In June 2015 I offered an Arduino Beginner Seminar. One of the students questions was if we could output information that is stored in an array to a LED matrix. Here is the example code that I promised.

Today I also spent some time soldering SMT components. I ordered the LED matrix as a kit which I believe consists of about 100 parts and requires approximately 800 solder connections. Don't worry, it does not take as much time as it sounds. Given everything works on the first attempt the whole thing is completed in about 90 minutes.

I put two LED 16 x 64 LED matrix kits together so I have some "canvas" for a "Game of life" - simulation. Three years ago I programmed a Javascript version during a TDD coaching session and was ever since facinated about how this facinating shapes emerge from simple rules.

Lets begin summer with an Arduino seminar!

What you will learn:

• Overview Arduino-Board and Arduino-IDE
• Installing the Arduino IDE
• Using a Breadboard for Experiments
• Writing and compiling C programms

One of my new years resolutions was to turn a pizza oven into a SMT reflow oven. Awkward...

Yet here I am. For my microcontroller projects I like to manufacture my own PCB boards and a industry-grade reflow oven is just too expensive. Administering the reflow process manually is to cumbersome and not really an option. The following diagram shows a typical reflow temperature profile. Any significant deviation from this profile might ruin your board assembly.

Last weekend the Arduino Uno R3 compatible proto board arrived. After a little customization I could move my ardumeter design from breadboard to this proto board. I gave the project a nice housing and added two external status LEDs.