How about doing a video series about programming a µC without Arduino? You could share your knowledge with us, that would be great.

I'm a hobbyist that started with Arduino. I have since moved on and as your mentioned in your video, it has been a struggle. I agree with all your points. However, I also think Arduino is a great platform to get people interested in electronics.

*Do not start with Arduino if your intent is to become a working professional in embedded or similar Without the caveat this is a pretty dumb video. Arduino is amazing because it allows people with no electronics knowledge (and no desire to get it) to achieve a simple result quickly. People who are more serious about learning will inevitably get tired of the handholding and start looking behind the curtains which is a great way to start in my opinion. Arduino lets you start with something that "just works" and allows you to figure out why it works.

Great points. I especially like #3. Whether one "should" start with Arduino or similar platforms depends on a lot of factors. Regardless, the 9 points presented here are wise to consider for a beginner. Thanks for sharing. Edit. Even better, start with non IC circuits to do a few simple, useful things. Buy a multimeter and learn about the main electrical components, e.g. wires, switches, relays, diodes, resistors, caps, and even transistors of the varying varieties. Then, buy an oscilloscope and make a whole bunch of classic 555 circuits. A beginner will be amazed at what can be done in the absence of a microcontroller or microprocessor.

I see your point, and it's a good one. I do. On the other hand, not everyone NEEDS to go that deep into electronics. I got into this hobby thanks to the Arduino, honestly. It felt awesome doing my first project, midi guitar pedal. I realise that there are some holes in my knowledge 5 years later, but without the Arduino I might have never even gotten started. And I have completed a few complex projects since then, most notably self sourced Voron printers, during which I put to use ALL my power tools, my electronics knowledge, my soldering skills, my debugging attempts. All this was started by the humble, hold-my-hand, beginner friendly Arduino. Thanks for all the work you do, your channel is great.

These are Excellent Tips! I found myself going away from Arduino as soon as I decided I could not or did not want to invest more time into developing libraries! Cheers from Texas!

I disagree. In my experience people who start with Arduinos do eventually move beyond them as they hit the limitations. Your argument seems to be that making it hard to start the hobby is better in the long run. All modern research into learning disagrees with you - getting early results (even just blinking an led) encourages further exploration. If there are hundreds of basic concepts you need to understand and problems you need to solve before you get your very first working project then most people won't even start. You also left out one of the biggest reasons to avoid Arduinos in finished designs - their size. Having said all that, your videos are generally excellent and very informative - thanks.

The jitter issue is another problem with this non-mastering board.

Coming from Arduino/Esp32 hobby projects I would agree to most of your points. Arduino and the likes give a nice low barrier entry into both programming and electronics. It was so easy to put together some sensors and even to create some useful home automation projects with it. However, recently I realized that my knowledge about electronics has not really improved during my journey and that I've hit a brick wall when it comes to build something where no prefabricated modules exist. So I decided to learn electronics from scratch. That said, I really enjoy your videos! You have a very practical, intuitive, hands-on attitude and your videos answer a lot of questions that I had, for example how to choose the right transistor or capacitator. Most videos on KZfaq about electronics are either too simple or too theoretical so it is difficult to find a starting point. Your videos gave me a boost in optimism that I will be able to learn that stuff! Thank you.

Can you recommend micro controller before I learn arduino sir?

Bine venită,e dificil începutul daca nu ai toti factorii favorizanti. Va multumim pentru ce ne prezentati❤

I think what attracted so many to Arduino was the (older) pricing - most folks don’t what to shell out money when starting off, as such it’s a natural path to go. That said, Guy speaks the truth and he’s only trying to set a newbie up for success. I learnt on PIC’s - year 2000 - using assembler rolling 100% my own code - no libraries. I’m better off for it. I rarely touch Arduino - but I recognize how cool it is.

RISC V seems to be my favorite ATM. I started with Arduino but found RISC V more challenging

This is something to agree about. In many cases I found microcontrollers that use different communication protocols than arduino and that you can't program them using arduino.

I'm tending to use stm cube ide, but also looking at possibility of assembler on ARM, maybe RISC V...but, still, i think that starting with something like MC68HC11, which is quite simple, but quite elegant.

Hahaha I feel a bit sorry for this guy. Hey Electronic Wizard, don’t feel bad about some of these comments! I respect your opinion and I do not disagree with it. In fact, years ago I didn’t know what Arduino was but I heard about it and I thought it would be a good way for me to get back into the low-level electronics hobby that I had when I was younger (but had to put aside due to job workload) and then I discovered it was NOT the low level hardware stuff that I wanted. It was like wanting to learn C or assembly language but then someone tells you to start a tutorial on Python or some other scripting language 😂 so it is good you put the message out there and people can DECIDE how they want to proceed AFTER they have all the facts in hand. Having said all this, it is also NOT easy to start learning about microcontrollers or low level hardware mostly because there are different toolchains, the vendor IDEs keep changing (some tutorial books have outdated IDE lessons even just one or two years after publishing!). The microcontrollers always change every year/month for obvious reasons the vendors want to push out new products. So, Arduino is a good place to start ONY IF you understand what is MISSING and what has been HIDDEN from you, so your video is a good message to newcomers and hardly anyone mentions this point. Keep up with your great content. I really like your content even though some people said you are an outlier. Well, it is GOOD you are an outlier because I do not need to watch another video talking about the same stuff 50 other electronics guys are doing!! Hope your channel continues growing.🎉

Wow, very interesting how passionately so many defend an opinion on this topic. History has many of these philosophical discussions about the best way to begin learning a new technology. My best advice is you do you. You may end up taking a longer path with some limitations, but you know there's more if you want or need it. - It's ok.

I started with Arduino over 10 years ago and thought it was the easiest way to start. I was also the first to post working Arduino code for a niche differential pressure sensor. I posted a short of the manometer project I built with it. The obsession continues and I'm having fun with ESP32s.

I am starting to learn about micro controllers because of your previous video... I have always felt bit of a fraud copying and pasting code and also felt does it really need to be this big.. the controller. You hit some hard truths. I loved your frustration when you mentioned those who do not understand what volts or amps are.. it was pure. 🤣

Arduino FTW every time.....cheers.

Thank you! Your channel is so incredibly helpful! I appreciate your knowledge and advice on all these electronics! I've been very intimidated to get started on many projects but you break things down to easily follow and understand! So thanks for that!

Could you please help me with my project. Am trying to design a circuit

I believe is the other way around, I got in thanks to arduino and then found other devices. Not everyone needs to be deep in electronics, the ones that do will find a way to learn.

Thanks for the great videos! Fun to watch and really love the practical use cases. Practical use of inductors? :DDDDD

Very Good. You are correct. But I have already purchased R3 and R4 WiFi and experimenting with them as a hobby..

Great tips for people becoming electrical engineers. For Hobbyist: Tips 1 - 4 learn as low level as you would like and don't worry about these. It is best to learn these in the beginning but this is like a " Don't start with Python/JS start with C " type of tip and then the rest of the tips seem to support this first idea. Start with Arduino if you want to learn and dive deeper if you love it and make sure to understand these things.

While I don't disagree with you, coupling "assembly language" with "control" in the same sentence, as if it were the only option, is misleading at best and totally incorrect at worst. If you want more control, all you need is direct register access. You don't need assembly to access registers and even the Arduino IDE and library allow that, be it in C or C++.

I agree, but sometime people fall into the trap and dont need more just a working solution and imho that should be the main focus point. One can always step and learn real mcu programming but there has to be a need for that.

I disagree! Learning any lesser known micro controller will require you to learn all about electrical components and it will require you to also get a degree in software programming because most of these new chips have zero libraries. Another advantage to the Arduino platform is the ability to also program much more powerful micro processors such as blue pills and black pills and others in the faster processor family. The AI programs can even write code for most of these boards in the blink of an eye so you don't even need to know that much about using the Arduino programming software. Do you really want to reinvent the wheel for each new microcontroller that comes out? Even all the car and airplane manufacturers are smart enough to use "off the shelf" components which wasn't always the case.

Thank you for this video. I've been looking for months to see how I can best learn exactly all of this and I'm only getting individual snippets everywhere. It would be helpful to have a concrete guide with practical examples and variations to build a solid understanding of this topic. So that after a short time you have enough knowledge and self-confidence to start your own small projects. Unfortunately, “Hello World” and the flashing of an LED are far from sufficient. For example, I was looking for examples and explanations of how to build police lights and sirens, I only found one or the other, but no explanation of how I can combine the two related things.

This comment section has soo many mixed opinions ☠️

Thanks!

Great information❤

Sometimes it's not bad to re-invent the wheel for learning purposes. But I think it's better to use up to date tools to save time and keep motivation. Tools like arduino, chatgpt, github...

Controversy! I see your point. My first programming experience was with some old second hand computers like an ATARI 600, a VIC20 and a TRS80 CoCo. I ended up playing around with machine language routines poked into RAM. So when I wanted to design a controller I reached for the Motorola 68HC05. Then the HC908. For some reason, most of the projects I've done have involved real-time requirements and cycle counting, so I just wrote everything in assembler. I just felt more at home doing it that way.

Being a retired programmer (apps, networking, web, desktop and MANY assemblers) + electronics engineer, I sigh at the future of so ignorant young kid tat think they know it all because they can make an UNO blink an LED. ....YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I disagree. It's better to keep it simple. If it works with simple methods why complicate things? If you have to do something more advanced you will learn that when it is needed,

He literally starts saying **this is a video about the BAD of using Arduino** and that he **knows is good for a lot of reasons...** but we also need the other side of the coin. I for once was very intrigued on how would I achieve something as simple as a USB meter for my phone was made and stuff like that, but thanks to the over saturation of Arduino it took me a while to find out. He is not saying you shouldn't start with Arduino, is a video of the advantages of not using it... BTW love how your setup has been evolving I can tell this channel is going to be big I love your content.

Nice. Useful.

I like your videos.. can you please a detailed video playlist of microcontroller datasheet reading and understanding. Like register map, pin outs etc.. and at last how to write library.. please make a playlist 🙏

People coming into comments are not aware that this is not a unpopular opinion; it's actually quite unanimous amongst electronics hobbyists. However I wonder how much of this holds true for most people. I've started with Arduino three years ago as a hobby, but I've a solid professional programming background and I had tried low-level programming with x86 (helped me to understand timers) and 6502 (learned a lot about the communication between CPU and RAM). While I'm pretty confident with handling digital electronics, analog always let me down. I'm doing mostly stuff related to power electronics because I still don't feel comfortable with things like amplifiers. I don't think I would have even tried to learn more if it wasn't by my humble start with Arduino though.

i usually make my own projects on stm32

💖💖💖💖

2024/05/21 The two biggist advantages of the Arduino are:- 1 - there are about a million tutorials on the web. People with very low levels of knowledge can get started. 2 - can start very cheaply.

Who is this guy?? By your reckoning if you want a glass of milk you have to learn animal husbandry, buy a farm, put up a fence, buy a cow and a bull, wait for a calf to be born, then milk the cow. Only after all of that can you now really enjoy that glass of milk. I have taught Arduino to teens for 10 years. Several have gone to college and are pursuing tech careers. I am pretty sure learning Arduino has not ruined there job prospects. I have personally used Arduino Nanos on several custom circuit boards, in one case saving several thousand dollars by upgrading a commercial greenhouse environmental controller for $90 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jtCAdbuE3b2YfZc.html The project was coded with the Arduino IDE and has been running 24 / 7 for 3 years without problems. Not bad for a dumb farmer with only a high school education.

I agree also with the author.But with Arduino is the easiest way to do projects without to know actually what are you doing.

Why don't you offer some real examples of using other microcontrollers and IDE's rather than just talk about them. There is a lot more investment in time using the traditional vs. the fast startup using the Arduino infrastructure. It would be up to the individual to decide based upon their requirements... Thanks...

too late . i already started along ago .

I will never start Arduino after watching this video

Guys calm down. It’s an opinion and you can disagree without calling him stupid etc. it’s a perfectly valid experience. Arduino definitely makes it a little too easy and years ago when I switched from Arduino I learnt a lot more and faster. Arduino is too easy to do without understanding what you’re doing etc.

Elitist BS

You are confusing the beginner with the professional programmer I hope you don't make this mistake on purpose I will explain to you with a dose of irony, which in no case has the purpose of offending you. 1) The language of arduino is a version of C. I wonder why you focus on the environment of arduino but in almost ALL companies that produce microcontrollers there is an environment that offers programming in C. 2) your reference to libraries .... the technical manual from a module is not intended for a beginner, it is strange when you make this reference. By the way, I would like you to explain to me why there are so many ready-made githubs that support different peripherals on unrelated microprocessors. probably there are the programmers who program in a pioneering way, right? 3) you are confusing the concept of electronic engineering, of the microelectronics architecture engineer and the engineer programming!!! when you design an application that contains knowledge for all three fields that I have mentioned, you have a team of people with specific fields of knowledge!!! if you think that a beginner should have such knowledge then he IS NOT A BEGINNER!!!!! in one point here you mention that there are people who feel like masters even though they don't understand the concept of voltage and current. the characteristic of "stupid-smartness" is common to some people and you don't need to have dealt with Ardunos in order for it to appear. in the end, if it acts stupidly, the most likely thing is that some terminal of the micro-selector or even the whole micro-controller will burn. but keep in mind that this can also be done with other microcontrollers. not olny with arduino platorm!!! 4) you're kidding here... you present a good trait as a bad one... as I have explained, almost all manufacturers have development tools that offer a high-level language such as C. that the support of Assembly is offered without advertising it is a very good characteristic since the Arduino is designed for beginners teenagers. connecting my opinion with the previous ones I will write to you that in reality the knowledge of the Assembly language causes dependence on a family of microcontrollers. usually when you write in Assembly you write directly in register. however, each register is unique and what it does depends purely on the company and the family of the microcontroller, concluding that if you write in a high-level language, let the compiler and LINKER do the work for you. That is, almost all companies that offer IDEs in high-level languages ​​do. 5) I will partially agree with this. in the initial versions of the IDE for ARDUINO there was the problem of poor translation into machine language. However, this does not apply today to the extent it used to. the point is that the performance characteristic is a general problem not only in microprocessors but in all programming languages ​​and improvements are still being made ON ALL platforms. even at the "mikrocode" level on intel and AMD processors we have relevant patches, which correct the program running on the processor for better performance 6) if you compare it to other IDEs like Platformio, it's reasonable to draw arbitrary conclusions... you have a company that sells ARDUINO boards and despite this offers a way for the user to integrate modes for independent micro-electrics, offering the possibility of alternative hardware with the result of reducing the potential profit. despite this he does it!!! there is the possibility to integrate other translators for the well-known AtMega 68 and 328 which form the basis of the platform. unfortunately you are wrong 7 ) you are making the mistake of confusing the concept of engineer!!!! even for a known electronics it is possible that 40 mA has no difference with 4mA even though it has a ratio of 10 to 1. consumption is the engineer's job!!! not beginer in programing !!! 8 ) you are making the mistake of confusing the concept of engineer!!!! For mass production we have the team I mentioned above!!!! it is absurd for a beginner who starts the journey of learning programming for microcontrollers to think about mass production !!!! 9 ) you are making the mistake of confusing the concept of engineer!!!! to become a professional programer you must be familiar with many relevant fields and not a beginner who will now start the programming journey.

Until 01:20 just artificially lengthen the video.

It is horribly irresponsible to give such poor advice. I strongly recommend viewers to consider why it is that 99% of people will recommend starting with arduinos and branching out from there (if they so desire). There's a reason this guy is an outlier.

Worst advice