Playlist Content

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  1. Arduino – What bits to start with…and a bit of head bashing!

  * Choosing between Arduino UNO or Mega – I compare specs.
  * Choosing an LCD display type
  * Understanding issues with the different versions of the Arduino software / sketch editor.
  * A quick look at my digital thermometer project.

  Handy websites:
  http://www.toddfun.com/
  http://www.arduino.cc/
  http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/
  http://www.timnolan.com
  http://www.timnolan.com/index.php?pag…
  Dave Jone EEVBlog: http://www.eevblog.com/

  Parts List:
  1 1x Arduino UNO R3
  * ATmega328 microcontroller
  * Input voltage – 7-12V
  * 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
  * 6 Analog Inputs
  * 32k Flash Memory
  * 16Mhz Clock Speed
  2 1x Breadboard 840 Point White
  3 1NPA-AS3 Relay (3V , 3A)
  4 6x 5mm Colour LED’s
  5 1x NPN transistor (P2N2222A)
  6 1x Triple Output RGB LED
  7 5x 5mm Microswitches
  8 1x Jumper Wire Kit
  9 1x LDR (Photocell
  10 1x Temperature Sensor (LM35)
  11 2x High Bright LED (White)
  12 1x Small Servo Motor
  13 1x Potentiometer
  14 2x Resistor Packs (220, 10k)
  15 1x USB Cable
  16 1x Zener Diode (1N5225)
  17 1x Piezo
  18 1x LM317 Voltage Regulator
  19 1x 9V Battery Connector
  20 1x Protoplastic 100g
  21 1x Resource CD

  My addition add-on: Serial Enabled 16×2 LCD – Black on Green 5V

  Projects I plan to attempt in the near future:
  * Digital thermometer with stand alone data logging
  * DC power and temperature data logger for solar panel performance comparisons
  * An MPPT solar charge controller to investigate the various tracking algorithms used in these devices.

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  2. Getting Started and Connected!

  In this video I cover the following:

  * What is Arduino?
  * What is a sketch?
  * What is the Arduino (software) IDE (interactive development environment) arduino-1.0.1
  * Arduino philosophy
  * We take a look at the Arduno hardware.
  * I cover how to download the Arduino Software and drivers and then how to install them.
  * What happens when the Arduino USB device driver fails and how to solve it.
  * I upload a sketch to the Arduino UNO R3 to test it and blink an LED.
  * I discuss the project for tutorial #2, a voltmeter with Min Max Ave.
  * I talk about the Sparkfun serial enabled 16 x 2 LCD and the challenges it poses.

  Arduino Uno R3 features:

  * ATmega328 micro controller
  * Input voltage – 7-12V
  * 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
  * 6 Analogue Inputs
  * 32k Flash Memory
  * 16Mhz Clock Speed

  Handy websites:
  http://www.toddfun.com/
  http://www.arduino.cc/
  http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/
  http://www.timnolan.com
  http://www.timnolan.com/index.php?pag…

  Arduino Site: http://www.arduino.cc/
  Arduino software / IDE: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
  Arduino forum: http://arduino.cc/forum/

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  3. Sketch Structure, Variables and Procedures

  In this video I cover the following:

  * What is Arduino?
  * What is the sketch structure?
  * What are variables and what types of variables – int, integer, float, floating point, byte, string array.
  * The build of the voltage divider for the voltmeter can be found in the Ohms law tutorial:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWLJAD…
  * What is the Arduino (software) IDE (interactive development environment) arduino-1.0.1
  * What is an Arduino library / libraries
  * Arduino philosophy
  * We take a look at the Arduno hardware.
  * I discuss the project for the tutorial, a voltmeter with Min Max Ave.
  * I talk about the Sparkfun serial enabled 16 x 2 LCD and the challenges it poses.
  * I talk about the Sparkfun serial enabled 20 x 4 LCD.
  * Arduino for beginners / dummies / newbies

  Arduino Uno R3 features:

  * ATmega328 micro controller
  * Input voltage – 7-12V
  * 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
  * 6 Analogue Inputs
  * 32k Flash Memory
  * 16Mhz Clock Speed

  HobbyTronics – South Africa’s electronic components supplier for your electronics hobby needs. Specialist supplier of electronic components such as sensors, robotics, breakout boards, Arduino, prototyping to the hobby and educational electronics market in South Afica and Africa. We supply the components you need.
  http://www.hobbytronics.co.za/

  Handy websites:
  http://www.toddfun.com/
  http://www.arduino.cc/
  http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/
  http://www.timnolan.com
  http://www.timnolan.com/index.php?pag…

  Arduino Site: http://www.arduino.cc/
  Arduino software / IDE: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
  Arduino forum: http://arduino.cc/forum/

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  4. Functions, Return Values and Variables

  Sketch / code used in tutorial: http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?t…
  Buy your Arduino kit here: http://astore.amazon.com/m0711-20?_en…

  Arduino Site: http://www.arduino.cc/
  Arduino software / IDE: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
  Arduino forum: http://arduino.cc/forum/

  Items and topics covered in this video:

  * Local and global variables
  * Functions / procedures
  * Return values from functions
  * Sample sketch code that does Math / arithmetic and write to the terminal
  * Some commands used: Serial.print; Serial.println, if, else, void setup, void loop, return

  Arduino Uno R3 features:

  * ATmega328 micro controller
  * Input voltage – 7-12V
  * 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
  * 6 Analogue Inputs
  * 32k Flash Memory
  * 16Mhz Clock Speed

  Handy websites:
  http://www.toddfun.com/
  http://www.arduino.cc/
  http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/
  http://www.timnolan.com
  http://www.timnolan.com/index.php?pag…
  http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/…

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  5. LCD Displays, Libraries and Troubleshooting

  A tutorial on interfacing LCDs (liquid crystal displays) with Arduino. We take a look at libraries and the role they play…and the potential issues, errors and troubleshooting involved.
  We look at several types of displays but concentrate on the 4×20 Sparkfun serial enabled LCD display.

  SparkFun kit from my Amazon Store:
  http://astore.amazon.com/m0711-20?_en…

  A link to the SparkSoftLCD library for the Arduino by C. A. Church – fixes issue with float variables on serial enabled LCD displays:
  http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?t…

  Link to new Arduino software / IDE 1.0.5:
  http://arduino.cc/en/main/software

  Link to the LiquidCrystal library with examples and wiring:
  http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/LiquidC…

  Link to the SparkFun SerLCD 2.5 datasheet:
  https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/L…

  Link to the Hitachi HD44780U dot-matrix liquid crystal display controller datasheet:
  https://www.sparkfun.com/datasheets/L…

  SparkFun LCD displays:
  https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/7…

  How to install Arduino libraries / Installing Additional Arduino Libraries:
  http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Libraries

  How to create a library for Arduino / Writing a Library for Arduino:
  http://arduino.cc/en/Hacking/LibraryT…

  Troubleshooting compiling errors:
  error: WConstants.h: No such file or directory
  error: Wires.h: No such file or directory
  Change / point library to Arduino.h

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  6. Digital Voltmeter, Arduino Analog to Digital Converter

  In this tutorial we look at a digital voltmeter project and how it used the Arduino analog input. This involves understanding ADC or analog to digital converters and how they work. We also troubleshoot why the output reading on the LCD display is noisy.
  We also gave a quick peek at the Arduino DUE: http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoar…

  Thanks to Clarence of “Clarence’s Wicked Mind” for the original code that I used and updated for this project: http://www.clarenceho.net:8123/blog/a…

  The sketch / project code for the digital voltmeter:: http://mjlorton.com/forum/index.php?t…

  Also read Measuring Stuff – The Arduino DAQ Chronicles: https://sites.google.com/site/measuri…

  The Arduino Due is a microcontroller board based on the Atmel SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3 CPU (datasheet). It is the first Arduino board based on a 32-bit ARM core microcontroller. It has 54 digital input/output pins (of which 12 can be used as PWM outputs), 12 analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 84 MHz clock, an USB OTG capable connection, 2 DAC (digital to analog), 2 TWI, a power jack, an SPI header, a JTAG header, a reset button and an erase button.

  Buy the Arduino DUE here: http://astore.amazon.com/m0711-20/det…