New Stuff, New Headaches...

So, my Arduino/microprocessor collection has grown to include a Teensy3 board and an Arduino Micro. They look great next to the Uno and Mega boards I already have for other projects. The Micro was an impulse buy (what isn't?!) because I had so many issues with the Teensy board. I did manage to figure out the user-error parts with the Teensy, and I *may* have fried the onboard LED. Remove the conductive foam BEFORE plugging in... Just sayin'. But the damn thing is up and running, and keyboard emulating it's little heart out. The Micro is a sweet little device as well, UNTIL...
(We'll get there...) Now, back to the issues at hand.

WAAAAAAAY back in the Stone Ages, I was a prodigy computer programmer. I was doing BASIC on a TRS-80 in 7th grade, teaching teachers how to write their own programs and teach kids how to do the same. I "graduated" to an Apple II+ that my parents mortgaged my brother's college education for. I left college mid-semester when my programs were beyond what the professor could follow. A smart-assed 18yo, thinking I should have been teaching the class! A year later, I enlisted as an Electronics Tech in the Navy. For two years, I was in schools 8 hours a day, learning basic and advanced electronic theory and application. I still think I could figure out resistor codes if I tried hard enough... Age and wretched abuse take their toll on memory and cognition.

Two minor details - Navy Electronics is *slightly* different than classical engineering electronics. Seemed everything ran "backwards". The other issue - I have an amazing gift for blowing up electronics, and I don't even need to touch them to make that happen! I would walk into a room and blow light bulbs (still do!), and street lights shut off when I travel under them. (No joke - look up "SLI" on Google. It's not that uncommon...)

So, fast forward 20+ years. Here I am, wiring up microprocessors and re-learning programming. Absolutely nothing seems to be ringing any bells. It's literally like starting from scratch. And I am especially leery of my "gift" accidentally rendering the microprocessors to bricks. Grounding straps need to be connected to EARTH ground, if possible.

"Hello World" is my new best friend. Every basic circuit, every simple line of code, is painful to train the brain around. But small victories are so much sweeter now, and the hardware is finally running as it should. Learning new things can be painful.

My first keyboard emulation project hijacked my computer  and flooded every application with a constant stream of keypresse that took DAYS to program out of the Arduino. But I know what NOT to do, and in a way, it was fun...

So, here's a shout out to those who program, and those who tinker with breadboards and circuit design. I have the plans, I have the layouts, I have the functions, I have the controls. Now to pull it all together...

HEEEELP!!! ;)