Building an Arduino board

[nickgr5]

Arduino is open source, so I think it would be better to post in this section:
So, I was thinking about building my own Arduino. I think I'm going to save some money If I don't buy a pre-built Arduino, and I'm also going to enjoy constructing it. I've seen a few videos on Youtube on how to build the PCB board, but I would like some more info before going to try it out.

What should I do first? What about selecting good materials to work with (like capacitors, LEDs, etc.)? What would you recommend? Anyone experienced on this?

Thank you in advance.

[Geek-9pm]

Arduino board is an open source USB audio card.
See if somebody already has the PCB ready to build. Doing your own PCB is a big drain on your time. Been there.

Buy your parts from a new parts dealer. Avoid the surplus dealers. The price is almost the same
For International customers, Jameco in California is among the best.
www.jameco.com
Digi-Key is good.
www.digikey.com
Locally, you can find regional stores in your area.
But do not buy parts from Radio Shack. Except batteries.

And Newark is good. Did you know they have the board ready to go for about $25 on-line?
http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=13T9285&CMP=AFC-GB100000001

[BC_Programmer]

Arduino board is an open source USB audio card.

Not even close

[nickgr5]

Thanks people. Well yeah, it's not an audio card, but anyway.

Would you also recommend buying parts from eBay? There are many sellers (with positive feedback) who offer parts and they also look very cheap, but I'm not sure about the quality.

[Rob Pomeroy]

Would you also recommend buying parts from eBay? There are many sellers (with positive feedback) who offer parts and they also look very cheap, but I'm not sure about the quality.

It probably depends on the level of support you require.  I imagine if you're doing a fairly detailed project, having someone geeky to talk to at Maplin/wherever would be a big plus.

[Geek-9pm]

No, I would not recommend buying parts from eBay. Unless the vendor has a very good reputation and has added value to the purchase such as addition instructions  and hand holding.

Arduino - HomePage
http://www.arduino.cc/

It is a micro controller suitable for telemetry and automation. It could be used for running your model train set. Or controlling the air conditioning units in hotel rooms. Or almost any  task thing that needs full automation.

The gadget sells for $25 and is a good introduction to micro controllers if you want to build it yourself.

And it is not and Audio device. I have no idea why I said that. I am still thinking of some lame reason and can't find any.

If you find an active forum for it, let us know. Or enter it in the CH  you-brew computer club. It qualifies and a home-built computer.

If you need some free help with machine code, come back here. CH has some of the world's best low-down programmers.

[nickgr5]

Got my answer, thanks a bunch. I'm marking this as solved.

[Quantos]

It would be a good experience to at least attempt to build your own.