning Arduino or how to solder electronics?  I have compiled a list of items that I have personally found useful when I received an Arduino Uno kit for Christmas and started learning how to make things with it.

Lighting

You’ll want a couple of bright lights to help you see all the small components.  If you don’t already have a desk light handy I found these two lights to be useful and inexpensive.  Plus the architect lamp reminds me of the Pixar lamp.

This tutorial will show you how to control an RGB LED via an Arduino and an iOS device. It will utilize the LightShow app which lets you set a single color or create a light show with a sequence of colors.

If you want to control a Light Strip check out this tutorial instead.

Materials:

Common Cathode RGB LED

3 x 220-ohm resistors

nRF8001 BLE board

Arduino Uno

iOS device

This tutorial will show you how to control an analog RGB LED light strip via an Arduino and an iOS device. It will use the LightShow app which lets you set a single color or create a light show with a sequence of colors.

Materials:

• Analog SMD RGB LED Strip
• 3 x N-channel power MOSFET
• 12V power supply
• DC Barrel Jack Adapter
• nRF8001 BLE board
• Arduino Uno
• iOS device
• LightShow App

Step 1: Attach the light strip

Use a power transistor such as a N-Channel MOSFET between the Arduino and the light strip.