I bought 2 Arduino's: one for the new KAP rig, one for the ground controller. I got them on Ebay for $19.50, including usb cable, connection cables for the pins and free delivery… amazing!

The model I use is Arduino-nano 3.0

1. sudo apt-get install gcc-avr avr-libc
2. sudo usermod -aG dialout my_user_id # add permission, needs logout + login to work
3. sdk itself (I got http://arduino.googlecode.com/files/arduino-0022.tgz)

Settings: tools>board: “Arduino Duemilanove or Nano w/ ATmega32”

Loading, editing and uploading a simple program (sketch) worked without problem

This is stuff I bought for testing & development (mainly to experiment with the communication modules)

• Usb to rs232-ttl cable ($7) to test serial programs (detected by Linux, probably: black=ground, green=tx, white=rx)
• Usb to rs232-ttl module with nice cable ($4), detected by Linux
• rs232 to rs232-ttl converter

I also have a big breadboard, some Lipo batteries, and a few small voltage regulator boards… Ebay is great

If I have time I will post schematics (how to connect stuff on a breadboard) and little test programs (sketches in Arduino lingo) here for reference. Of course most info has been scavenged from the work of others.

Here is what I've tested so far:

• blinking led (okay, it was included in the examples directory )
• Blinking led , speed controlled by serial input
• Pot on analog input controls servo position
• Serial input controls Gentled/NEX5 and triggers my camera
• Light measurement with photo-transistor is sent wireless from Arduino board to laptop (9800 Bd, 100 m in office building is no problem)
• Connect my 4×20 char LCD and display text on it. The display is larger than I expected Maybe switch to a 2×16 display?
• Bought a small 3-axis I2C magnetometer. It works with the Arduino. I'll probably add a 3D-accelerometer: the combination should allow me to get a acceptable heading…
• Got a small IR-remote and an IR-detector(ebay, $7). Will use this as keyboard for the “ground station”: only one input needed (instead of 7 or 8 for a small matrix keyboard). Tested with the IR-remote library: it works! Still have to check if it has no conflicts with serial communication, etc…
• ordered a 3 axis accelerometer ($8). Maybe use it for measurements or to control the rig