Starting with Arduino: Potentiometer-Controlled LED Dimmer

So actually, the event that catalyzed the starting of this blog was that I've started tinkering with an Arduino. I received an Arduino last week, and then the other day I went to RadioShack to pick up a couple components: some resistors, LEDs, switches, wire, a photosensor, a crummy little speaker, and a pot, so nothing fancy.

Today, I began messing around with my new toy. I've connected a 10kΩ potentiometer to the analog input, and a red LED (with a small resistor) to the digital output. The code is incredibly simple: it reads the value of the potentiometer, on a scale of 0 to 1023, and maps that to a more usable scale of 0 to 20. (Let's call that mapped value "x.") Then there's a simple pulse-width modulation, where the LED is turned on for x milliseconds, and then turned off for 20-x milliseconds. That way, the illusion of dimming is created, so that the LED's brightness appears to vary as the potentiometer is turned.

The LED lit brightly...

...and more dimly.

Unfortunately, my potentiometer kind of sucks, since I was buying on a budget. The bottom 10% or so reads to 0, which is unfortunate, because that means the LED turns off way too fast at the end. C'est la vie - all the parts are in place, and I've learned a little about interfacing with an Arduino, which is pretty neat. Now I just need to figure out more things to make.