A list of the hardware required for the tutorials in this book is provided
in Figure 1.1. The component list is organized by categories corresponding
to the various interfaces covered by this book followed by the required prototyping
materials and test equipment. In the remainder of this section, I
describe each of these components and, where some options exist, key properties
that must be satisfied. A few of these components require header pins
to be soldered on. This is a fairly simple task that can be accomplished with
even a very low cost pencil soldering iron. The amount of soldering required
is minimal and I recommend borrowing the necessary equipment if possible.
There are many soldering tutorials on the web.