Latest topics from “adafruit industries”

Arduino and Furby

godzillalaughs — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:29:48 -0400

Anyone have any information on hacking a furby with arduino?

I have seen this

http://www.instructables.com/id/Furby-Brain-Surgery/

and this
http://retrointerfacing.com/?tag=arduino

but neither explain the furby pin functions and what type of signals.

Anything would be great. Thanks

Standard rechargeable AA battery solar charger

cordstar — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:29:29 -0400

Hi,
Does anyone know of the whereabouts of a solar AA NiMH rechargeable battery charger kit?
They seem to be more powerful than Lipoly batteries and there is a handy case for 2 xAA batteries with the Minty boost kit. A solar charger circuit for the batteries would be useful but is proving difficult to find.
Many thanks.

The arduino meta

Harrison_grant — Wed, 16 May 2012 17:26:29 -0400

What is that classified as. as far as boards is concerned, because i can't seem to get my ardunio to work even though it says everything is up to date and working properly. I have a ftdi-friend hooked up to my 368 meta, hooked up to my computer.

MEga 2560 + Ethernet Shield + Motor Shield

simonsaito — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:48:35 -0400

I am having problems with the Arduino crashing when after receiving a few inputs. It only happens with the motors attached and I am wondering if it is due to incompatibility between the shields.

"The following pins are in use only if the DC/Stepper noted is in use:
Digital pin 11: DC Motor #1 / Stepper #1 (activation/speed control)
Digital pin 3: DC Motor #2 / Stepper #1 (activation/speed control)
Digital pin 5: DC Motor #3 / Stepper #2 (activation/speed control)
Digital pin 6: DC Motor #4 / Stepper #2 (activation/speed control)"

"Arduino uses digital pins 10, 11, 12, and 13 (SPI) to communicate with the W5100 on the ethernet shield. These pins cannot be used for general i/o."

Since they both use pin 11 this would cause a problem right?

Thank you for thoughts/inputs.

-Simon

heatsink for 1W LED

planetscape — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:44:31 -0400

Hi!

Does anyone know where I can get just the heatsink for 1W LEDs like https://www.adafruit.com/products/518?

TIA!

MentaLSHIELD?

madhunm — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:17:15 -0400

Hello all,

I was smitten by the Menta; I have two in the mail at the moment.

While waiting, I started to doodle in eagle and here is what I came up with:

a Menta 'Shield' with place for an Ultimate GPS breakout and a CAN bus interface - yes, I plan to install this in a car.

I shall have another Menta with a TFT Shield displaying the GPS and CAN bus data as well as logging the data to the SD card.

I have attached the schematic; please review and comment.

MentalShield.zip

P.S. In case I am required to rename this to anything else so as not to use 'Menta' in the name, I shall be more than happy to do so.

Thanks,
Madhu.

real time clock and wifi

sciroccor — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:28:26 -0400

HI. I am trying to connect both a RTC and the XBee boards to the arduino (uno) or mega (hopefully). as they use the same pins, is this possible? i just used the RTC code posted on the ladyada site and haven't really spent time on understanding the communication protocol. anyone help me here?

thanks for any help!

Chronodot and LoL Shield conflict HELP!

GoolGaul — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:09:02 -0400

Hey all,

I am using a chronodot and a LoL Shield, and using the associated Charlieplex library and a host of different RTC libraries.

With ANY RTC example sketch, when I #include the Charllieplex library and add the required "LedSign::Init();" command to the setup(), the sketch crashes. When I '//' out the LedSign::Init(); command, the sketches all proceed properly.

The below attached code is not mine, it was written by Eric Ayars. I amusing it as it is the simplest way to show the problem I am having....

Code: Select all: } void loop() { // send what's going on to the serial monitor. // Start with the year Serial.print("2"); if (Century) { // Won't need this for 89 years. Serial.print("1"); } else { Serial.print("0"); } Serial.print(Clock.getYear(), DEC); Serial.print(' '); // then the month Serial.print(Clock.getMonth(Century), DEC); Serial.print(' '); // then the date Serial.print(Clock.getDate(), DEC); Serial.print(' '); // and the day of the week Serial.print(Clock.getDoW(), DEC); Serial.print(' '); // Finally the hour, minute, and second Serial.print(Clock.getHour(h12, PM), DEC); Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(Clock.getMinute(), DEC); Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(Clock.getSecond(), DEC); // Add AM/PM indicator if (h12) { if (PM) { Serial.print(" PM "); } else { Serial.print(" AM "); } } else { Serial.print(" 24h "); } // Display the temperature Serial.print("T="); Serial.print(Clock.getTemperature(), 2); // Tell whether the time is (likely to be) valid if (Clock.oscillatorCheck()) { Serial.print(" O+"); } else { Serial.print(" O-"); } // Indicate whether an alarm went off if (Clock.checkIfAlarm(1)) { Serial.print(" A1!"); } if (Clock.checkIfAlarm(2)) { Serial.print(" A2!"); } // New line on display Serial.print('\n'); // Display Alarm 1 information Serial.print("Alarm 1: "); Clock.getA1Time(ADay, AHour, AMinute, ASecond, ABits, ADy, A12h, Apm); Serial.print(ADay, DEC); if (ADy) { Serial.print(" DoW"); } else { Serial.print(" Date"); } Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(AHour, DEC); Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(AMinute, DEC); Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(ASecond, DEC); Serial.print(' '); if (A12h) { if (Apm) { Serial.print('pm '); } else { Serial.print('am '); } } if (Clock.checkAlarmEnabled(1)) { Serial.print("enabled"); } Serial.print('\n'); // Display Alarm 2 information Serial.print("Alarm 2: "); Clock.getA2Time(ADay, AHour, AMinute, ABits, ADy, A12h, Apm); Serial.print(ADay, DEC); if (ADy) { Serial.print(" DoW"); } else { Serial.print(" Date"); } Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(AHour, DEC); Serial.print(' '); Serial.print(AMinute, DEC); Serial.print(' '); if (A12h) { if (Apm) { Serial.print('pm'); } else { Serial.print('am'); } } if (Clock.checkAlarmEnabled(2)) { Serial.print("enabled"); } /* display alarm bits Serial.print('\n'); Serial.print('Alarm bits: '); Serial.print(ABits, DEC); */ Serial.print('\n'); Serial.print('\n'); delay(1000); // Display the time once more as a test of the getTime() function Clock.getTime(year, month, date, DoW, hour, minute, second); Serial.print(year, DEC); Serial.print(month, DEC); Serial.print(date, DEC); Serial.print(DoW, DEC); Serial.print(hour, DEC); Serial.print(minute, DEC); Serial.println(second, DEC); }

Arduino Mega 2560 R3 bootloader

kbb — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:37:11 -0400

Older 2560s had problems w/ character strings "!!!"

Is the bootloader in R3 fixed? Are there other problems I need to be aware of before I purchase one?

thanks,

Help: BOD and lpd8806 = PNP

SamBamboo — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:25:11 -0400

Ok so here is my issue. When my microcontroller reaches BOD level due to low battery I need it to set the strip off. As of right now when the controller reaches BOD level, the micro is held off but the strip is still lit, and the only way to turn it off is by charging the batteries for a moment, turn it back on then normally turn it off. "sleep_mode". I know some controllers offer BOD as interrupt, but the one I am using doesn't. One suggestion was to use a PNP transistor in hopes that when the controller turns off by BOD, it'll set the base pin low (by default), "turning the strip off".

Q1: will this work?

Q2: I am using 3 meters of strip, will the strip cause the PNP the burn up? If not will it wear on the PNP and eventually cause failure?

The way I will hook it up is: collector to 5V on strip, emitter to 5V rail, base to resistor to digital pin

Xbee sensor voltage

tinkeringtech — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:25:22 -0400

This has probably been asked before, so excuse me if its a duplicate question.
Can I interface a 3.3V or a 5V sensor to an Xbee ADC pin on the Adafruit adapter board? can the Xbee ADC pins handle either one?
Thanks.

Ask an Engineer and Show and Tell - 5/12/2012

george graves — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:25:09 -0400

SHOW AND TELL 5/12/2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqCk_3Skllc

Ask an Engineer 5/12/12 : https://vimeo.com/42237254

Problem with Wave Shield 1.1 SD I/O error: 1, 0

W8938 — Wed, 16 May 2012 09:21:47 -0400

Good afternoon,

I have purchased an Adafruit Wave shield just a few days ago.
I'm using a Arduino MEGA 2560 and a 256 mb DS card.
When I ran one of the sketches given as examples it returned this error :

Error: Card init. failed!
SD I/O error: 1, 0

I've read in several topics on this forum that it was caused by bad soldering, could you help me find out what's wrong with mine ? Thank you !

W8938

atmega168A programming with avrdude

Dkuriloff — Wed, 16 May 2012 08:21:27 -0400

I have version 5.8cvs of avrdude running in the terminal program on a MacBook pro OS10
The atmega168A is just an slightly improved version of the non-A
version but only the 168 is listed. They are completely compatible.
But the signature bytes are different, so i have been told that avrdude gets confused and
thinks you have the wrong. I was also told that I could just
use the atmega168 selection but would probably need to add the the '-F' option to Force avrdude to ignore the signature bytes. What command lines do I use to make this all work?
Thanks

Data logger read logg with Arduino?

rabbadab — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:17:10 -0400

Hi,
I have searched for a tutorial or some sort of information if there is a possibility for the Arduino to read from the logg the data logger makes and from that show stats on for example a display.
I am thinking of making some sort of sleep analyser and I would like in the morning just see how I sleept. Not going to my computer all the time.

Have anyone seen a tutorial about reading the data loggers content by the Arduino?

Motor shield two motors

hexdrexd — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:03:16 -0400

Im currently trying to control two dc motor using the adafruit motor shield to control the movement of this chassis
http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1060TReX

However I'm currently confused on how to control two motors through the programming with the use of the motor shield.The pseudo code goes like this and the wiring setup of the motor shield.

for forward movement : two motors turns on in one direction for x amount of time
for reverse movement : two motors turns on in the opposite direction
for left turn 90 degrees : one motor turn in one direction while the other one turns in the opposite direction
for right turn : opposite of the left turn
stopping:both motors turn off

I know I can just use the delay functions to set the time running

Ive done some reading and these are the functions that are included with the shield,however im not sure how I would control two motors since the examples ive seen only uses one.

motor.setSpeed(speed) sets the speed of the motor.
motor.run(FORWARD) makes it go forward
motor.run(BACKWARD) makes it go backward
motor.run(RELEASE) makes it stop

Currently I have a 9v powering the arduino what else power would I need? the chassis has a power source for the two motors
but would i feed this to the motor shield then connect the motor to the shield ? Or I would need 3 independent battery source one for the arduino,one for the shield and one for the motors

thank you for your time and patience

Pinout for Konica Minolta EVF???

electronbee — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:14:17 -0400

I hvae two dead K/M pro-sumer P&S.. an A1 and a 7 both which had an EVF in them. I found a parts manual online but no schematic diagram. In retrospect, I should have looked to see where any traces went on the mainboard to what IC and then looked that up. But, that is long gone.

DC Boarduino Problem

Azekiel — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:14:16 -0400

DC Boarduino Kit (72) assembly went well. Performed all interim steps and what was supposed to blink and light up, did.
Following theassembly procedures, and not knowing the consequences, Installed Ceramic Capacitor C6.
Using the FTDI Cable (70), connected the Boarduino to the PC. The PC recognizes the FTDI on COM11 running Arduino 1.0.
Power light stays on throughout. Pressing the reset button would make the Red LED blink 3 times.
I then attempted load the standard BLINK sketch from Examples/Basics/Blink. It compiled normally.
During the upload, the Red LED blinked six times in succession, then shortly after, two more times, and I got an error code:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

If I then open the Serial Monitor, the Red LED blinks 3 times, like at reset.
When I close the serial monitor, the Red LED blinks 3 times.

If I clip the C6 Cap to run without it:
Reset button makes Red LED blink 3 times. Compile runs normally.
During upload, no lights blink on Boarduino and get the same error:

avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00

This same FTDI cable has been used to configure multiple Xbees successfully.

Tried to attach photos, but was unsuccessful.

Thank you.

Arduino Mega 2560 R3 with Adafruit Mega Protoshield

Anthony511 — Tue, 15 May 2012 23:21:23 -0400

I didn't realize that the Adafruit protoshield for sale:
https://www.adafruit.com/products/192

Is not the current shield for the R3 mega:
http://store.nkcelectronics.com/MEGAshi ... p_309.html

Now that I've already ordered it and it is on its way, what issues will I have using the shield with the Arduino Mega 2560 R3?

Thanks,
Anthony

Support German TV-Haters.

Suse — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:53:33 -0400

Hello,

i Gregor from Germany, im very interesstet in the TV-B-Gone Kit! But i have no idea about coding or anything else. So my first question is: Is the Kit already ready to use ? Or must it built first by me ?
Does it also work in germany/europe ?
Can i turn off also beamers, and if not how could it been modifed to do so ?

Sorry for my bad english, and thank you for your Help.

USBTiny - USB Device Not Recognized

tastywheat — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:42:12 -0400

Hello,

I've just assembled a USBtinyISP (purchased from adafruit), upon plugging it in to the computer -- Windows 7 64bit -- no leds turn on and I get the message "usb device is not recognized". Below are some screenshots of the error and my solder job:

USB / DC / Solar Lithium Ion/Polymer charger

Hassan Mohammad — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:17:02 -0400

I am building a UAV that use solar so can I use this in my system? And how much current it can handle? How many Lipo cells I can connect to it.
Out of the subject question.
Do you ship to UAE?

Thanks.

Is it possible to control 8806 light strip with DMX-512?

jhaus515 — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:28:57 -0400

I'm undertaking a massive project/learning experience and been searching around for information but cannot find what I'm looking for. Basically what I would like to do is build a custom low resolution RGB LED screen using multiple strands of LPD8806 LED light strips that are controlled via a DMX-512 computer program such as MADRIX. MADRIX is able to output pictures, videos, etc. over a USB to DMX connection. How can I convert DMX to the LPD8806 IC? Is it possible for the DMX-512 and 8806 IC to "talk" to each other in order to map the pixels across the strands of light strips? Any guidance and help is greatly appreciated!

Pull up resistor on the reset line of the 32U4

ograff — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:28:30 -0400

Hi,
On the 32U4 breakout board there is no pull up resistor (that I could find) on the RESET line. I am designing a board with that chip and from looking at the RESET pin description on the datasheet I couldn't find anything saying whether or not it needed a pull up, so do I need to include one in my board?

Thanks,
Oliver

AM2302

BK1981 — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:55:44 -0400

I've gotten the DHT AM2302 temperature/humidity sensor and have tried to test it by uploading the DHT test sketch from two different Arduinos (a fabbed and a commercial one,) both of which have been tested and shown to work. No luck. It just keeps getting failed readings. Suggestions?

32°F / 0°C Thermocouple *& MAX6675 & Water

ldeep — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:34:46 -0400

Hi all

Ive a Arduino Uno R3, connected via USB. Ive got a MAX6675 and a Type K Thermocouple. When I start the program (example, without LCD) it starts measuring. Values are to high (20C real / Thermo measures ~27)

But when I put the Thermocouple into a glas of hot water, it immedeatly gets 0C/32F. Same when i put the end of the thermocouple between my fingers.

im all new to arduino - did i do sth wrong? i got the yellow on plus.. rest looks ok - could post an image if it helps?

thx for your help

vfd

dvlee — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:51:03 -0400

05-tue15-12
Hi,
I have been for the longest while (almost 2 months now) been given a project to get a vacuum fluorescent display to work.(noritake itron CW20045-UW5A url:http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&sqi=2&ved=0CGcQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ageta.hu%2Fattachment.php%3Fid_attachment%3D74&ei=bZWsT5jzE4XuggefrLiiBA&usg=AFQjCNG_W3kL8x8cXs_uMFk3Hi37SWuGtA&sig2=li4_tGPOZn0l5IwsOqXZiw)
I was originally given a PIC18F458 dev board CP-PIC V3 to work with and had many problems from code compilation with MPLAB 84.V8, to downloading with the EPICWIN and when i finally got the program on the chip and the connections made 7 data lines, 3control lines and vcc and ground.....nothing. I've been on at least 10 different forums and still have not succeeded. I am not very good at programming and am learning.Took a class in the atmega32p and have an arduino uno board, which I have now turned to in the hope of getting this thing to work. I am using the examples given in the mazidi/naimi text (avr microcontroller...) and want to use and modify an LCD sketch from the arduino.cc site or from the text and AVR studio 5, to see if I can at least get this thing to light up and say something. Eventually I want to have it give readouts from sensors for various parameters like windspeed, barometric pressure, etc, but for now just want it to talk. I have a number of questions on some things I dont understand: 1) I see the diagram for the connections of the various ports A, B, C of the chip to a 14-pin optrex LCD (similar to the vfd); the datasheet for the chip does not give the corresponding header pin positions on the uno board, I mean, shouldn't there be the same number of and corresponding header positions as there are port pins? 2) the vfd does not have pins for backlights and backlight ground; all this is supposed to be activated by the code, so I take it the code downloaded should cater for this fact and any part of the code with backlight pins called out (as in some sketches in arduino.cc) be eliminated.
Can you please help me to finally get this thing to work.
Thanks.
Dave.

Portable Power for waterproof LED Strip

justjoe — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:14:04 -0400

Could 1 foot long strip be powered by a standalone 9 V battery or 3.7 lipo with a voltage booster circuit ? And if so, if cost was not a factor which would you go with?

Outdoor TTL serial camera IR LED control

drazvan — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:06:33 -0400

Hello,

Is there a way to control the infrared LEDs on the outdoor version of the TTL serial camera (either turn them off altogether or turn them on/off at will in software)? I have a project where the camera is to be used outdoors but the infrared lighting would not be required (the area to be monitored is too far from the camera for the LEDs to be effective and the system is battery-powered so I would like to keep the LEDs off).

Also, one more question: does the camera turn the LEDs on at night even when you're not requesting images? I mean will it take 250mA of power at night even if you're not taking pictures? I think the LinkSprite cameras were capable of only turning the LEDs on at the exact time you were getting an image. Is this the case with the Adafruit camera?

Thank you,
Razvan

How does SIM Reader work?

Fruitloops — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:47:36 -0400

My SIM Reader reads SMS messages (but not phone numbers) on a card that I have and I'm satisfied with this Kit. I looked at the schematic and see very few connections to the SIM card (3.5 meg clock signal, In, Out and RST). I sure would appreciate it if someone could give a brief (or any kind) of explanation of how the software and Reader acts upon the SIM card. Even a simple, general description would be appreciated...
Dave

Feedback on Accelerometer breakout

osbock — Tue, 15 May 2012 11:27:06 -0400

Hi folks, Don't know if this is the right place, but I've been building various things using your accelerometer breakout board, and one other.
First, it's great quality, and performs to spec. The voltage choices are very convenient, and I find the mounting holes very useful, and the layout of the connections compact, yet not difficult to solder.

My one complaint for human interface projects is the sensitivity range of the sensor (ADXL335) in question.
It's nearly impossible to get any where near it's range limits with human motions. It's generally good, and the range is usable, but I've found the
Freescale MMA7361 is better. It has two selectable ranges 1.5 G, great for what I'm doing, and 6 G, which is great for rocketry projects etc.

I'm using the Modern Devices breakout (which is great, and cheap, but I don't love the layout as much as yours).
Sparkfun also offers one, but it doesn't have 5V regulation.

I'd love it if you added a breakout for this or similar chip. (also the slightly lower cost is also attractive!)
Thanks,
Kevin

Thermal printer: Japanese/Chinese characters

MartijnK1 — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:43:18 -0400

Hi Everyone,

I'm just starting out with the Thermal Printer that I received a couple of days ago but I can't seem to be able to print Japanese characters (hiragana and katakana).
The data sheet of the printer tells me that it supports GB2312-80(Chinese) but I cannot figure out how to send them over serial to print (just ASSCI works fine).
I'm rather new to the whole Arduino environment and programming so it might be something small that I need to do, but I cant seem to figure it out.
Thanks in advance! :]!!

Kind regards,
MartijnK1

P.S. Im using the'library provided by Adafruit.

Writing to Arduino B's input pin with Arduino A's output pin

pmw — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:21:06 -0400

Hello. My question is the reverse of the question in this thread. I have two Arduino boards, call them UUT and Tester. I want to write to a digital pin of the UUT using Tester.

As per the previous thread, I connected grounds. I am able to successfully read pins of UUT using Tester. But writing to the other board is wonky. Most of the time it doesn't have any effect, even though I measure 5V between board A's output pin and ground during the write. Usually, another pin on the UUT gets asserted -- one that I don't intentionally write to -- during test initialization, such as setting the pin mode.

A bit more about the setup and symptoms: the UUT has four LEDs, two pushbuttons, and one pin that's wired directly to the Tester (for resetting the UUT's program). I have all seven wired to the Tester board. The Tester board runs LIFA (LabVIEW Interface for Arduino) firmware. Initially, when I first start the Tester, the LEDs on the UUT that are supposed to be off are dimly lit. As I step through the Tester setting digital pin modes, those dimly-lit LEDs turn off. Sometime during this initialization, the UUT acts as if one of its pushbuttons (wired to the Tester) was pushed. This happens once per initialization, and I don't know why. After that completes, I am able to read LEDs correctly. But when I try to write to the directly-wired pin (the one that's supposed to put the UUT into a known state), the UUT does not respond at all. While, as I said, the Tester is sending 5V.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

i2c voltage on LCD Shield

bobm123 — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:12:51 -0400

Hi,
I'd like to use the LCD shield with the datalogger shield and old bpm085 module (the one w/o the voltage regulators). Unfortunately, I changed the data logger's i2c bus to use 3.3v pull-ups. I suspect the LCD shield has the i2c pins pulled up to 5v, right?

I probably either need the newer pressure sensor with the regulators or to add a regulator to the proto area of the data logger shield. I think I can figure this out, but wonder Is there a link to the schematics for these boards?

By the way, the LCD shield works great! Once I turned the pot to 10'oclock that is...

Thanks in advance!
Bob M

spi top speed

mtbf0 — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:06:19 -0400

i'm trying to figure out the top speed for spi transfers and how to achieve it. seems like with the clock set to fosc/4 and spi2x bit set it would take 16 clock cycles to get the data out, plus one tick to load the data register. i'd like a little help to write a little bit of assembler that fetches a byte fro program memory and preloads it into a register, decrements a counter, wastes a few cycles, tests the counter and arrives back at the top of a loop in exactly 17 clock cycles. i never have much luck with inline assembler in my arduino code, but i need something like this...

Code: Select all: ldi R1,240 ; load loop counter LOOP: out SPDR,R0 ;data out 1 cycle lpm R0,Z+ ; fetch next byte +3 cycles nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle nop ;do nothing +1 cycle subi R1,1 ;decrement loop counter +1 cycle brne LOOP ;loop +2 cycles

i know i could use the branch on bit set in i/o regster instruction, but i don't really understand its timing, though i'm pretty sure it would get me to the top of my loop a little bit late..

any advise will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

Analogwrite and motor controller

keith.liu — Tue, 15 May 2012 06:36:48 -0400

Hi all,

I'm new to Arduino. I'm trying to start my first Arduino project which aims to control a 0.8kW motor simply by a few buttons.

I have been reading the Arduino Cookbook published by O'reilly and try to understand the attached circuit it recommends. Before start purchasing hardware and components, I should resolve the 2 questions below first:

1. according to the attached circuit, I don't understand how Analogwrite() command could control the speed of the motor. Correct me if I'm wrong: the Analogwrite() would generate signal with a fixed frequency to the transistor, and I don't understand how the signal control the power that motor receives which determine the motor speed.
2. Since I'm going to use a 0.8k W motor, I'm sure I need a shield. However, would the attach circuit still valid/practical? would I need a relay, or anything else?

I would appreciate any comments. Thank you so much!!

keith

completed solar charger project

Meow — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:52:08 -0400

Hello all:) I want to share with everyone my solar charger build.

After looking at ransomhall's solbooster build at http://www.ransomhall.com/Pages/solbooster.aspx, i was inspired to build my own. I wanted, in addition to a standard shorted dataline USB port for android devices, a 5V 2A USB port to charge iPads and iPhones.

I ordered 2 2W panels and a solar lipo charger board from adafruit. I have used those 2W panels in an earlier project, and I am very satisfied with its build quality and performance.

I also acquired a texas instruments ptn04050c booster module to do the job. It has a 12W maximum output, perfect for charging an iPad(iPads require 10W). Also, it could boost voltage anywhere between 5 to 15V by setting resistor values. I figured a 12V 1A output might come in handy, so i designed the charger to have 2 outputs that are switchable.

I got a 3.7V 6000mAh lithium polymer battery from the local electronic hobby store. It should provide at least 2 full charges to my phone after factoring for losses and inefficiencies.

But, the solar charger could only output a maximum of 1.8A through the LOAD port. I bypassed the LOAD port, and connected the power input directly to the lipo battery, sacrificing the ability to solar charge the device while charging a high powered device like an iPad.

Best of all, I had access to a laser cutter in my college. In my free time, I designed a case around the parts I have lying around, and a plate to hold the 2 solar panels together.

Then, I got my laser cut acrylic parts. Pretty!

Some test fitting..

and finally...

I hope anyone who comes by here will enjoy reading it!

Adafruit Ultimate GPS Breakout & Ethernet?

RUInsane — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:30:41 -0400

I'm trying to use this GPS breakout board on an Arduino Mega 2560 with an Ethernet shield. There seems to be some kind of bad interplay between the two. If I start the GPS module first the Ethernet card won't start. If I start the Ethernet shield first the GPS unit will error out. The only way to get them both running is if I start the GPS, get the location, put the GPS module to sleep, something I found in this forum entry -

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=28121

It seems like the constant chatter from the GPS module is interferring with the Ethernet shield. The problem now is that once the Ethernet class is started I can't shut it down to get location information again. So I can only get location information on start up (lame)

What am I missing?

Mini Thermal Receipt Printer on hardware serial

rj44319 — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:25:17 -0400

I see the library uses software serial. How would I convert this over?
Thanks,
Rick

Adafruit: GPS logger shield kit

dmh — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:43:29 -0400

Hi,

I was trying to think of a way to add an LCD to the GPS logger shield kit so that I could see the coordinates etc,
I'm guessing that the LCD shield kit could be stacked on top of the logger shield kit.

If this is the case then does this mean the LCD and GPS logger shield share the I2C bus?

Thanks
Mike

SPI sharing

wb8nbs — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:09:06 -0400

I'm borrowing some of your LCD backpack code. Thought you would like to know. Wordpress link http://wp.me/p2mMsN-z

SparkFun subpoena

theyallhateme — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:46:25 -0400

http://www.sparkfun.com/news/836

How do you guys feel about this? Do you think they did the right thing? How does AI handle situations like this?

12mm pixel, drive 4 strands on battery

Boz — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:41:17 -0400

http://www.adafruit.com/products/322
Looking for pointers to a solution for a wearable with some charge longevity
that would have the amperage to drive 4 strands .

I was thinking a dc to dc mini atx auto power supply off of a d cell belt, but im open to anything.

Thanks
BOZ

Ultimate GPS stopped reporting during balloon flight

joatman66 — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:27:29 -0400

I flew an ultimate GPS to over 90,000 feet today, but the Ultimate GPS quit reporting position and altitude after 9441 meters.

Here's a sample data chunk...

Time: 14:31:34.Date: 14/5/2012
Fix: 1 quality: 2
Location: 3743.5610N, 8902.9697W
Speed (knots): 16.52
Angle: 35.81
Altitude: 9441.10
Satellites: 9
accelerations are x, y, z: 295 309 380
External Temperature: -34.3199996948C / -29.5240001678F. Humidity: 10.94%
Temperature = -8.60 *C
Pressure = 26184 Pa
Altitude = 10064.10 meters
Real altitude = 10076.80 meters

Time: 14:33:23.Date: 14/5/2012
Fix: 1 quality: 0
Location: 0.0000, 0.0000
Speed (knots): 16.52
Angle: 35.81
Altitude: 0.00
Satellites: 9
accelerations are x, y, z: 300 307 366
External Temperature: -33.5600013732C / -28.2639999389F. Humidity: 10.90%
Temperature = -8.80 *C
Pressure = 26131 Pa
Altitude = 10076.07 meters
Real altitude = 10091.98 meters

It continued reporting 0's even though it still had 9 satellites until is broke back below 9400.

Product description states it as no altitude limit.

Is there a way to verify this to see if it is a hardware problem or just an anomaly from this flight. It's not easy, nor cheap to sent if back up for a test.

Thanks!
Aaron

Chain of 16x24 LED Matrix displays

Delchi — Mon, 14 May 2012 18:22:23 -0400

Greetings!

Question : I intend to build a display sign using the 16x24 red LED matrix displays. Having RTFM , I see that you have a Arduino library written for creating text and so on , however I was left with two questions :

1. I intend on making the device to be real-time programmable via ethernet. For example on (event) send (message) to the sign and then (display) it. Is this possible with the current library?

2. Given #1 , which Arduino should I purchase for the project?

In the name of Sk0d, who sits at the right hand of 0din and protects our networks,
-- Delchi

Ps : How much would it cost for a Ladyada autographed Extech EX330 12-function autoranging multimeter?

problem compiling RTClib

Mark Snaterse — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:28:02 -0400

I am having a problem compiling RTClib. I am using Arduino 1.0, and have downloaded the latest version of the library (from https://github.com/adafruit/RTClib). Below is the error I am getting. Any pointers in the right direction would be appreciated!

In file included from sketch_may14a.cpp:1:
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:7: error: expected `)' before 't'
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:8: error: expected `)' before 'year'
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:11: error: 'uint16_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:12: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:13: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:14: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:15: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:16: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:17: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:22: error: 'uint32_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:25: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:31: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type
C:\Documents and Settings\~\My Documents\Arduino\libraries\RTClib/RTClib.h:33: error: 'uint8_t' does not name a type

coin acceptor power supply?

baileygrib — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:24:41 -0400

Hi , i was just wondering how to power the 4 coin coin acceptor, if its from the arduino which gets power from you comp. or if it plugs into an outlet... if adafruit sells the power supply stuffs could somebody please post a link to its product page or give me the name of it so i can find it?
thanks!

Watch Dog Setup

Aluman000 — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:42:06 -0400

Hello all,

Looking at several examples of the set up for the watchdog.
A lot have this code:
void setup_watchdog(int ii) {

byte bb;
int ww;

if (ii > 9 ) ii=9;

bb=ii & 7;

if (ii > 7) bb|= (1<<5);

bb|= (1< ww=bb;
Serial.println(ww);

The way I see this, the second 'if' statement is never going to execute because 9 (max value from first 'if') & 7 = 0001.
So really, the max you can get from 'bb=ii&7 is 7 when ii = 7. Am I understanding bitwise and correctly?
If I do this doesn't make a lot of sense.

I need watchdog to stay asleep for about 5 minutes between data points. The most I can find is 8 seconds. I'm nervous to play too much with this because I read that I can mess stuff up with the watchdog command.

Any help would be appreciated.

TSL2561 sensor question

Stephanie — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:13:15 -0400

Question re. this item: http://www.adafruit.com/products/439

I've been working with two of these luminosity sensor boards, and with one project now finished in an enclosure while the other is still bare on the workbench, I've noticed a significant difference in the values that the sensors report.

The one that is in an enclosure is reporting much lower levels than the one that is still out on the workbench. The sensor board that is in the finished project is positioned beneath a hole that is about 3/16" or 3 to 4 mm in diameter. There is no lens or 'window' that might filter the light. I made sure the hole was larger than the diagonal of the TSL2561 chip and that the chip is centred beneath the hole. The plastic of the enclosure is maybe 2mm or 1/8" thick.

Having another read through the datasheet, I notice on page 8 it shows a graph for 'Normalized Responsivity vs. Angular Displacement'. If I'm reading this correctly, it makes me think that the sensor chip responds to light coming at it in basically a 180 degree hemisphere? Granted, the responsivity at 90 degrees is < 10% but even at 30 degrees from directly ahead, that is at about 85% responsiveness?

So my TSL2561 which is in the enclosure has, at a very (very!) rough guesstimate, a field-of-view of 60 degrees (30 to either side) then it is not able to 'see' the full amount of light around it which would explain why the readings are so much lower than the one that is on the workbench.

The datasheet doesn't actually discuss 'field of view' at all and only gives that one graph that I think is about field of view. But that doesn't indicate if it's for vertical or horizontal axis (or both) but I can't believe the two axes would have the same responsivity since the photo-active area is given as a very narrow rectangle shape... The datasheet does mention that an optical aperture (I guess that's the term for my hole-in-a-plastic-box) / light pipe will affect the readings (p 22) but doesn't give any other information on what to do about it.

So finally my question - is there some kind of math formula that one should / could apply to the sensor's readings, to offset a reduced field of view of the sensor? I'm not very good at math; all I can think of is to compare the enclosed versus unenclosed readings over 4 or 5 different conditions and plot the differences then come up with either a simple formula or a look-up-table to adjust for the difference.

Thanks!

Atmega 88 programming using usbasp / avrdude

avo3 — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:21:44 -0400

Hello,
First of all I`m new guy so sorry for some mistake which I will surely do.
I almost build the working wavebubble. But when I check the usart communication nothing work.
I use usbasp programmer and avrdude software.
First I burn the fuses like here:
http://www.ladyada.net/make/wavebubble/tuning.html
and evey test work geat except uart test.
I use putty for the comunication with board.
I the boadr with ft232 work`s great I checked.
There is some interestin think about programing using avrdude.
First as I sad program the fuses then I download to ucontroler program with uncommented test uart.
At the last line of software avr dude ask me that the fuses have been changed and if I would like to re-program it back.
So I choose yes I try to stay in this which program suggested but it just go worse because it block my u controller.
Thank You for help me.