I am a mechanical engineer, a ham radio operator, and an old (53) programmer, just so you know where I am coming from. I like to tinker and have over the years been tempted to get into micro-controllers but never got around to it. I really didn't know where to start.

I had a project in mind that required an MCU so I started doing some research and discovered the Nerdkit. It looked like the perfect fit for what I had in mind so I took the plunge. I am glad I did!

• Shipping: 3 days.
• The instructions are great. Kit is easy to build.
• I got my project working in just a few days.

My biggest issue was the C code. Rusty would be an understatement. If there is one improvement I could make it would be publish more source code! I also found this site excellent. It would be a good link for beginners. http://www.cprogramming.com/

All in all I am very pleased. An inexpensive education and introduction to micro-controllers.

You'll find that as for resources there are few better than this community. If you get stumped, a question here on the forum will often get you the answer you are looking for.

I'm sure as you play with the micro your programming will come back to you, and soon enough you'll be here giving help as many of us have.

BTW, there are a few other fellow HAMs on here as well. Myself (N9IWX) while not an active HAM still hold a current license, and I know of at least one other.

You'll also find the members here quite respectful of one another. So don't be afraid to post what you may seem to think of as a silly question.

One last thing, while it may not be obvious on the website, a few of us helped build up a Nerdkit Library page (The link is also in the lower left of the page). There you may find some answers and ideas as you progress.

Rick

I totally agree. I have had a nerd kit for a couple of years now. The kit itself is more then adequate to get an excellent start in the world of micros. The quantity and quality of information available on the NerdKits website is phenomenal, far outstripping my expectations. The members and staff are very understanding and genuinely seem to want to lend a hand. Getting my nerd kit is unquestionably the best and most rewarding thing that I have done to get a better handle on electronics as a hobby.

I am posting this here because I also have a 4 year degree in Engineering (agricultural). I only work in the field as an engineer for a few mouths, so have never really applied my education. I had an opportunity to manage a large farm and have been doing that for over 30 years. Back in my university days I took one class on Fortan which was implemented on a main frame with punch cards. Now: that sounds like something from the stone age’s .But that is where I became interested in computers and software development. Over the years I have done a considerable amount of VBA coding to supplement various MS access relational data base applications. Building a number of stand alone farm management data base applications. In general I just like to build things and have a strong interest in astronomy and machine tools. I seem to have more time now especially in the winter months so I am doing a lot more building in the electronics area. On many occasions I have found topics very interesting and useful on the Nerdkit forum, sometimes answering questions that I didn’t even know that I had until I read them, but often applied directly to something I am doing or planning. The other thing is that the staff and member seem to able to put up with a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes, If I have a strong suit it sure is not written communications. Even with poorly worded questions and error laden text my questions usually get answered promptly. The NerdKit experience has been great for me I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in electronics.