Getting Started with Arduino! – Chapter Two
This is part of a series titled “Getting Started with Arduino!” – A tutorial on the Arduino microcontrollers, to be read with the book “Getting Started with Arduino” (Massimo Banzi). The first chapter is here.
Welcome back fellow arduidans!
I hope you have been enjoying these posts and learning and creating and making many things. If not, you soon should be!
Today’s post has several things: taking temperatures, sending data from the arduino back to your PC, opening a library, and some exercises that will help to consolidate your previous knowledge and help revise it.
Note – Using LCD screens has moved to Chapter 24.
First of all, we shall investigate another analogue sensor – a temperature sensor. As you can imagine, there are many applications for such a thing, from just telling you the current temperature, to an arduino-based thermostat control system. And it is much easier to create than most people would think – so get ready to impress some people!
Let’s say hello to the Analog Devices TMP36 Low-voltage temperature sensor:
Tiny, isn’t it? It looks just like a standard transitor (e.g. a BC548) due the use of the same TO-92 case style. The TMP36 is very simple in its use – looking at the flat face, pin 1 is for +5V supply (you can connect this to the 5V socket on your arduino), pin 2 is the output voltage (the reading), and pin three is ground/earth (connect this to the GND socket on your arduino). Furthermore, have a look at the data sheet, it is quite easy to read and informative. TMP36 data sheet
The TMP36 will return a voltage that is proportional to temperature. 10 mV for each degree Celsius, with a range of -40 to 125 degrees.
There isn’t any need for extra resistors or other components – this sensor must be the easiest to use out there. However there is one situation that requires some slight complexity – remote positioning of the sensor. It is all very well to have the sensor on your breadboard, but you might want it out the window, in your basement wine cellar, or in your chicken coop out back… As the voltage output from the sensor is quite low, it is susceptible to outside interference and signal loss. Therefore a small circuit needs to be with the sensor, and shielded cable between that circuit and the home base. For more information on long runs, see page fifteen of the data sheet.
At this point we’re going to have some mathematics come into the lesson – sorry about that. Looking again at page eight of the data sheet, it describes the output characteristics of the sensor. With our TMP36, the output voltages increases 10 millivolts for every degree Celsius increase; and that the output voltage for 25 degrees Celsius is 750 mV; and that there is an offset voltage of 400 mV. The offset voltage needs to be subtracted from the analogRead() result, however it is not without vain – having the offset voltage allows the sensor to return readings of below freezing without us having to fool about with negative numbers.
Quick note: A new type of variable. Up until now we have been using int for integers (whole numbers)… but now it is time for real numbers! These are floating point decimals, and in your sketches they are defined as float.
Now we already know how to measure an analogue voltage with our arduino using analogRead(), but we need to convert that figure into a meaningful result. Let’s look at that now…
analogRead() returns a value between 0 and 1023 – which relates to a voltage between 0 and 5V (5000 mV). It is easier on the mind to convert that to a voltage first, then manipulate it into temperature. So, our raw analogRead() result from the TMP36 multiplied by (5000/1024) will return the actual voltage [we're working in millivolts, not volts] from the sensor. Now it’s easy – subtract 400 to remove the offset voltage; then divide it by 10 [remember that the output is 10 mV per degree Celsius]. Bingo! Then we have a result in degrees Celsius.
If you live in the Fahrenheit part of the world, you need to multiply the Celsius value by 1.8 and add 32.
Quick note: You may have seen in earlier sketches that we sent a value to the serial output in order for the arduino software to display it in the serial monitor box. Please note that you cannot use digital pins 0 or 1 if using serial commands. We used Serial.begin(9600); in the void setup(); part of the sketch. You can also send text to the serial monitor, using Serial.print(); and Serial.println();. For example, the following commands:
Serial.print("The temperature is: ");
Serial.print(temperature, 2);
Serial.println(" degrees Celsius");
would create the following line in the serial monitor (assuming the value of temperature is 23.73):
The temperature is 23.73 degrees Celsius
and send a carriage return to start a new line. That is the difference between the Serial.print(); and Serial.println(); commands, the extra -ln creates a carriage return (that is, sends the cursor to the start of the next line. Did you notice the 2 in the Serial.print(); above? You can specify the number of decimal places for float variables; or if you are using an integer, you can specify the base of the number being displayed, such as DEC, HEX, OCT, BIN, BYTE – decimal, hexadecimal, octal, binary, or byte form. If you don’t use the second paramater of Serial.print();, it defaults to decimal numbers for integers, or two decimal places for floating-point variables.
Now let’s read some temperatures! All you need to do is connect the TMP36 up to the arduino board. pin 1 to 5v, pin 2 to analog 0, pin 3 to GND. Here is a shot of the board setup:
And here is the sketch:
/*
example 2.1 - digital thermometer
Created 14/04/2010 --- By John Boxall --- http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com --- CC by-sa v3.0
Uses an Analog Devices TMP36 temperature sensor to measure temperature and output values to the serial connection
Pin 1 of TMP36 to Arduino 5V power socket
Pin 2 of TMP36 to Arduino analog 0 socket
Pin 3 of TMP36 to Arduino GND socket
*/
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600); // activate the serial output connection
}
float voltage = 0; // setup some variables
float sensor = 0;
float celsius = 0;
float fahrenheit = 0;
void loop()
{ // let's get measurin'
sensor = analogRead(0);
voltage = (sensor*5000)/1024; // convert raw sensor value to millivolts
voltage = voltage-400; // remove voltage offset
celsius = voltage/10; // convert millivolts to Celsius
fahrenheit = ((celsius * 1.8)+32); // convert celsius to fahrenheit
Serial.print("Temperature: ");
Serial.print(celsius,2);
Serial.println(" degrees C");
Serial.print("Temperature: ");
Serial.print(fahrenheit,2);
Serial.println(" degrees F");
Serial.println("_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ");
delay (1000); // wait a second, otherwise the serial monitor box will be too difficult to read
}
while (digitalRead(3) == LOW)
{
Serial.writeln("Button on digital pin 3 has not been pressed");
}
- Your standard Arduino setup (computer, cable, Uno or compatible)
- Either three LEDs or an RGB LED
- 3 x 560 ohm 0.25 W resistors. They are to reduce the current to protect the LEDs.
- a breadboard and some connecting wire
- Analog Devices TMP36 temperature sensor (element-14 part number 143-8760)
- a camera (optional) – to document your success!
/*
exercise 2.1 - Climate Control Judge
Created 14/04/2010 --- By John Boxall --- http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com --- CC by-sa v3.0 Share the love!
Measures temperature with Analog Devices TMP36 and compares against minimum temperature to use a heater or air conditioner
*/
int redLED = 13; // define which colour LED is in which digital output
int greenLED = 12;
int blueLED = 11;
float voltage = 0; // set up some variables for temperature work
float sensor = 0;
float celsius = 0;
float heaterOn = 15; // it's ok to turn on the heater if the temperature is below this value
float airconOn = 26; // it's ok to turn on the air conditioner if the temperature is above this value
void setup()
{
pinMode(redLED, OUTPUT); // set the digital pins for LEDs to outputs
pinMode(greenLED, OUTPUT); // not necessary for analogue input pin
pinMode(blueLED, OUTPUT);
}
void loop()
{
digitalWrite(redLED, LOW); // switch off the LEDs
digitalWrite(greenLED, LOW);
digitalWrite(blueLED, LOW);
// read the temperature sensor and convert the result to degrees Celsius
sensor = analogRead(0); // TMP36 sensor output pin is connected to Arduino analogue pin 0
voltage = (sensor*5000)/1024; // convert raw sensor value to millivolts
voltage = voltage-400; // remove voltage offset
celsius = voltage/10; // convert millivolts to Celsius
// now decide if it is too hot or cold.
if (celsius>=airconOn)
{
digitalWrite(blueLED, HIGH); // ok to turn on the air conditioner
} else if (celsius<=heaterOn)
{
digitalWrite(redLED, HIGH);
} else
{
digitalWrite(greenLED, HIGH); // everything normal }
delay(1000); // necessary to hold reading, otherwise the sketch runs too quickly and doesn't give the LEDs enough time to
// power up before shutting them down again
}
This is our most complex project to date, but don’t let that put you off. You have learned and practised all the commands and hardware required for this exercise. You only need a little imagination and some time. Your task is to build a digital thermometer, with LCD readout. As well as displaying the current temperature, it can also remember and display on request the minimum and maximum temperatures – all of which can be reset. Furthermore, the thermometer works in degrees C or F.
First of all, don’t worry about your hardware or sketch. Have a think about the flow of the operation, that is, what do you want it to do? For a start, it needs to constantly read the temperature from our TMP36 sensor. You can do that. Each reading will need to be compared against a minimum and maximum value. That’s just some decision-making and basic maths. You can do that. The user will need to press some buttons to display and reset stored data. You can do that – it’s just taking action if a digital input is high. I will leave the rest up to you.
So off you go!
You will need (this may vary depending on your design, but this is what we used):
- Your standard Arduino setup (computer, cable, Uno or compatible)
- Water (you need to stay hydrated)
- 2 x 10k 0.25 W resistors. They work with the buttons to the arduino
- Analog Devices TMP36 temperature sensor (element-14 part number 143-8760)
- 2 little push buttons
- a breadboard and some connecting wire
- 16×2 character LCD module and a 10k linear potentiometer or trimpot (For LCD contrast)
- Analog Devices TMP36 temperature sensor (element-14 part number 143-8760)
- a camera (optional) – to document your success!
For inspiration, here is a photo of my board layout:
and a video clip of the digital thermometer in action.
And here is the sketch for my example – Exercise 2.2 sketch example. I hope you had fun, and learned something. Now it’s time for Chapter Three.
Have fun and keep checking into tronixstuff.com. Why not follow things on twitter, Google+, subscribe for email updates or RSS using the links on the right-hand column, or join our Google Group – dedicated to the projects and related items on this website. Sign up – it’s free, helpful to each other – and we can all learn something.
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