How to Start Making Your Own Electronics with Arduino and Other People's Code

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is in session, which means thousands of people have descended on Las Vegas to stare at next year's dust-gathering trash. Maybe you can do better. Maybe it's time to check out Arduino.

The word Arduino may conjure up an image of a wide-mouthed geek huddled over a work table, but its simplicity makes it an entry-point into electronics for even the most electronically inept. We'll outline the basics of the Arduino itself, what the crazy jumble of wires means, and then step through how to use other people's code and schematics to build your first electronics project, no programming required.

We've featured our share of clever Arduino hacks over the years. While the process for many of them might seem overwhelmingly complicated and abundantly geeky, it's surprisingly easy to get started. For this guide, we're going to walk step-by-step through how to use an Arduino to create an ambient light display (see image at right) that runs off data from your computer. This project takes the color information from your computer and lights up a strip of lights behind the display with a similar color. It can help reduce eye strain by increasing the light behind your computer, but it also makes a great visual addition to your movie-watching experience (which is why the feature is a selling point on some TVs)...