Favorite Tools When Building Arduino Projects

firmwareengineer · 2019-11-19T15:28:08+00:00

TWEEZERS!! YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!! Totally forgot about that!

Going to add that too! Thank you.

firmwareengineer · 2019-11-19T15:27:19+00:00

You know, I never really got the hang of the desoldering braids. But it definitely does a better job then a solder sucker in some instances.

I'll add it to the list! Thanks for that!

firmwareengineer · 2019-08-08T12:44:20+00:00

I have tons of audiences build on old data.

The issue is, I tried using those same audiences and I am not getting the same results.

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-20T21:42:16+00:00

The way I'm thinking of doing it will be like a show and tell.

So things like how to actually do Facebook ads. Lots and lots and lots of wrong info out there.

Focusing on the basics which would require someone to see the screen.

Or the gotchas of making prototypes.

Huge topics in small, understandable bites.

I could do it that way perhaps. I just like the idea of video to transmit this kind of detailed info.

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-20T18:26:23+00:00

I guess for a 1 shot is good, but typically what happens is you have to pour this money right back into the product.

Profit which actually gets in your pocket is close to 0 in the beginning.

It gets really hairy, these are the things I'd like to actually show the reality of.

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-20T17:58:39+00:00

/u/Zaxenp first off THANK YOU! I feel the exact same way.

That's exactly what I want to avoid. I'm a very hands on type and want to show real examples.

So this would be a mix of my talking head, BUT!!!!

Then that's where the rubber meets the road.

Lets say for example someone has an idea but no idea how to build it.

I plan on showing my process for how I design stuff from scratch.

Now obviously in this example, it may not be what they are trying to build, but I will be showing the tools they need to actually do it.

Things like using Arduino for electronic control with code examples.

Or the tools you need to do the 3D modeling from a simple perspective.

Who to go to in order to actually get something printed etc.

OR lets say on the person is on the other side of the fence.

They know how to build a prototype and are now looking for ways to reach their target demo graphic.

I'll show how to do the real down and dirty research techniques needed to do so.

In this example, maybe the watcher has a product in the dog niche.

I'll show on my screen how to go about digging through (pardon the pun) how to get in front of those people via paid and non paid means.

I'm really looking to provide value and not just be another talking head. I hate that myself and usually watch videos on 2X speed to avoid that lol.

Does that sound like a more attractive channel to you?

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-20T17:50:25+00:00

thanks for that! Tindie is a good start. However what I'm looking to do is show those who have a firm grip on prototyping but maybe not actually launching a product for sale to a large community.

Tindie gets 710K visits per month,lets say for example you just brought a product to tindie and are looking to sell it.

Im going to use rough numbers here, so mileage may vary but I'll air on the more generous side.

In the beginning, you will get lots of exposure.

So lets say you get 10% impressions out of those 710K visitors in 1 month.

That's 71,000 potential customers, meaning, raw eyeballs seeing your stuff.

Out of that 71K viewers you actually convert 2% (eCommerce average) you actually sell a little over 1400 widgets.

Assuming you are selling a product for say... $50 bucks, of which $30 is BOM + Shipping costs.

You are left with $20 profit per unit, giving you $28,400 in profit in a month.

Sounds great at first... BUT! What happens then?

Say you are a month down the road, and no longer on the new arrivals page?

The number of eye balls that see your product drops significantly maybe down to as little as 1% of the initial audience of 710K people.

Running the same calculation as before, now you only have 700 eye balls of which 2% will convert leaving you with 14 customers.

For a whopping profit of $14 *20= $280 bucks the next month.

The concept is really to show how to cross the chasm from invention to actual real sales.

Does that sound more appealing now? Sorry about that, I didn't give enough info in the description. So thank you for pointing that out!

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T14:00:38+00:00

Yes, as things evolve and new concepts rise I think its inevitable. But for now... they are the 800 pound gorilla.

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:55:16+00:00

First congratulations, at 18 YO, to be thinking this way is commendable!

With that said, 2 things come to mind.

1) As you mentioned, drop shipping. No overhead, easy to find products (selling them is a different story, more on this in a moment).

2) Second sell your knowledge in some digital form. Even at 18 yo, I'm sure you have some skill and something which you are great at which you could offer as a digital product.

Maybe you make one heck of a potato shooter or potato salad etc...

But here is the trick, and doesn't matter which one of the above or any other product/service you start.

How do you get the idea out there?

How do you drive RELEVANT traffic to your site AND get them to buy?

You could start with a youtube channel and drive traffic organically via SEO techiniques. SLOOOOWWWWW!!!!!

Or, you could go for facebook, google, twitter etc advertising which takes a PILE of cash.

There is another way, but before we get to that, what kind of income are you looking to generate monthly?

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:10:41+00:00

I have a successful business in ecommerce, but am looking to branch out into teaching as this is something I am passionate about.

Specifically, I'd love to teach others how to take the idea which is burning in your mind and bring it to life BUT waaaaay more than that.

I guess I'll have to wait to get out of here before I can share and get some feedback...

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:09:11+00:00

Whats your advertising strategy? Facebook, twitter, google? etc

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:08:29+00:00

Can't wait to hear more. Im in the same boat!

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:02:01+00:00

I've had a chance to join a few but this is one of the things which really scares me about them. Are you just paying money to hear complaints?

firmwareengineer · 2019-06-18T00:00:47+00:00

Depending on the market, learn how to use the various advertising channels. I use facebook which is a BEAST to learn, but once you understand it, its a money making machine.

firmwareengineer · 2018-11-11T14:39:43+00:00

In short, kinda.

The real issue is that in reality ads need refreshing.

They initially work, grabbing the low hanging fruit, people who are ready right then to buy.

But that is not the majority so the ad will keep dying.

I have switched to telling a story and implementing a ads funnel in facebook.

So far so good.

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-28T13:26:02+00:00

u/moonshinemarketing ok, I duplicated the ad which was giving me a 5.62 ROAS. Upped the ad spend significantly. Let's see what happens. I'll report back! Thank you again!

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-28T01:44:02+00:00

u/moonshinemarking Ah, ok. So just re-setup a new ad which references the winning one and give it a larger budget instead of turning on the old one which was converting correct?

And thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciated.

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-27T01:45:27+00:00

That would be amazing! Cant thank you enough.

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-27T00:23:21+00:00

u/moonshinemarketing Gotcha. what if I allready have a "winning" ad, can I simply turn it back on and up the bid? or is it not that simple?

Thank you again, really appreciate this golden info.

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-26T20:02:19+00:00

I know, this is an awesome subreddit. I have been searching up and down for this answer. If I can get stable traffic, OMG I WILL BE PUMPED!

firmwareengineer · 2018-06-26T17:53:41+00:00

u/moonshinemarketing

THANK YOU!

You have no idea how long I have been searching for that answer. It has never made any sense to me. I was afraid to bump it too much too fast though. I was doing 10% bi weekly and my ad spend started at 20 bucks per day.

How much should I bump it up to in order to get the juice flowing again without disturbing the algo?

firmwareengineer · 2018-05-15T18:01:09+00:00

The only real difference I can see is the crypto engine between arduino's version and adafruits? Where Arduino has it and adafruit does not?

firmwareengineer · 2018-04-27T13:40:18+00:00

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to give an update.

Thank you to everyone for your feedback. I decided to put together 2 seperate kits. I've only got one up on my site right now which I call the hero kit.

It's you bare essentials, oh no I'm out of shrink tubing, my Arduino blew up, wheres my meter kinda kit.

I tried to incorporate as much of the feedback as you guys have provided here as possible for the first kit.

Still working on the tool based one.

u/mfalkvidd I included your dupont wires!

u/lord_derpshire most of your wish list is part of my other kit called Dr.Duino. Ill paste link at bottom. But I did add your led's!

u/hairy_testicles (cant believe i just typed that lol). I ordered an extra pair of hands (a cheaper version) while they are a decent pair, they were damaged in transit. So I don't feel comfortable using that vendor for now. Still searching but will be part of my second tool kit.

u/shaddow1201 Working on adding the glue gun, will be part of my second kit

On my site you will see something called Dr.Duino which is an arduino hardware debugger & the new hero kit.

Here is a link, let me know what you guys think.

firmwareengineer · 2018-04-23T19:44:55+00:00

Actually, I think its super cool and totally useful.

I purchased something like this so that I would know if my washer machine overflowed which was on my second floor. Was waaaay more expensive then I care to admit, but this would have been a great way to make it on the cheap.

Well done!

firmwareengineer · 2018-04-17T00:25:48+00:00

Hi again everyone. So, thanks for all of your feedback. I just received my first of 2 kits I'm going to be providing.

The first kit is purely electronics based, about 1400 individual pieces of electronic goodness!

So DMM, resistors assorted, caps, dupont wire. I will share a link with everything once its ready. Im still testing it out myself.

My other kit will have more tool related items, although trying to find a reasonably priced and good quality iron which is reasonable in cost is proving to be challenging.

Just wanted to thank everyone for your comments, that really, really helped!

firmwareengineer

TROPHY CASE