Hello everyone, this is Alberto. I finally gained access of my campaign page. You can read more information about it in update #26.
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The campaign is over, thanks to everyone for the amazing support!
IF YOU HAVE MISSED THE TIME BUT YOU WANT TO BUY THE BOOK, FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/pighixxx @PIGHIXXX
WHERE I WILL POST THE INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE TO BUY IT, AFTER THE SHIPMENTS OF THE PERKS!!!
October 1st Update
STRETCH GOAL REACHED!!!
Thanks to the support of fantastic funders I've been able to reach the first stretch goal.
There are 5 days left and I had a talk with my sponsor, as I can understand that it will not be easy to reach much higher goals, but I really want to give more to all of you.
So this is the last run we need to do together: the new final goal is set to only US$50,000 and if we can reach it, with the support of my sponsor, the book will go on printing with 40 pages!!!
This was the stretch goal set to $75,000 but I can lower it to $50,000 as the sponsor will cover the additional costs to add more pages.
Together we can do it!
September 20th Update
THE REFERRAL CONTEST IS NOW STARTED!!!
Every Indiegogo's user can promote this campaign and enter the contest.
As you can see, just below the video, there is a special content area dedicated to the different ways available to share this campaign.
The link you see is similar to:
http://igg.me/at/arduinoabc/x/1234567
with a different number after the "/x/". That's your personal and unique ID. So when you share or promote this campaign, Indiegogo will know that you are the one who did it and will produce a list that I can see in the dashboard, as project's owner. You can see this as well in your personal page, where all the activity is reported.
So for the last two weeks of campaign, now that the project is fully funded, I will launch this contest: the five (5) of you who will send more people to visit this campaign will receive, together with THE BOOK, an amazing 24MHz USB Logic Analyzer, an incredible tool that will transform your computer in an advanced lab's instrument!
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So all what you need to do is to share and promote this campaign, using the link that you can find below the video, and you will be automatically in the contest.
The 5 Logic Analyzers are offered by my sponsor and Indiegogo's Partner smARtMAKER. Click here if you want to see the details of the product
September 18th Update
FUNDED! After only 10 amazing days the project is fully funded.
STRETCH GOALS:
Additional copies to print will guarantee savings that will be all returned to the funders in term of additional pages for every book!
Stretch goal n.1: US$45,000 = 5 additional pages to every book for a total of 30
Stretch goal n.2: US$60,000 = 10 additional pages to every book for a total of 35
Stretch goal n.3: US$75,000 = 15 additional pages to every book for a total of 40
September 13th Update
Bill @ Adafruit is one of the experts who had the opportunity to receive the sample of the book for preview and this is the review:
http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/09/13/arduino-basic-connections-the-book/
Arduino™ is the world's most popular tool, used every day by millions of people, to experiment and learn electronics with hundreds of different components; from the basics like buttons and LEDs, to complex devices like digital interfaces and advanced graphic displays.
The nightmare for every maker has always been: where do I find easy to use schematics?
Arduino™ Basic Connections, also known as ABC, has already become the world's most popular and trusted source for schematics, the perfect solution for everyone.
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Arduino™ Basic Connections is the most complete and easy to use set of reference schematics for the Arduino™ world.
Over 40 color cards are organized into themes, and uses a common style, so that the schematics can be easily understood.
More than 120 different schematics are available, from the simple connection of an LED to more advanced configurations.
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This is why Arduino™ Basic Connections has been used by over 200,000 makers around the world. Only in the past 6 months, 6 millions schematics have been downloaded!
The schematics are neat, simple to read, and use; offering content for any skill set; from the beginner to the professional engineer, but not every time is it easy to use them on a computer screen; while the programming environment should be the most active window.
Moreover printing the schematics could be even less useful, especially on a small and already crowded desk. Makers face these problems every day, and sometimes it can be very frustrating.
From a maker to all the other makers, today I propose the ultimate solution to the practical use of Arduino™ Basic Connections: THE BOOK!
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The most useful and downloaded schematics and reference tables have been packed into a perfectly sized full color booklet; the easiest to use and most efficient reference guide for all of the Arduino™'s users and enthusiasts.
The schematics are well organized and the pages are shaped to offer easy access to the content of interest.
For every page of the book and every schematic, it will be available online a tutorial page with description and examples of code!
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To make this reference book even more useful, the covers has been designed to be unfolded and will offer an always available and practical reference guide for your Arduino™ boards; with immediate access to all the most important information without changing the page where you are following the schematics.
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The front cover offers a full reference guide for the UNO compatible boards:
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The back cover offers a full reference for the LEONARDO compatible boards:
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ARDUINO BASIC CONNECTIONS
THE BOOK
Is the most useful tool ever
made for any Arduino™ user
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Grab your own now!
Select your desired perk from the
list available up on the right.
Not just for yourself.
Buy some for your friends or
donate some to a school.
The more you get,
the less you pay ;-)
The price includes shipping
anywhere in the world!!!
If you want to know more, here I will try to answer some of the most common questions:
Who am I?
My name is Alberto and I was born in the north of Italy, where I live with my wife. I'm a software developer with a great passion for hardware, and I've spent years tinkering and making stuff with Arduino™.
When I lost my job as software developer, at the end of 2012, I decided to take a break from all what I did in the previous 15 years, and I wanted to dedicate my time to something that could be interesting to me and useful to others.
One of the problems I had always faced when working with the Arduino™, was the lack of uniform and simple to use references and schematics, so I started to design the first tables. The feedback from the community was amazing and I was unable to stop creating more and more content, that I constantly publish on my website:
Today my Arduino™ Basic Connections and all the related reference tables are the most complete visual documentation available for makers in a common and simple to use format.
Receiving feedback every day about my work, I understand that the largest problem my schematics have is the format. So I've decided to create the ideal format for makers, tinkerers teachers and students: THE BOOK.
Why Indiegogo?
To make this book affordable I need to print at least 2,000 copies. I could try to convince some publisher to print the book, but it would be very hard, if not impossible, to find a publisher who could be able to offer this product to anybody, everywhere in the world, at the same time and with the same conditions.
Indiegogo is the best solution in this case. I can offer this book to anyone who wants it, regardless of their location, with the same conditions.
Where am I at?
The book is ready to print.
The content is based on the schematics that have been reviewed several times and are used today by hundreds of thousands of makers, everywhere in the world.
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As you can see from the pictures and the video, I made several test copies of the book and I shared some with friends and experts around the world, to get their feedback on this idea. They all loved it!
All I need is to reach the goal of 2,000 copies, and then I will be able to print the books and ship.
What will you get?
The book is made of 25 double faced pages, plus the special folded cover.
The content includes the most useful references and over 50 different schematics. I selected the most useful and downloaded schematics used by over 200,000 makers.
The book is made with very high quality materials. The average weight of the paper used is 170gr./sq.mt, that's double of the common paper used with laser printers. The folded covers are made of thicker paper, weighting 250gr./sq.mt, and the whole book (every single page) is laminated with plastic film.
So if you have the habit of drinking coffee while you create your projects with Arduino™ and you accidentally spill some drops on the book, it will not cause damage.
All this including shipping worldwide for US$15.00 or even less, if you want to receive more than one copy of the book (Christmas is getting close).
My designs are free to download, why should you pay for it?
Yes, my designs are free and will always be. You can download, and keep them in your computer, print them, organize them into a binder or maybe laminate them.
Well these last options will cost you, more than the price of this book moreover.
THE BOOK is not just a collection of my most useful designs. It is a tool. The format is perfect: not too big to be invasive on the table, not too small to loose the quality of the details.
With THE BOOK you will have a tool always available that you can use any time. It is an easy to browse reference that could become useful not only when you work with your Arduino™.
If you are a teacher, you could think about THE BOOK as supporting material for your class, and for students THE BOOK is an amazing source of knowledge.
So you are not actually paying for the designs, but for this simple and powerful way to use them.
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Do I have any relationship with Arduino™?
Absolutely not. This is a project I started autonomously and independently, sharing my knowledge with the rest of the community. All my designs are UNOFFICIAL and are not directly related or supported by Arduino™ or any of their partners.
Moreover, ARDUINO™ is a Trademark registered by Arduino LLC for electronic boards (please note that this is a book and not an electronic board) and I have no rights on this trademark or brand, that is clearly identified as TM in the book. Images of the Arduino™ UNO board are used here just as a reference to help compare the size of the book. The registered logo of Arduino™ (the infinite symbol) is not used or mentioned anywhere in this book.
I'm an active member of Arduino™'s community and forum, and also I've successfully organized an unofficial meeting of members of the community in the past. My work is endorsed by active members and even important partners of Arduino™, but I have no direct relations with Team Arduino™ or any of their partners.
Can I efficiently fulfill all those books?
Good question. Myself alone no, it's impossible.
This is why I've asked for help with this process. The fulfillment will be handled by smARtMAKER, that's not only the sponsor of this project and an official Indiegogo partner, but it is also a company that has a proven track record in fulfillment of large crowdfunding projects, like the $9 Arduino™ Compatible board that they have been able to start to ship 10 days in advance, even with an awesome 1,300% reached over the original goal.
To be able to offer the same conditions to everyone, the books will be shipped from China, where they are printed and packed, using the registered airmail from Hong Kong Post. This is the most affordable shipping method available worldwide.
How long will I need to fulfill the orders?
The campaign is set to finish by the 5th of October, which is a Saturday. The next Monday, October the 7th, I will be able to confirm with the printing company how many copies of the book they need to make.
The total time required to complete a batch of 2,000 books is 20 days. If I receive a higher request, it will be necessary to add one day for every 1,000 extra copies. This means that if I receive requests for, let's dream, 10,000 books, 28 days will be required to be ready for the shipments.
The shipping procedure is very simple and already tested. 500 shipments a day are guarantee by the partner in charge of the service. This means that if I reach the goal, everything will be shipped by the end of October.
If I reach a higher result, this will require some additional time, but the company in charge of this has already shown in the past that they are able to shrink the time and this makes it possible to say that up to a few thousand books in addition to the initial goal can be fulfilled by the end of October or in the very first days of November.
I will offer constant updates to let you known what the status of the fulfillment process is.
How about I show you some more example of the content?
These are some of the pages I've designed for THE BOOK:
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NOTE: Please remember that this campaign is offering a book. No electronics boards or components are sold and/or will be shipped with the perks.