My assignment for week 1 started with a slight confusion around what needs to be done apart from reading. I guess it was not obvious to me that there’re some to-dos described within labs articles since they were not mentioned under the “Homework” page, so the amount of work came out a bit as a surprise.

There were 5 main tasks based on the labs assignments:

1. examine the components and to familiarize with them
2. set up a breadboard
3. add LED and resistor
4. learn how to use a multimeter
5. arrange a switch/ pushbutton

1. Examine the components and to familiarize with them

I examined a components kit at home and made some drawings of the elements that I had problems memorizing. However some of the components mentioned on the list were not a part of the kit, so I took another round in the lab. A lot of the component were either familiar or straightfoward.

2. Set up a breadboard

I decided to power a breadboard connecting it to Arduino UNO and connecting it to my PC with a USB. This seemed like the easiest and fastest way for some quick testing. The schemas and explanations were quite straightforward and comprehensive. I found a photo of the breadboard with a back removed the most helpful in understanding the concept and what needs to be done.

Figure 11. The back of a breadboard, shown with the backing removed.

3. Add LED and resistor

As the next step, I added one of the LED lights and 220-ohm resistor. I wired it correctly from the first attempt, so that part was clear.

As the next step, I wanted to add a second LED but did not quite get that I had to connect two sides of the breadboard, so was stuck there for a while and the second LED did not work. The problem was pointed out to me by a lab member, and I got it fixed.