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 For a new way to connect your Arduino board with the outside world, have a look at Breakout. According to the designers it was created to enable designers to ptototype functional web-based interfaces with the physical world. It looks to be a very simple method of controlling your Arduino via the web, and in their words:

The popular platform and the Firmata protocol are leveraged to enable users to access physical input and output purely from javascript. This makes it easy for anyone familiar with javascript and basic web development to explore the possibilities of using physical I/O in their web applications. Furthermore, the Breakout framework includes a growing library of hardware abstractions such as buttons, leds, servo motors, accelerometers, gyros, etc enabling the user to easily interface with a range of sensors and actuators using just a few lines of javascript code.

You can even try it out with just a normal Arduino, USB cable and the Breakout software. On their home page is a simple LED on/off example that demonstrates this clearly. The entire system is relatively simple and offers another method of Arduino interaction.

To download their software and test it for yourself, visit the breakout website. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

... or in other words, the twitter-enabled toilet flush monitor. The people at Toronto Hackerspace decided to learn how to make an Arduino send tweets whilst simultaneously showing their disdain for medium by creating a device that detects when the toilet has been flushed, and then tweets the fact to its' followers. Although the whole project may seem silly, it is a fine example on how to send tweets with an Arduino. 

Operation is quite simple - a tilt switch triggers a digital input on the Arduino due to the movement on the flush mechanism, and then the tweet is send. For more information, the sketch and some humour check out the project page. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

Instead of using multiple Arduino devices when building an Internet-enabled project - save time, space and money with the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet.

 Freetronics co-founder and home automation expert Jonathan Oxer has published the next fascinating instalment in the Superhouse.TV website that focuses on high technology and automation around the home. In this episode Jonathan discusses making network router equipment much quieter by fitting a temperature/humidity sensor inside the equipment and using the temperature data the hardware fan speed can be reduced relative to it. Watch the episode below:

If you're interested in other topics within home automation, check out the rest of Superhouse.tv. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're looking for a sensor to measure temperature and humidity - check out our HUMID: humidity and temperature sensor module. Designed around the DHT22 sensor, it only requires one digital pin and power - and is easy to use with out Quick Start guide. With a temperature range of -4°C to +125°C with +/-0.5°C accuracy, and humidity at 0-100% with 2-5% accuracy you're ready to measure. For more information and to order, click here. 

 As part of an experiment with real-time digital signal processing and an Arduino, Amanda Ghassaei has created a device that pitch shifts and distorts incoming audio signals to produce a wide variety of vocal effects. By sampling incoming sound, splitting it into tiny data elements then modiftying them the resulting sound is quite different - therefore having the ability to make various sound effects. This technique is called "granular synthesis". The audio output is generated by a typical R/2R resistor ladder and op-amps; and the whole kaboodle fits in this enclosure:

For more information, a complete tutorial and instructions click here. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

If you're interested in experimenting with sounds and Arduino, but don't have much time or budget - consider our SOUND: sound and buzzer module:

It can be used as a noise-maker driven by your microcontroller for audible feedback of events, and it can also be used as a knock-detector input to sense events and react to them. Includes a built-in 1M resistor to allow the piezo element to detect shocks. For more information and to order, please visit the product page here. 

 Sending SMS text messages from an Arduino can be difficult and expensive - for example a GSM shield, aerial and adequate power supply can cost over $150 once configured correctly. Or you can connect your Arduino to a PC and use a variety of online services. However both are much more complex than this new inexpensive solution created by Jeff Murchson. He has simply used an inexpensive Motorola GSM phone which is controlled by any Arduino board. As the phone can accept AT commands via a serial connection, it is a simple matter for the Arduino to control the phone - and send text messages. 

When experimenting with such projects, make sure you use a prepaid or unlimited SMS account to avoid bill-shock. Nevertheless to get started check out Jeff's project page. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

instead of fitting the circuitry to a solderless breadboard, increase reliability and project lifespan by using a protoshield instead. In doing so, consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with.

 Now for a project on a grander scale, a router lathe that's controlled by an Arduino. Using a variety of motor controls, some heavier duty circuitry and a lot of work, Chris now has a router lathe with a ~14 cm swing over the bed and ~83 cm between centres. Considering the magnitude of this project, it's great to see him succeed and have a working product, for example:

With some preplanning and careful measuring you could automate many wood-turning designs for some fascinating hand-free work. For more information, follow Chris' series about the lathe from here. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 If you ever needed a reason to understand trigonometry, this project may have just given you one. Using an Arduino to control a simple motorised arm with three servos, it can operate a pen a the end of the arm as a very simple dot-matrix printer. However instead of straight lines the arm operates in arcs, due to the design of the arm - similar to an elbow. It's easier to understand when you see it, for example:

The image to draw was captured with an iPhone app, reduced to 100 x 100 pixels and using some more software magic sent to the Arduino. For a complete explanation, Arduino sketch and more - check out the project page. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

 Freetronics forum member Dave has created a great system to monitor the status of four mousetraps in the roof of his house. Instead of manually going up to check them, his mousetraps can now email him every six hours and say whether or not they have caught something. A microswitch is fitted to each mousetrap and held open with the trap. Once it springs close, the switch closes and therefore changes state. Every six hours an Etherten-controlled system polls the mousetrap switches and emails Dave what is happening. Ingenious!

To get started with the project, check out Dave's detailed post here. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

As shown with the project above, Arduino and the Internet is made easy when you have the right tools. To get your Arduino sending emails a great start is the Freetronics EtherTen. Apart from being fully Arduino Uno-compatible, it has onboard Ethernet, microSD socket, full USB interface (so you don't need a costly FTDI cable just to upload a sketch!) and supports optional Power-over-Ethernet:

For more information and to order, visit the product page. 

 Next in our series of articles about analogue/digital signal conversion comes another great project from the Fritzing showcase. User 'itead' has made an effective 8-bit digital to analogue converter once again using the R/2R resistor ladder method. By using 1% tolerance or less resistors the results can be quite accurate, for example:

From a software perspective the designer has created an array of values from 0 to 254 which when converted to binary can match the digital outputs used to create the particular output voltage from the DAC. These values are then sent using port manipulation to set the respective digital output pins HIGH or LOW. For more information including sketch and design, check out the project page. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

As we always say, when making your own DAC, you'll need a protoshield to mount the external circuitry. In doing so, consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with.

 If you're interested in the Arduino world but not too sure where to start, or looking to give someone a great head start - check out our new Experimenter's Kit for Arduino. The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. 

Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects!

So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page. And we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.

Or if you're an experienced Arduino user and interested in more advanced Arduino projects and usage - get yourself a copy of "Practical Arduino" by Jonathan Oxer and Hugh Blemings:

Create your own Arduino-based designs, gain an in-depth knowledge of the architecture of Arduino, and learn the easy-to-use Arduino language all in the context of practical projects that you can build yourself at home. Get hands-on experience using a variety of projects and recipes for everything from home automation to test equipment. For more information and to order, click here.