Arduino Projects: Use Amazing ICs to
Enhance your Projects. Find out how to use many different chips from humidity sensors to
accelerometers, DACs and much more...
Arduino Projects: A collection of site projects that show you how to
use different chips to achieve fast working operation.
Arduino Projects: ESP32 CAM
The
ESP32 CAM from AI Thinker allows you to stream video or take individual
pictures. The board has a micro card holder that allows you to add TF
cards.
There is one problem. All the pins are used up. Find out how to free up
pins. Using a simple software change you can get 2 fully usable I/O pins
very easily
There four more which take more work but can be used.
Also, find out how to use the TF Card while using the extra I/O pins.
The TP4056 is an LiIon/LiPoly battery charger up to 1A capability. It
is extremely important not to overcharge an Li Battery as there is a
risk of explosion. On the other hand, it is also important not to
discharge an Li battery too far, as you may not be able to ever
re-charge it.
This chip monitors the output voltage at the battery for optimum
charging operation for both voltage limits and safety. In addition the
breakout board for this chip has a short circuit protector on board.
This is an extremely popular charging board but it is often used in
project the wrong way. The link below shows you how to use it the right
way.
You can use a library that allows you to use one control pin and
multiple sense pins to create a multi-input capacitive touch sense
detector. But what if you are using an ATtiny85, and because there are
only 6 available I/O pins you really want to use only a single pin?
This Arduino project shows you how to use a single ADC input (with its
internal capacitor and internal pullup) to achieve a one-pin capacitive
touch sensing input.
Another advantage of this method is that you don't need any external components!
You can use the BMP280 for weather detection (sensing pressure) but
there are other applications such as height measurement (GPS is not that
accurate vertically).
One important parameter for measuring altitude change especially if
its going to be fast, is the update rate. This chip can update at a rate
of 157Hz which seems quite good - it may not be though for a rocket!
Arduino Projects: Detecting Humidity using the DHT22
If you are making a weather project then the DHT22 is an essential
part of it - use it to accurately detect the humidity level.
Because humidity measurement depends heavily on temperature the chip
also includes a temperature measuring thermometer. You can also read
this temperature from the device's digital interface.
One important use of this humidity meter is to obtain a heat-index
estimate which is an estimate of what the temperature feels like.
Higher humidity makes perspiration harder so you feel hotter. In the link
you can get a "feels-like" temperature reading. i.e. if could be
30°C but the humidity is high making it feel-like 40 °C!
Arduino Projects: A MHz signal generator in a single Chip
The AD9983 chip is a digital synthesizer chip that can generate sine
triangle or square waves with a 0.1Hz resolution, with a frequency up to
12.5MHz.
The ability to generate accurate sine, triangle or square waves is
extremely important in electronics - square waves for digital clock
inputs and sine/triangle for analogue electronics and this chip can do
the job.
This DDS (Direct Digital Synthesizer) is very useful module in a tiny
SMD package that can find applications on the bench or as part a of your
designs.
Accelerometers have many uses (not just for positioning drones). In a
delivery environment you can detect when acceleration has exceed a set
limit so you could prove mis-handling of your packages!
There is also a
built in knock-Knock detector in this chip which could be used in a your
projects.
Arduino Projects: HMC5883L - A 3 Axis Magnetic Sensor
If you want to make a magnetic compass this chip can do the job. The
interesting thing is that if this chip is not held level then the
compass reading you get can be out bu quite a large amount.
To correct the "leveling" error you need to know the angle of your
chip referenced to the gravitational force. In short you need an
accelerometer to correct the compass leveling error.
If you want to output an analogue signal the usual way is to use the
Arduino PWM digital outputs and smooth them to a continuously varying
signal. This works very well but there are two problems:
You have to have a low pass filter at the output
PWM frequency feedthrough.
The filter may affect the following stage so you might need an opamp
used as a buffer. You always get feed through of the PWM frequency to
the output.
These are not always a problem but by using a "true" DAC you get no
frequency feed through and a direct analogue output. In addition, this
DAC remembers the last setting - quite useful for a power supply project
for instance.
The
MCP4728 is a quad DAC output I2C chip that also has an internal 2%
reference. In addition it has a synchronisation control pin so that all
output can be set up at the same time.
As with the MCP4725 the DAC output is 12bit so you get very good
analogue resolution. This is a good solution if you want more outputs as
it comes in a small 10 pin MSOP package.
Again similar to the MC4725 it has a memory for each DAC output, so
you could use it for opamp offsets i.e. by calibrating a unit only once
you can the always get the same outputs at power up.
This is a fast DAC chip, with two DAC oututs, that uses the SPI interface. It also has a
synchronisation control input that allows outputs to be setup at the
same time.
Unlike the MCP4725 or MCP4728 it does not have DAC memories, so you
need to program this chip every time you power the board. It is useful
where you want a controlled analogue output that will be variable e.g. a
bench power supply.
Arduino Projects: MCP41010 - An 8bit Potentiometer
This
chip creates a true analogue potentiometer but one that is controlled
digitally. It has 256 steps for accurate control and can be placed
anywhere in your circuit.
Additionally you can connect the wiper to one end to create a digitally controllable resistance element.
Note: This part is used on the breakout board AD9833 Direct Digital
Synthesizer (DDS) to reduce the output level of the signal (see above).
This project shows you how to wire up an RBG LED (or use a Keys one) and control the LED using three PWM signals.
It shows you how to make the LED 'breathe' using different delays to achieve that 'breathing' look.
Normally a single color LED is used for this - because it is easier! - but this project shows
you how to create a breathing LED using a four pin RGB LED (slightly more
complex to control).
So you can use any colour, or change as you go for the 'breathing' effect - actually quite cool!
How to get accurate DHT22 digital humidity sensor readings with an Arduino. Did you know it also measures temperature as Well? Find out why, in this page...
A PIR sensor lets your Arduino sense movement without contact. This tutorial covers PIR sensor basics, connecting one to an Arduino board and coding a motion detector.
Arduino Hall Effect Sensor: Add magnetic sensing superpowers to your Arduino projects with an easy-to-use hall effect sensor. With full code and layout...
The
ESP32 CAM from AI Thinker allows you to stream video or take individual
pictures. The board has a micro card holder that allows you to add TF
cards.
The TP4056 is an LiIon/LiPoly battery charger up to 1A capability. It
is extremely important not to overcharge an Li Battery as there is a
risk of explosion. On the other hand, it is also important not to
discharge an Li battery too far, as you may not be able to ever
re-charge it.
The AD9983 chip is a digital synthesizer chip that can generate sine
triangle or square waves with a 0.1Hz resolution, with a frequency up to
12.5MHz.
Accelerometers have many uses (not just for positioning drones). In a
delivery environment you can detect when acceleration has exceed a set
limit so you could prove mis-handling of your packages! 
If you want to output an analogue signal the usual way is to use the
Arduino PWM digital outputs and smooth them to a continuously varying
signal. This works very well but there are two problems:
The
MCP4728 is a quad DAC output I2C chip that also has an internal 2%
reference. In addition it has a synchronisation control pin so that all
output can be set up at the same time.
This is a fast DAC chip, with two DAC oututs, that uses the SPI interface. It also has a
synchronisation control input that allows outputs to be setup at the
same time.
This
chip creates a true analogue potentiometer but one that is controlled
digitally. It has 256 steps for accurate control and can be placed
anywhere in your circuit.
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