How to read switches via serial port C++? - arduino

I have an arduino nano. I want to connect MX Cherry switches and detect pressing throught the serial port. What pins should i use on arduino and what code should be uploaded to the plate?
I understand that i have to power the switches so there has to be 5v pin and input pin. But i'm new to electronics so i didn't manage to figure it out.
//that's just basic code for sending a number every second via 13 pin
int i=0;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(57600);
pinMode(13, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
i = i + 1;
Serial.println(i);
delay(1000);
}
Basically, i need a way of sending '1' if button is pressed and '0' if it's not.

Perhaps I've misunderstood your question. Why not just read the button and send a '1' if pressed and '0' if not?
void loop(){
int buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);
// Assumes active low button
if (buttonState == LOW){
Serial.print('1');
}
else {
Serial.print('0');
}
delay(500);
}
Of course you probably want to add some sort of timing to that so it doesn't send thousands of 0's and 1's per second. I added a delay, but that might not be the best answer for the application you have (and chose not to share). I've also assumed that your button is wired active-LOW with a pull-up since you didn't share that either.

Related

cannot turn on relay indefinitely on an arduino

I want to make a device like Knocki(https://knocki.com), which essentially is a relay control using a vibration sensor. i can detect vibrations rn but the problem is, once i knock the relay blinks on and then turns off. i understand this is a lack of programming that is causing this. could someone help me write code which makes it so that when i knock the relay is turned on indefinitely; until I knock again to turn relay off.
And yes u can probably tell that this code is copied from somewhere(https://wiki.keyestudio.com/Ks0068_keyestudio_37_in_1_Sensor_Kit_for_Arduino_Starters#Project_21:_Vibration_Sensor).I took it from the home page of the vibration sensor. the code was initially so that every time i knocked, the onboard Arduino led lit up. Also, right now the relay is blinking faintly every time i knock(Although correctly,in sync with my knocks)
#define SensorLED 13
#define SensorINPUT 3 //Connect the sensor to digital Pin 3 which is Interrupts 1.
unsigned char state = 0;
int Relay = 5;
void setup()
{
pinMode(SensorLED, OUTPUT);
pinMode(SensorINPUT, INPUT);
attachInterrupt(1, blink, FALLING);// Trigger the blink function when the falling edge is detected
}
void loop()
{ if(state!=0)
{
state = 0;
digitalWrite(SensorLED,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(Relay,HIGH);
}
else
digitalWrite(SensorLED,LOW);
digitalWrite(Relay,lOW);
}
void blink()//Interrupts function
{ state++;
Yes its in your code: The (bad) example works only because there is a
digitalWrite(SensorLED,HIGH);
->>> delay(500);
a delay for 1/2 sec to keep the led on.So as a check put an other delay after the relay line and it should go on for 1/2 sec too (so the led is lit 1 sec in total)
digitalWrite(SensorLED,HIGH);
delay(500);
digitalWrite(Relay,HIGH);
delay(500);
Thats just for checking -> NEXT STEP:
Get rid of the delays (see blinkwithoutdelay example in
Arduino->File->Examples->2.Digital -> blinkwithoutdelay
and introduce a second state variable e.g.
bool relayStateOn = false;
to get an independent on/off of the relay and the led.(If thats - what I understand -what you want to do)
If you feed your relay from the board, that is not the problem. Please, check the voltage in your relay when you try to set it on, if your voltage falls down, it means that this output to your relay does not supply the necessary current.

How to check if a led is blinking during a period of time?

I need to check if a LED is blinking every 2 seconds...is it possible? I am using Arduino Mega 2560. Thank you.
There are multiple options, depending on the LED itself.
If you have access to the wiring of the LED (I assume 5V !) you can connect a interrupt Pin of the Arduino with it and a common GND. Now you can count the "Turn Ons" and devide it by the Time, to get an average value, which should be equal to two.
Example Code would be (NOT tested!):
#define MEASUREPIN 2 // Watch https://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference/AttachInterrupt for infos
long measureStartTime{0}; // ms since start of first blink
long runTime{0}; // [ms]
long avgTime; // [ms]
volatile long cycles{0};
void setup() {
pinMode(MEASUREPIN, INPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(MEASUREPIN), countCycles, RISING);
}
void loop() {
if(measureStartTime == 0 && cycles == 0){
Serial.println("Blink not started");
}else{
if(measureStartTime == 0){
measureStartTime == millis();
}else{
runTime = millis()-measureStartTime;
avgTime = runTime/cycles;
Serial.print("Average blink interval: ");
Serial.print(avgTime);
Serial.println("ms");
}
}
}
void countCycles(){
cycles++;
}
If you haven't access to the wiring you can use a lightsensor, to generate a similar signal.
I hope that fits your needs, because i am not allowed to comment, so i couldn't get further infos.

Arduino push button debounce

I need help with debounce of push button. Sometimes it send twice same string to serial link, and I don't know why. Could someone help me, where is a problem?
int reading;
int exbutton= LOW;
unsigned long ddelay= 200;
unsigned long last= 0;
void loop(){
reading= digitalRead(prkgbrake);
if (reading== HIGH && exbutton == LOW && millis() - last> ddelay){
if (brake == 0){
Serial.write("brake:1\n");
while( digitalRead(prkgbrake) == HIGH){
}
}
else{
Serial.write("brake:0\n");
while( digitalRead(prkgbrake) == HIGH){
}
}
last = millis();
}
Thank you in advance.
I hope you didn't copy this code from somewhere, some of the code doesn't make sense.
For instance, what is 'prkgbrake'? What is 'brake'? They are not declared. Why don't you have a 'setup()' function?
Nevertheless, debouncing can be achieved in many ways. I will just fix your code. That way you will understand what you did wrong.
int exbutton = LOW;
unsigned int _delay = 200;
int pushButton = 2;
void setup()
{
// initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second:
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(pushButton, INPUT_PULLUP);
}
void loop()
{
while (digitalRead(pushButton) == LOW && exbutton == LOW)
{
if((millis() - last) > _delay)
{
Serial.println("Button Pressed");
while(digitalRead(pushButton) == LOW);
}
}
last = millis();
}
Explanantion: Assuming your pushbutton is connected with digital pin 2. When you use a digital pin with a button it is better to use pullup/pulldown. You can use external resistor or the internal resistor for that. The internal resistor only supports Pull-up.
To know more about pull-up/-down checkout this Arduino page. The bottom line is when you use a pin as input it acts like an antenna and can capture signals from surroundings, known as floating state. So it is better to keep the pin in a known state. If you use internal pull-up, the pin will be always HIGH. So the button configuration has to be in a way so that when it is pressed the pin should go LOW.
Pull Up Configuration
The code pinMode(pushButton, INPUT_PULLUP); enables the digital pin 2 as input with pull-up enabled.
the loop() should work like this:
1) Check if the button is pressed (i.e. if it is LOW).
2) If not update the last variable.
3) If yes then DONT update last, and enter the while loop.
4) Now keep checking if millis()-last is greater than _delay. If not it will go back to while loop and check if the button is still pressed or not. If yes then it will come back and check if millis()-last is more than _delay or not. It will continue to do so until it passed the mentioned amount of debounce delay.
5) If button get depressed (i.e. goes to HIGH) before the '_delay' time then it will update the last and will check if button is pressed or not and will start counting the delay time.
N.B. Play with the _delay variable. It will define the responsiveness of your button.

Arduino debounce button with delay

I'm having a bit of trouble with my Arduino when I try and use long wires to a switch.
If I use a shorter wire I have no problems, but as soon as they are extended, things start playing up.
What I'm trying to do is, when I press a button I would like it to output to a pin, stay on for 2 seconds, then turn off regardless whether the button is still pressed or not.
The code I use at the moment that does work with short wires is:
// constants won't change. They're used here
// to set pin numbers:
const int buttonPin = 2; // the number of the pushbutton pin
const int ledPin = 10; // the number of the LED pin
// variables will change:
int buttonState = 0; // variable for reading the pushbutton status
void setup() {
// initialize the LED pin as an output:
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize the pushbutton pin as an input:
pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);
}
void loop() {
// read the state of the pushbutton value:
buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);
// check if the pushbutton is pressed.
// if it is, the buttonState is HIGH:
if (buttonState == HIGH) {
// turn LED on:
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
delay(2000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
}
}
I've been reading on forums that using debounce may solve this problem. However I'm new to Arduino and not sure how to implement this.
I used the Arduino button tutorial and used a 10k pull down resistor as stated. Is there any way I can allow, either with code or with a resistor / cap, to trigger via a switch that has a wire length of <2m?
Any help appreciated.
Wire length is not going to be an issue here. You either have a wiring fault or your code doesn't match your expected behaviour. (You didn't mention what the actual behaviour is right now.)
Additional debouncing of the switch won't be necessary since after you detect a button press, you are ignoring its state for some time. That is what software debouncing typically is.
stay on for 2 seconds, then turn off regardless whether the button is still pressed or not.
Right now the output will not turn off until you release the button. The reason for this is that after you write it low, you immediately check the button again and write the output high if it's still pressed. You either need to put a delay below
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
or be a little fancier and make sure the button is released before you allow another press.

How can Arduino detect the state of an LED?

I'm working on a blinking/fading lights program for Arduino. I'm trying to build in some interactivity that's based on LED state and certain switch combinations. Consider: When a button is pressed, if an LED is ON I want to turn it off and if an LED is OFF I want to turn it on.
However, I've not been able to find any information about determining LED state. The closest was this question about Android, but I'm trying to find out if I can do this from the Arduino platform. Does anyone have any practical experience or advice?
It is absolutely OK to read output ports. That is
digitalWrite(LED_PORT, !digitalRead(LED_PORT));
will toggle the pin.
You might also want to consider the toggle library: http://playground.arduino.cc/Code/DigitalToggle
You have several options:
One, you can store the LED state in a boolean, and on button press, negate that and write it to the LED port:
void loop()
{
static int ledState = 0; // off
while (digitalRead(BUTTON_PIN) == 0)
; // wait for button press
ledState = !ledState;
digitalWrite(LED_PORT, ledState);
}
Two, if you don't mind accessing the ports of the AVR directly:
void init()
{
DDRD = 0x01; // for example: LED on port B pin 0, button on port B pin 1
PORTB = 0x00;
}
void loop()
{
while (PINB & 0x02 == 0)
; // loop until the button is pressed
PORTB ^= 0x01; // flip the bit where the LED is connected
}

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