I've been tinkering with Arduiono for a little while, but I have no programming knowledge at all. What seems underwhelming to you is baffling to me.
Is that Practical Arduino a good book to buy? I'd really like to get to understand the Arduino and be able to make some cool projects with it. They're fun and not that expensive either!
Originally Posted by logan'srun Is that Practical Arduino a good book to buy?
I can't recommend it as a starter book - it's really for people with programming and electronics experience.
Best bet if you want a gentle introduction is Oomlout's ARDX kit - it makes it *really* simple to build things, and gives you a good idea of what's going on at the software end too.
I really like the Arduino platform. Hell, I'd go as far as saying I love it. But it has one major fault - its simplicity. It's so simple people now turn to microcontrollers to do overly simple tasks. You don't need a £15 board to flash an LED at a constant rate, for example.
It's a pet peeve, I mean sure if you want to do it, it's your money and you can do it, but it really bugs me.
To clarify: I'm not ragging on the morse code flasher here - a uC is perfect for this job - but migrating to something like an ATtiny13 would be better - it's <£1 and has 4 I/O ports and doesn't need an external oscillator. It's a better candidate to use hardware wise, but you'd need to learn proper C rather than Processing/Wiring to get the job done (it's not overly hard, I don't think... as long as you can do a few binary bitwise operations). You can even use your Arduino as an ISP AVR programmer.
Im soon for surgery to mod a (regularly) dislocated shoulder and was looking at a C++ / Arduino / Electronics combo as a new hobby for a few months post op. Nicely timed article chaps!
Ooo - no sooner do I start looking at using an Arduino for something, this article arrives :)
Can anyone comment on the feasability of this - An Arduino Nano, hooked up via an analogue input to the gooster's fuel sender. Some code to smooth the input (moving average or something) and then output this less noisy signal to the analogue gauage (via PWM on one of the digi outputs).
I'm hoping it would (with the right software) stop the fuel gauge going bananas whenever the car moves. It would also make swithcing on my low fuel light easy, and I could replace the circuit I already have...
Originally Posted by GreatOldOne Can anyone comment on the feasability of this - An Arduino Nano, hooked up via an analogue input to the gooster's fuel sender. Some code to smooth the input (moving average or something) and then output this less noisy signal to the analogue gauage (via PWM on one of the digi outputs).
Totally feasible, but what format is the input? Reading the frequency/duty cycle rather than running it through an ADC may be a better idea. Or if it truly is an analogue signal you may want to output it is an analogue output rather than a squarewave.
Originally Posted by capnPedro Totally feasible, but what format is the input? Reading the frequency/duty cycle rather than running it through an ADC may be a better idea. Or if it truly is an analogue signal you may want to output it is an analogue output rather than a squarewave.
The fuel sender is a potentiometer that has an arm with a float on the end. It gives a varying voltage depending on the level of fuel. According to my figures, on a 12v car circuit, the sender gives 0.59v when full and 3.20v empty.
The problem is that when you accelerate, brake, corner etc, the fuel sloshes around, which make the gauge go crazy as the arm on the sender wangs up and down. I'd like to stop that by averaging it out, and maybe only updating the dial every minute or so.
I've used the Arduino Due-whatever for a couple projects. Pretty easy to setup. Mostly just PWMing high-power (3W) LEDs based on inputs from a cheap CdS light sensor as a sort of dimmer thing.
I also hooked up a small speaker to the outputs and wrote a program to Rickroll, while flashing LEDs in sync with the music. I was working with a buddy who does music on the side and he figured out the frequency of the notes in Never Gonna Give You Up, then we had it PWM the speaker at the same frequencies.
It's certainly an easy way to get started. I did some work with a small PIC controller before. Connecting it was complicated (who has serial ports now?) and it needed to be set up initially with a program before it could accept the custom programming.
I'd absolutely love to make something with this - just as I would love to make an iPhone or Android App - but I just find it so hard to think of a good idea for it.
For anyone looking to take more control over their arduino and ditch the super-simple Arduino GUI, take a look at my WikiHow on the subject; http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Arduino-Software-in-C
Tells you how you can develop Arduino software with the Eclipse IDE, and edit the base files that make an Arduino run. I use it all the time for editing hardware interrupts.
TF2 Kill-counter through an Arduino
This is a great little project if you're new to the Arduino and love TF2. It's great for teaching you how to communicate with the arduino over USB with a serial connection, and is a good introduction to the Arduino programming language. Most of all, its fun :)
Comments 1 to 25 of 29
ReplyIs that Practical Arduino a good book to buy? I'd really like to get to understand the Arduino and be able to make some cool projects with it. They're fun and not that expensive either!
Nice Article, thanks .
Concurrent programming on an atmega.
Best bet if you want a gentle introduction is Oomlout's ARDX kit - it makes it *really* simple to build things, and gives you a good idea of what's going on at the software end too.
It's a pet peeve, I mean sure if you want to do it, it's your money and you can do it, but it really bugs me.
To clarify: I'm not ragging on the morse code flasher here - a uC is perfect for this job - but migrating to something like an ATtiny13 would be better - it's <£1 and has 4 I/O ports and doesn't need an external oscillator. It's a better candidate to use hardware wise, but you'd need to learn proper C rather than Processing/Wiring to get the job done (it's not overly hard, I don't think... as long as you can do a few binary bitwise operations). You can even use your Arduino as an ISP AVR programmer.
Im soon for surgery to mod a (regularly) dislocated shoulder and was looking at a C++ / Arduino / Electronics combo as a new hobby for a few months post op. Nicely timed article chaps!
Big huggles to Bit Tech Towers :)
Great article nonetheless! Going right into my favs to experiment as soon as I get some time!
Can anyone comment on the feasability of this - An Arduino Nano, hooked up via an analogue input to the gooster's fuel sender. Some code to smooth the input (moving average or something) and then output this less noisy signal to the analogue gauage (via PWM on one of the digi outputs).
I'm hoping it would (with the right software) stop the fuel gauge going bananas whenever the car moves. It would also make swithcing on my low fuel light easy, and I could replace the circuit I already have...
yup, one of my uni modules was based around the arduino. Was quite fun really, and very accessible for anyone to use.
Totally feasible, but what format is the input? Reading the frequency/duty cycle rather than running it through an ADC may be a better idea. Or if it truly is an analogue signal you may want to output it is an analogue output rather than a squarewave.
The fuel sender is a potentiometer that has an arm with a float on the end. It gives a varying voltage depending on the level of fuel. According to my figures, on a 12v car circuit, the sender gives 0.59v when full and 3.20v empty.
The problem is that when you accelerate, brake, corner etc, the fuel sloshes around, which make the gauge go crazy as the arm on the sender wangs up and down. I'd like to stop that by averaging it out, and maybe only updating the dial every minute or so.
I also hooked up a small speaker to the outputs and wrote a program to Rickroll, while flashing LEDs in sync with the music. I was working with a buddy who does music on the side and he figured out the frequency of the notes in Never Gonna Give You Up, then we had it PWM the speaker at the same frequencies.
It's certainly an easy way to get started. I did some work with a small PIC controller before. Connecting it was complicated (who has serial ports now?) and it needed to be set up initially with a program before it could accept the custom programming.
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-Arduino-Software-in-C
Tells you how you can develop Arduino software with the Eclipse IDE, and edit the base files that make an Arduino run. I use it all the time for editing hardware interrupts.
This is a great little project if you're new to the Arduino and love TF2. It's great for teaching you how to communicate with the arduino over USB with a serial connection, and is a good introduction to the Arduino programming language. Most of all, its fun :)
-
« Previous
-
1
-
2
-
Next »
Discuss in the forums