Author Topic: Comment on "Arduino - What bits to start with...and a bit of head bashing!"  (Read 10091 times)

Yttrium

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Hello everyone,

I really enjoyed this episode on Arduino and more particularly the philosophy of getting into Arduino.

Based on my personal experience with Arduino...

I agree with Martin that it is much more inspiring to have a personal goal, something to accomplish, to build, before starting experimenting with Arduino.  Even if this approach is a bit risky for lack of not knowing if the goal is attainable and to what degree, this personal goal will indeed provide the necessary "drive" to keep going through difficult moments when problems arise.

Thinking of something to accomplish without first figuring out all the tiny technical aspects of a project calls upon imagination and is one of the best ways to avoid restricting the project.  Anyway, once the project starts, adjustments are possible.

Also true, dividing the project into smaller tasks and then going back to the official examples, documentation and demos available to gain knowledge, makes the project more manageable and provides inspiring accomplishments.

Even though the approach Martin describes is the one I prefer, I agree and respect that there are many ways to discover Arduino.

Yttrium  :)
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”  Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955

AB1BE

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Agreeing with Martin and Yttrium, I feel that having a small project with a specific goal is a great way to learn the new aspects of the hardware and software.

One quick project that people might try as a second Arduino application is to make an intervalometer to allow a camera to take a sequence of photos over time. The pictures can be later converted into a time-lapse video by the PC or Mac. There are a number of examples of this project, of varying complexity, on the web. At its simplest, it's just about a basic C program triggering the camera shutter - just like a remote shutter release.  A few external components needed include an opto isolator and the right plug for your camera.

For those looking for a bunch of ideas together with good info on programming and the needed hardware, I recommend this book - Arduino Cookbook (2nd Edition). It has a camera shutter control circuit. For more advanced users, there are details of how to interface with a plethora of Input and Output devices.

Once you can wire up an Arduino, check this book out! http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Cookbook-Michael-Margolis/dp/1449313876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335633378&sr=8-1


MJLorton

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Agreeing with Martin and Yttrium, I feel that having a small project with a specific goal is a great way to learn the new aspects of the hardware and software.

One quick project that people might try as a second Arduino application is to make an intervalometer to allow a camera to take a sequence of photos over time. The pictures can be later converted into a time-lapse video by the PC or Mac. There are a number of examples of this project, of varying complexity, on the web. At its simplest, it's just about a basic C program triggering the camera shutter - just like a remote shutter release.  A few external components needed include an opto isolator and the right plug for your camera.

For those looking for a bunch of ideas together with good info on programming and the needed hardware, I recommend this book - Arduino Cookbook (2nd Edition). It has a camera shutter control circuit. For more advanced users, there are details of how to interface with a plethora of Input and Output devices.

Once you can wire up an Arduino, check this book out! http://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Cookbook-Michael-Margolis/dp/1449313876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335633378&sr=8-1

Thanks to both of you for the posts. Handy to know about that book....I had not come across it before.

Have a look at this gent's video...it is in Swedish (he says he'll do it again in English), is it the type of photographic device you were talking about?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0kzJqY7sS

Cheers,
Martin.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

AB1BE

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That youtube link doesn't work for me. So here's some more info that can get people started building a DIY Intervalometer for time lapse photography. See this fascinating example of a time lapse movie taken with a still camera:
http://vimeo.com/15780202

Intervalometers can start very simply with just a timed shutter release function. Here are some examples of varying complexity:

General time lapse theory and simple breadboad version
http://openmoco.org/node/88

Minimalistic version with a pot to set the interval timing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/obeyken/sets/72157629190026584/

Arduino with 7 segment displays to show the timing
http://www.trevorshp.com/creations/intervalometer.htm

Once the basics are mastered, there's room for growing the intervalometer. Some people have extended the concept to complex systems that automatically control exposure and even do motion repositioning (Pan, tilt, tracking etc.) of the camera during the time lapse sequence! Others even have panoramic time lapse movies!
http://www.murphlab.com/2011/07/07/panoramic-time-lapse-movies/ 

Good Design and construction resource
For high speed photoraphy, there is a complete dedicated DIY system called the Camera Axe that also has many sensors to trigger flashes. It has a comprehensive and interesting web site. There's a lot of useful info there including connecting to different cameras. Worth reading
http://www.cameraaxe.com

As a wise man once said "Play, discover, learn and enjoy!"

Ken AB1BE

MJLorton

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That youtube link doesn't work for me. So here's some more info that can get people started building a DIY Intervalometer for time lapse photography. See this fascinating example of a time lapse movie taken with a still camera:
http://vimeo.com/15780202

Intervalometers can start very simply with just a timed shutter release function. Here are some examples of varying complexity:

General time lapse theory and simple breadboad version
http://openmoco.org/node/88

Minimalistic version with a pot to set the interval timing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/obeyken/sets/72157629190026584/

Arduino with 7 segment displays to show the timing
http://www.trevorshp.com/creations/intervalometer.htm

Once the basics are mastered, there's room for growing the intervalometer. Some people have extended the concept to complex systems that automatically control exposure and even do motion repositioning (Pan, tilt, tracking etc.) of the camera during the time lapse sequence! Others even have panoramic time lapse movies!
http://www.murphlab.com/2011/07/07/panoramic-time-lapse-movies/ 

Good Design and construction resource
For high speed photoraphy, there is a complete dedicated DIY system called the Camera Axe that also has many sensors to trigger flashes. It has a comprehensive and interesting web site. There's a lot of useful info there including connecting to different cameras. Worth reading
http://www.cameraaxe.com

As a wise man once said "Play, discover, learn and enjoy!"

Ken AB1BE

Ken....I took an hour out of my day to go through the links and all I can say is thank-you, thank-you, thank-you. What a brilliant set of links, particularly the first time lapse....but all of it is fascinating.
One fine day....when time allows...I'll play with a bit of this too.

Here is the link that failed...my mistake: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0kzJqY7sS4

Cheers,
Martin.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

AB1BE

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Hi Martin,

Thanks for the corrected link. Glad that you liked the Intervalometer examples and the fascinating MUNI time lapse video from Ken Murphy.  Anyone who needs to be motivated to try time lapse photography should take a look at the work of benjamin ziegler in France at http://www.timelapses.fr/. His motion time lapse films are absolutely stunning!

Keep on cranking out your very interesting and helpful videos!

Cheers,

Ken

Michael

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Hi there Martin and fellow Arduino fans,

I, like many others, am pretty impressed with the time lapse camera project.  Very neat!

As for my thoughts re an Arduino project i would like to create a power usage monitor with a LCD that could display voltage, current, and maybe have some averaging function over time.

My big stumbling block is how to measure household voltages (240V in Australia) and current on a device that uses 5 volts.  I know there are heaps of devices available "off the shelf", but creating something you built form scratch is so much more rewarding!

Looking forward to the next video,

Michael
Sydney
Australia

MJLorton

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Hi there Martin and fellow Arduino fans,

I, like many others, am pretty impressed with the time lapse camera project.  Very neat!

As for my thoughts re an Arduino project i would like to create a power usage monitor with a LCD that could display voltage, current, and maybe have some averaging function over time.

My big stumbling block is how to measure household voltages (240V in Australia) and current on a device that uses 5 volts.  I know there are heaps of devices available "off the shelf", but creating something you built form scratch is so much more rewarding!

Looking forward to the next video,

Michael
Sydney
Australia

Hi Michael,

Good timing as both the series on Arduino and the next electronics tutorial will cover some of the fundamentals for your project.

Glad you are in!  :)

Cheers,
Martin.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

SeanB

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Mearuring voltage safely you just use a linear transformer unit, and connect the secondary voltage to a resistor to dissipate arouns 0.5W and measure the voltage across it, suitably scaled to suit the ADC. You can also use this to power the arduino, use a 5V regulator to provide the 5V you need. For current I saw some nice clip on AC current transformers, you can use this with a simple diode rectifier to provide the AC current input.

If you are wanting to do real and apparent power then you need to use the raw AC and half wave rectify it, and scale the resulting pulsed DC direct to the input pins. Then you will need to sample at some multiple of the mains frequency ( 300 times a second will cover both 50 and 60Hz areas) and do your math on the samples.

TheoG

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Hey guys!

Also have to agree with Martin's comment of having a goal in mind.

Having a goal is what got me introduced to arduino, and in essence, to electronics. Now my days and nights are spent learning and googling and reading everything I can to help me achieve this goal of mine.

Really loving the videos and tutorials that Martin post as they are very "basic" in essence and I tend to understand a lot he says, and don't have to do a lot of "revision" once the videos are done.

Great stuff and keep it up! I'm currently working through the videos and can't wait for new stuff!

 8) 8) 8) 8)

MJLorton

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Thanks for the feedback TheoG...more on the way soon.

Cheers,
Martin.
Play, discover, learn and enjoy! (and don't be scared to make mistakes along the way!)

Paul Collins M0BSW

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I'm glad I found this forum, as I no nothing about this Arduino, is the same as pic, which I've never had anything to do with, what is it used for,I really have no idea. If it can be used for programing chips like pic then that would be good for me.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2013, 08:58:12 AM by Paul Collins M0BSW »
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