At present, Arduino is distinguished as one of the world’s leading hardware and software development companies. This, thanks to its printed circuit boards, your programming language and its great community through which boosts the maker movement in a disproportionate way representing an optimal extension of the DIY culture.
Thanks to this, today, There are many people who have been interested in making use of Arduino to go deeper into this world and learn to program from scratch. Valuing that, with such software and hardware, the limit is your imagination and your desire to learn. Well, facilitates numerous projects, from the simplest to the most advanced.
As a consequence, many users of Windows they wonder how you can download and install Arduino on your PC with W10 in order to take advantage of the assets it provides. Given this doubt, in this post, we believe it is necessary to mention What are the requirements to carry out this installation, what steps must be followed to install Arduino in Windows 10 and some projects that can be programmed by PC.
What are the requirements to be able to install Arduino on my PC?
While it is true, Arduino software (IDE) It is a free software that simplifies the writing of code and its loading on the board for free, via Windows, Mac OS X and Linux computers. In the case of Windows, provides installation files that are fully compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 for use with any Arduino board.
Now, beyond being suitable for these versions of Windows, Arduino Reveals Other Critical Requirements that each user must take into account when downloading and installing said software in a relevant way.
Which, basically, refer to the following parameters:
- A good internet connection, since the Arduino installation file must be obtained through its official website to download it from there.
- Basic knowledge about your programming languageSince the Arduino software is based on programming languages like C or Java.
- Windows 10 compatibility and chosen Arduino board, due to certain cross-platform library compatibility problems.
- Any compatible Arduino board, with a microcontroller and a number of input and output ports (for example, Arduino UNO R3).
- Optimal space on the PC hard drive, so that it can support and store the free software download and installation file.
Learn step by step how to install Arduino on your Windows 10 from scratch
Fortunately, install Arduino software on a computer with Windows 10 right from the start, does not require advanced knowledge from the user. Therefore, just by following the steps that we detail below, you will be able to obtain this program on your PC to use it freely in your next projects.
Here, each step to follow to achieve it:
Download the IDE software
First of all, you have to enter the official website of Arduino for access the “Software” tab which is at the top of the page. Through this, in a drop-down menu, you will find the option that indicates “Downloads” or “Downloads” and from there, you can get the download file.
Next, click on the option for your operating system (Windows 10, in this case) and in the next window, choose the option that says “Download only” or “Just Download”. In case you want to contribute to the Arduino community, you must click on that option to establish the amount of money you want to contribute to acquire the program. From this same post we make it easy for you to download.
Download Arduino IDE for Windows
Install the Arduino development environment
Once you have downloaded the software Arduino, you have to enter the Downloads folder on your computer (or in the location you have chosen for that file) and double click on the Arduino installer. This will start the installation process. Next, it is time to follow each and every one of the indications that the system shows you on the screen.
At this point, it is valuable that keep the default installation components checked. One of the most relevant of all, consists of the “Install USB driver” or “Install USB Driver” to be able to send programs to the Arduino board. When you specify all of the above, press the “Next” or “Next” button at the bottom and then, leave as the destination folder the one that says “Program Files (x86) / Arduino”. Thus, it only remains to click on the button “Install” or “Install”.
Run the program in question
Now before starting the software, you have to take your Arduino board and the USB cable to connect it to your computer. Considering that, the power supply can be provided by the USB port of the machine and even by an external source (6 to 12V). Once you do, you have to Verify that the board’s power LED lights up properly.
After that, go to run the program on your PC with W10 by opening the file explorer and accessing the folder that says “Program Files (x86) / Arduino” which was where the software was stored (or where you have chosen). Then you must double click on “Arduino.exe” which allows you to start the IDE correctly.
Select the communication port and the board to use
When you have started the Arduino IDE, it is time to make some pertinent adjustments. The first of them consists of choose the communication port indicated through the “Tools” tab from the top and from the option “Port”. Through this, a menu will be displayed that allows you to choose the port to which you have connected the Arduino board for the computer to communicate with it.
In addition to that, you also need to indicate which board you are going to use to program from scratch. In this case, after configuring the port, go back to click on the “Tools” section, stop there click on “Plate” and press the plate you are using within the list of all those that are available.
Now it’s time to code
After performing all the steps explained above, the Arduino is ready for the user to start programming and building their own projects with Arduino, in order to experience everything you have in mind.
For example, if you are a novice user, we recommend access the tab “File” and click on the option “Examples”. Well, through it, the software provides you with a list of code in the form of an example so that you can guide you, stimulate your learning and practice your Arduino programming from scratch.
Update the Arduino IDE
In case, soon, you want update version of Arduino IDE that your equipment has installed, you must take into account that, the procedure to be executed is the same as that required by the initial installation. Because, by nature, the installer detects an older version and uninstalls it making sure to discuss each pre-setting.
Now if what you want is save multiple versions of the Arduino IDE on the same PC, what you have to do is to manually install each of them in different directories. In this case, both the configurations and the libraries and sketches, will be shared with each other by all stored versions.
List of the best Arduino projects to program from Windows
Beyond knowing how to install and start coding a plate Arduino by means of its software run through Windows, it is also interesting to know what have been some of the best Arduino projects programmed since W10.
Reason why, to conclude, we will name three of them briefly explaining what they consist of:
A complete control panel for your PC
This is a project that raises the possibility of operate a control panel as you do with those of spacecraft, but directly from a computer operating under Windows. To do this, it will be necessary to code the board so that the PC control panel works with elements of the machine. Whether to open applications, increase or decrease the volume, etc.
In this case, the programming process will be based on assign each of the control panels, the corresponding function. Therefore, the difficulty of this project will be determined by its perfection and, the more advanced it is, more buttons and LEDs you will have to place.
Radar to detect objects
It consists of another project that is very striking and, on a map created on a PC through “Processing”, tries to draw the presence of objects that the system detects with the help of an ultrasonic sensor It has a coverage of 180 degrees and a total range of 4 meters. Thus, in addition to the sensor, it also requires an Arduino board, a servo motor, a breadboard, and some jump cables.
For its part, for make the source code and upload it to the Arduino board, the creators of the project provide a complete guide in the form of a tutorial, to simplify this procedure significantly. In that way you will achieve an optimal interaction between Arduino and the processing IDE to achieve a quality result.
The fingerprint reader
It refers to a project that, for a cost of less than 40 euros, allows lovers of the maker world to build their own fingerprint recognition system. In terms of hardware, the project requires an Arduino Uno board and a FPM10A fingerprint module. While, at the software level, it is necessary install Arduino IDE and Adafruit fingerprint library on PC.
In this sense, to create a biometric fingerprint system, users must make use of said library of Adafruit on your computer. Taking into account that, to link it correctly with the Arduino IDE, It will be necessary to enter “Sketch”, select the option “Include library” and then click on “Manage libraries”. After that, both programs must be managed to proceed to build and use the fingerprint scanner.