Project using Arduino microcontroller board - arduino

I want to start a project using arduino microcontroller board. In this project I will use a Mini Thermal Receipt Printer, barcode scanner and the arduino ethernet shield to transfer data to my pc and from my pc. my question is, what arduino board should I buy for such project? is the arduino uno is enough?

The choice of a right Arduino depends on the sort of peripherals you need for example if your barcode reader is SPI enabled and you can't bit-bang SPI then this counts for Hardware SPI usage and as such will take the SPI pins on the UNO which has support for only 1 SPI hardware connection but if you want more SPI connections go for a MEGA ,similarly UART, two wire etc are communication protocols that may be needed by you based on the chipssets you use in your project, also GPIO's are there which just turn on and off.
I will suggest starting off with an Arduino UNO which DIP ATmega328P and get a spare Bootloader acquipped ATmega328P chip standalone in case as a newbie you magic-smoke the chip on the board.

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Control Arduino Pins via ESP8266 Webserver

I want to program a simple Webserver with an ESP8266 but I want to connect the ESP8266 to an Arduino Mega. I want to connect a LED and a Sensor to the Arduino and control the LED and read the sensor data via the ESP8266 Webserver.
I am a beginner and dont want too complex solutions. It's just a simple school project.
For the Webpage I am sending just some HTML Code, I do not use Blynk or anything like that.
My question is how can I connect the ESP8266 to the Arduino and control it's pins?
There is a million ways to connect an ESP to an Arduino.
Without any shields or perihperals you can basically use any wired bus that does not require transceivers.
For example I2C or SPI.
With shields or peripherals you can use CAN, LIN, RS232, Ethernet, WIFI, Bluetooth, radio, optical and audio transmission... The list is endless.
You can of course read a sensor with the ESP so an Arduino Mega is not really necessary.

Sending Data from Arduino to Android using Bluetooth

I am trying to do a project based on arduino and Android in which I want to use ultrasonic sensors and Bluetooth module hc-05 . I want to detect any obstacle using ultrasonic and send it's distance to Android app using Bluetooth. I am completely new to arduino and have never used it before . How could I connect both the Bluetooth and ultrasonic sensor to arduino uno board without using breadboard? Is it possible to connect both of them without using breadboard and just the jumper wires?
You can connect the Bluetooth Module and Ultrasonic Sensor with jumper wires directly to the Arduino.
Depending upon the Ultrasonic Sensor you are interfacing, there must be a library or a sample code. You can tweak the code to get the distance in your desired format or variable.
As far as the Bluetooth is concerned, you can operate it at 3.3v or 5v depending upon the module you use. Most of the Bluetooth module support both 3.3v and 5v - as they have voltage regulators on their break out. I have used these and they work on 3.3v as well as 5v
For instance, check the Bluetooth HC - 05 Module in the below link :
http://www.amazon.in/Verve-VTA009-Bluetooth-Module-HC-05/dp/B00S15XTG8?tag=googinhydr18418-21&tag=googinkenshoo-21&ascsubtag=7a58e842-4c10-40bf-a48f-339edef372a7
For implementing the Bluetooth communication, prefer using the Software Serial. If you connect the Bluetooth HC 05's Rx and Tx to the Arduino's Hardware UART Pins, there can be unpredictable results. I have experienced that using HC05 with Software Serial is reliable. Additionally, you can use the Serial Monitor to debug your code at the same time. I mean, you can send the same data on Software Serial and the Serial port and check if things are as desired.
You can implement, the HC-05 Software Serial at 9600 baudrate. 9600 is the default baudrate on most HC 05 Modules.
For developing the Arduino code and testing it, you can use a terminal client like PuTTY on you computer. You need to establish a bluetooth connection between your computer and HC 05.
HC-05 runs at 3.3V, make sure you do level conversion from 5V to 3.3V using a zener diode. Or buy a level converter if you are new to electronics. If you don't, there is a good chance you will blow up the HC-05. If you could add a photo we can see if its already done on the Bluetooth module, then you need not worry about level conversion
HC-05 is basically a wireless serial port over bluetooh. On arduino create a software serial post using the library SoftwareSerial and send the sensor data to that serial port
There are libraries available for popular HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor, if that is the sensor you are using.
For testing on android many app are availables like Bluetooh Terminal, you can receive the data sent from arduino.
Yes the whole project can be done without breadboard using connecting wires.

Bypassing powered on FTDI. Connect directly to RX/TX pins to drive externally

I'm working with a driver board which communicates with a PC program via USB -> FTDI -> TX/RX into the microcontroller. The serial pins are not broken out on the board and I need to talk to the board from another microcontroller (like Arduino). My plan is to just solder directly to the RX/TX pins on the microcontroller despite the fact that the FTDI is powered on and RX/TX of the FTDI will be electrically connected to those pins. I will not be transmitting anything via USB. My assumption is that the FTDI chip will be passive and I can just drive those pins from my Arduino.
Will this cause me any issues? I'm just concerned if the FTDI passively drives those pins low or high, I'll get "smoke" if I follow through with my plan. Perhaps I should put some resistors on my Arduino's RX/TX just as a safeguard.
It's very possible some of my logic is flawed here. Thanks in advance for your advice!!
Cheers
You need to check with the particular FTDI chip you're using on that board.
Some FTDI chips support RS485 and because of the required multidrop capability they operate as open-drain allowing to connect multiple devices.
Even if this solves your hardware problem, you still need to consider how the (live) FTDI chip may respond to your 'unexpected' incoming (RX) data stream. For example, possible XON/XOFF flow control appearing on TX especially since there won't be a consumer from the PC side and the internal FTDI buffers will eventually fill up.

Is it possible to use Arduino 2560's serial/USB communication without Arduino bootloader?

I have an Arduino 2560 and would like to send serial data to my PC. However, I am currently not using the Arduino Bootloader because I wanted to use a program that I wrote for an Atmega644 before (as far as I understood, one has to use the Arduino language when using the Bootloader?).
Does anyone know if what I am trying to do is possible with reasonable effort?
Connection to PC via 2560's serial0 does not depend on bootloader (if you plan connection when main program is running). You need 16u2 running to bridge 5V serial UART to USB or you can of course use any other option (e.g. MAX232 or so) to convert 5V UART to USB or RS232. But in case of RS232 double check baud rate error because of 16MHz crystal for particular baudrate.
2560 bootloader just implements firmware flash.

Conflict between arduino shield with 10 pin

Just beginning to to understand with arduino. I plan to put together a small device that accesses the internet at the site, and then, depending on the information that plays a mp3 file. From the annotation of to the Enternet Shield mp3 Shield and read that they both involve the 10-pin, and thus come into conflict. What to do in such a case, or is there an opportunity for playing time off Ethernet Shield and vice versa?
I dont know about your mp3 shield but on the ethernet shield pin 10 is the Slave Select pin.
The MISO, MOSI, and CLK pins can be shered with other shields but not the SS pin.
The only way to solve this would be to cut the connector from the mp3 shiled and connect it to antother pin. Then you will also need to recompile the libs for your mp3 shield to reflect the change of pin.
For further information see Arduino SPI, Arduino Ethernet

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