Posted: 12/30/2012 6:28:46 PM EDT
I made this today so I could mess with my Arduino a bit. I'm sure the code could be better, but it certainly works.  |
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Now write in a PWM dimming feature. I think I'll do an on/off switch next. I'm still pretty new to all of this so I don't know how to power 10 LEDs like this without frying an output while using less than 1 output per LED. Run your output through a transistor on your breadboard. Find one that will handle the current you need + at least 25% |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Now write in a PWM dimming feature. I think I'll do an on/off switch next. I'm still pretty new to all of this so I don't know how to power 10 LEDs like this without frying an output while using less than 1 output per LED. Run your output through a transistor on your breadboard. Find one that will handle the current you need + at least 25% I know that's the way to do it, but I need to do some more reading about them. I have one which should handle a good amount of current, but I want to do some more reading before doing it that way. |
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BTW, what do you have in the way of sensors? There is a bunch of cool shit you can do with those things. There are ultrasonic sensors, thermocouples, IR sensors, hall effect sensors, etc, etc. Sky's the limit with the applications you can come up with.
Bread boarding by itself can be fun and educational too! You can build circuits using discrete components or IC based circuitry. The 555 timer IC is great for starters. You can build tons of stuff around it. 
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Quoted: BTW, what do you have in the way of sensors? There is a bunch of cool shit you can do with those things. There are ultrasonic sensors, thermocouples, IR sensors, hall effect sensors, etc, etc. Sky's the limit with the applications you can come up with. Bread boarding by itself can be fun and educational too! You can build circuits using discrete components or IC based circuitry. The 555 timer IC is great for starters. You can build tons of stuff around it. I have a starter kit which I purchased from adafruit. I have a motor and a servo along with a temp sensor and a few other things. I have a 555 chip I think, but so far I can only use it in a very limited fashion. |
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BTW, what do you have in the way of sensors? There is a bunch of cool shit you can do with those things. There are ultrasonic sensors, thermocouples, IR sensors, hall effect sensors, etc, etc. Sky's the limit with the applications you can come up with. Bread boarding by itself can be fun and educational too! You can build circuits using discrete components or IC based circuitry. The 555 timer IC is great for starters. You can build tons of stuff around it.
I have a starter kit which I purchased from adafruit. I have a motor and a servo along with a temp sensor and a few other things. I have a 555 chip I think, but so far I can only use it in a very limited fashion. Can you read and interpret schematics OK? If so, many of the 555 circuits are very simple and easy to build. A simple oscillator is a very good example of this. I would also recommend you get an oscilloscope if you don't already have one. You can see just exactly what's going on with your circuit. You would be able to see the square wave from the 555 oscillator for example. ETA here is a VFO (variable frequency oscillator) Very simple to build. 
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: BTW, what do you have in the way of sensors? There is a bunch of cool shit you can do with those things. There are ultrasonic sensors, thermocouples, IR sensors, hall effect sensors, etc, etc. Sky's the limit with the applications you can come up with. Bread boarding by itself can be fun and educational too! You can build circuits using discrete components or IC based circuitry. The 555 timer IC is great for starters. You can build tons of stuff around it. I have a starter kit which I purchased from adafruit. I have a motor and a servo along with a temp sensor and a few other things. I have a 555 chip I think, but so far I can only use it in a very limited fashion. Can you read and interpret schematics OK? If so, many of the 555 circuits are very simple and easy to build. A simple oscillator is a very good example of this. I would also recommend you get an oscilloscope if you don't already have one. You can see just exactly what's going on with your circuit. You would be able to see the square wave from the 555 oscillator for example. ETA here is a VFO (variable frequency oscillator) Very simple to build. http://i49.tinypic.com/33lfpzk.gif Schematics are not a problem. I actually have a lot of experience with that from tracking down many electrical problems in my automobiles. Thanks for the info and the diagram. I looked it up and it's not actually a 555 that I have. I've read a lot about them though so I'll pick one up. I do have an oscilloscope already due to car troubles too. Good times.  |
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While were on the subject, this guy has some real good stuff on some 555 based analog servo drivers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXeSsevsNNE |
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I took a 3 axis accelerometer and wired it up to an RGB LED. It's pretty cool, and really easy.
Link to code This is the code for the MMA8452 breakout, cheap and easy. |
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While were on the subject, this guy has some real good stuff on some 555 based analog servo drivers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXeSsevsNNE Wow, that guy has some good stuff. |
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While were on the subject, this guy has some real good stuff on some 555 based analog servo drivers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXeSsevsNNE Wow, that guy has some good stuff. Check out his balancing robot! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=Y-afnY32RrY&NR=1 |
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I may as well do that even though my project is quite basic. Thanks for the link. |
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I may as well do that even though my project is quite basic. Thanks for the link. Just messin' with ya
Seriously though, Instructables.com is a pretty nifty site. Lot's of ideas and how to's there. ETA, Happy New Year! May it be a great one! 
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I'll second the 555.
I put together a neat little flashing light set for my son's bob the builder -type party. Used two surefires  behind trailer reflectors connected through some rather large and heat-sinked transistors to the 555 powered by two big li-ions. It was quite bright.
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Quoted: Quoted: I may as well do that even though my project is quite basic. Thanks for the link. Just messin' with ya Seriously though, Instructables.com is a pretty nifty site. Lot's of ideas and how to's there. ETA, Happy New Year! May it be a great one! Happy NY to you too. |
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I thought I would share that I'm now building a Jeopardy type setup for trivia purposes. It shouldn't be too hard I would think. Buzzers? I don't think it would be hard to do with your Arduino. I've seen 555 schematics for them also that are pretty simple. ETA, here is one that uses a 74 series logic gate in addition to the 555. |
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Found one on youtube that has a link to the source code.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCVXu21wfb0 Some nicer push buttons, a piezo speaker and custom lights would dress it up nicely! |
| Just a thought, but if you want a nice set that will be able to be used time and again, get a project box and a through-hole perforated solder board. Point to point soldering is not very difficult, especially for the simpler projects. Get some nice connectors so that you can plug your game unit into your arduino easily (one hard wired to your project and the other end a pig-tail for your arduino with tags for easy re-connection). Also, a nice soldered and housed unit will hold together well during storage, as opposed to leaving your project on a solderless breadboard. |
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Quoted: Just a thought, but if you want a nice set that will be able to be used time and again, get a project box and a through-hole perforated solder board. Point to point soldering is not very difficult, especially for the simpler projects. Get some nice connectors so that you can plug your game unit into your arduino easily (one hard wired to your project and the other end a pig-tail for your arduino with tags for easy re-connection). Also, a nice soldered and housed unit will hold together well during storage, as opposed to leaving your project on a solderless breadboard. Thanks for the tips. I had planned on using perf board and some sort of project box. I'm thinking I'll use phone line and jacks for the connections. |