Walt Mankowski

My #hamradio club had an “intro to #arduino” lab today. It was the first time I made any type of circuit since a physics lab my freshman year of college. Here are some examples of increasingly complex blinking lights.

I’m still not sure what I’ll use this for (which is why I never got into Arduinos in the first place) but it was fun building these simple circuits!

Mar 22, 2025 at 9:21pmWeb
Show threadWalt MankowskiMar 22, 2025
Oops, it turns out mastodon only lets me attach a single video to that post. I edited the alt text on the video I kept, but I forgot to also change the message itself. Sorry about that! #hamradio #arduino
Show threadNelsonMar 22, 2025
@waltman I once used an Arduino to ignite fireworks (as part of a workshop at a fireworks convention). It seemed easier to use a blowtorch, so I never used that Arduino again, but I assume I still have it somewhere.
Show threadWalt MankowskiMar 22, 2025
@skyfaller I’m guessing it’s more fun to use the blowtorch, too!
Show threadHeidi HildebrandtMar 22, 2025
@waltman So cool!
Show threadStu (Archived)Mar 22, 2025
@waltman build a CW practice keyer! Not much harder than blinky lights, just audio tones instead.
Show threadWalt MankowskiMar 22, 2025
@stu Another project we did today turns text into Morse code and makes it audible by buzzing a small speaker. That was fun too but a little harder to convey in a video.
Show threadPhilWMar 22, 2025
@waltman how old is that Arduino? USB type B port and the size of that chip says it's a classic!
Show threadWalt MankowskiMar 22, 2025
@philw It's an Arduino Uno R3. They're still being made and I just bought mine from Amazon a few weeks ago!
Show threadPhilWMar 23, 2025
@waltman I'm mostly tinkering with esp32's these days. For integration with Home Assistant. Currently trying to get a 7.5" eink display working with one