I am a beginner to Arduino, and a relative beginner to electronics in general. I have the official Arduino Starter Kit. I've looked through my bag of components looking for a black diode but was unable to find it among all of the LEDS & the other black components.
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1Maybe show us some pictures of what you do have... – Majenko♦ Feb 7 '17 at 22:04
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What is Google? – Bort Feb 8 '17 at 2:36
While the ArduinoStarterKit page at arduino.cc lists “5 Diodes [1N4007]” as part of it, and has a picture where 5 diodes apparently appear slightly left of center in the top row, several other pictures that come up in a google images search for official Arduino Starter Kit apparently don't show the diodes. Eg, as at arduino starter kit. But 4 Best Starter Kits for Arduino Beginners does show them.
Note, unless you are working with medium to high AC voltages (eg above 50 V) you can substitute 1N4001 - 1N4004 which have lower PIV ratings but also slightly lower forward voltage drop. For many beginning projects, 1N4148 signal diodes will be adequate and perhaps less expensive.
1N4007 are usually black with a white stipe indicating the cathode. Use a magnifying glass and you should be able to see the marking.