Arduino, Anyone?

John Hudson

John Hudson

EF4
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
372
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba
I recently purchased and assembled an iteration of the Arduino prototyping platform, the FreeDuino. It is compatible with the open-source Arduino Diecimila, but with a few bonuses:
-Mini-B USB jack
-Power switch
-Optional ARef trimpot for analog input scaling

DPP_0002-1.jpg


I have only just begun digging into the possible applications for these little processors, but the list is mind blowing. As for this one, it is either getting implemented into a high-speed photo application, a project that will enable me to control my DSLR remotely via bluetooth or maybe an Android app that controls appliances or my home security system.

Has anyone else been messing around with these things? Very trippy, indeed.

John
VE4 JTH
 
Controlling a DSLR with an Arduino sounds awesome. I use Phidgets boards to control the motoros and sensors in my camera dome. I haven't looked too much into the Arduino, but it looks similar to the Phidgets and more inexpensive. Do you have to use their own programming language and IDE? One thing I really like about Phidgets is that they have libraries and support for a wide variety of languages. I coded the software that runs the camera dome in Visual Studio with C#, something I know extensively, which made it a snap.

phidgets.jpg


There's a shot of my control box. I've got it pulled apart right now to replace the slider component (top center). Some moisture got into the track and ruined it I think.
 
Woo Arduino! I got a hold of one of the new Uno boards to use for external camera control and once I got that working I realized that I had about 15 I/O pins left for other stuff, hence my mesonet was born.

Skip, the Arduino language is pretty much C/C++ and it has it's own IDE which is pretty straightforward to use. There's a decent set of libraries built in for controlling Servos, interfacing with sensors/devices that use SPI protocol or I2C, LCDs, Serial devices, and more.

John, you're right, the possibilities are endless. The forums at http://arduino.cc are great for information. http://www.sparkfun.com/ is a cool place to find some neat sensors and displays as well as general electronic components. It's definitely a learning experience and fun stuff for sure!
 
Nick Nolte said:
Skip, the Arduino language is pretty much C/C++ and it has it's own IDE which is pretty straightforward to use. There's a decent set of libraries built in for controlling Servos, interfacing with sensors/devices that use SPI protocol or I2C, LCDs, Serial devices, and more.
Click to expand...

How do I interface with the rest of my C# software? Is there a .Net wrapper or is that something I would have to implement myself?
 
Skip Talbot said:
How do I interface with the rest of my C# software? Is there a .Net wrapper or is that something I would have to implement myself?
Click to expand...

Well there are a few solutions available for whatever language you may be using. Since the Arduino communicates using Serial you can also just use that to communicate back and forth, that's what I ended up doing.

Here's the page on the Arduino site for interfacing with software:
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Main/InterfacingWithSoftware
 
I got one last year and used it to make an IR remote shutter for a nikon dslr. Since you can control everything, it was a way to do time exposures in a series. Click once to open shutter, click again xx mins later to close it, then click again to start the next frame. Before you would be locked in to the max preset lengths. Great for star and Aurora animations.
 
Nick Nolte said:
Skip, the Arduino language is pretty much C/C++ and it has it's own IDE which is pretty straightforward to use. There's a decent set of libraries built in for controlling Servos, interfacing with sensors/devices that use SPI protocol or I2C, LCDs, Serial devices, and more.
Click to expand...

Definitely! If you are experienced with C++, you are all set. The IDE is as basic as you can get, almost reminds me of coding in Notepad, but with a few add-ons, obviously.

There are many example code "sketches" included to get you started that can run just about anything. The knowledge base is very broad, and the user community is second to none. There are also quite a few "ready made" interface devices called shields that plug directly on to the Arduino board.

The sky is really the limit for the DIY guy.

John
VE4 JTH
 
I'm using a ArduPilot Mega to control my UAV,, I also have some other Arduino boards doing misc things, I have been thinking of building some tornado probes using the Arduino based hardware.. I will provide some pics when i get home I'm on the way home from nola today.
 
Bringing an old thread back to life. I have been working on a mesonet data logger Arduino for a bit and wondered if anyone had sketches they could share? Curious to see how others approached this.
 
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