Designing a simple PGA2310 based preamplifier with network control

By dave on June 2, 2017

At the moment I am prototyping a high quality pre-amplifier based around the PGA2310 volume control and an op-amp buffer input with RF filtering. Each channel will be selectable by relay, along with gain adjustment for each channel in terms of increase in dB. Each channel will be assigned a name that can be changed easily in software and stored along with default volume and channel in the on-board EEPROM.

SPI Serial Peripheral interface for Arduino tutorial

By dave on April 9, 2017

In this tutorial, I present a fictional SPI chip that we will use for the sake of example. This chip has two LED’s and controls them over SPI. It will help us to understand SPI with a real worked example. Following on we will build a real world circuit, using the SPI library, to see how easy it is to use SPI on Arduino. Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) Introduction Serial communication allows less pins to be used to communicate information between two chips or boards, and also removes a whole class of timing issues that are associated with parallel communication.

Arduino to PC communication using USB serial and Java

By dave on January 1, 2017

In this article, I present an example showing how to connect an Arduino device to your PC using USB serial and Java. USB serial is available on nearly all Arduino based boards. Further, there are serial interface Java libraries that can connect to an Arduino. If you are unfamiliar with data communications in general, take a look a the introduction to data communications article; although it does not cover serial communication, it is still a good starting point for the unfamiliar.

Arduino Game library for 20x4 display

By dave on March 21, 2016

<img class=" titleimg" alt="Arduino Game Board 20x4" src="/images/electronics/arduino/games/game-library-20x4.jpg"/> Here we discuss a game library that provides an easy way to write games with 20x4 parallel display and a few micro-switches. There is quite a lot of stuff going on in this library, so I'd like to start slow and build up. First, let's start by taking a look at the parts needed to use this library: 20x4 display (other size will work too) 4k7 resistors (at least 6) 220R or 330R resistor for backlight Microswitches for joystick 1uF capacitor to smooth PWM Arduino and breadboard!

Low power Arduino menu using tcmenu library

By dave on March 21, 2016

In this article we’ll discuss building a low power Arduino menu using tcMenu library. We will use a TFT screen and a rotary encoder connected to a PCF8574 device. The device will be SAMD MKR board. I’ve picked this choice purposely, because it’s non-trivial, and requires a lot of digging to make sure power usage is a low as possible. Running an Arduino menu on battery If the device can be powered from the mains, then power usage is probably not the biggest issue.

Working with and de-bouncing switches for Arduino

By dave on March 5, 2016

When we press a button that’s connected to an Arduino input, it is likely that the button will momentarily “flicker” between the on and off state. This gives false readings for a short period of time after the button is pressed. Problems caused by this can range from the mild annoyance of a slight flicker, to doing something more than once that should have only happened once. Therefore we need a way to ignore these false readings; ensuring we only consider the button pressed or released when we know for sure that it is “stable”.

Buffering an arduino output pin for more power

By dave on May 2, 2015

There are some occasions when the amount you safely draw (assume 20mA) from an Arduino board pin is just not enough (and some Arduino boards have even lower current capability). In these cases the output needs to be buffered in order to provide more power. At this point there are several possibilities, including ready made buffer chips such as the ULN2003A. However, in this tutorial we are going to discuss single transistor buffers; which are simple to build, easily understood and good for a few hundred milli-amps.

Basic current sensing on Arduino

By dave on April 27, 2014

I’ve got a side project of building a digitally Arduino controlled PSU that also includes an accurate component tester. In order to do this I’ll have to be able to monitor the current flowing through a circuit, so I’d need some way of monitoring this. Before continuing, I’d like to say that is not an exemplar of how to build a great current sensing circuit, it’s a prototype shown for example purposes only.

Building a holder for my Arduino board

By dave on April 27, 2014

<img class=" titleimg" alt="complete arduino holder" src="/images/electronics/arduino/holder/board-assembled.jpg"/> After almost shorting out my Arduino with a piece of wire that was left under the circuit board, I decided it was time to mount it onto a proper support board along with the breadboard I often use with it. Okay I could go out and buy one, but I had a nice piece of high grade birch plywood in the garage (left over from building a pair of speakers).

Arduino 7 segment LED display tutorial

By dave on February 2, 2014

In this tutorial I show you how to connect a 7 segment display to an Arduino board. For a tutorial showing how to drive 4 or 8 digit displays see (Arduino multiple digit, 7 segment display tutorial). Firstly, we must know what type of display we have as there are two possible forms, common cathode and common anode. If the display is common cathode, then the LOWER voltage side is common, if the display is common anode, then the HIGHER voltage side is common.

tcMenu for Arduino

This site uses cookies to analyse traffic, and to record consent. We also embed Twitter, Youtube and Disqus content on some pages, these companies have their own privacy policies.

Our privacy policy applies to all pages on our site

Should you need further guidance on how to proceed: External link for information about cookie management.

Send a message
X

Please use the forum for help with UI & libraries.

This message will be securely transmitted to our servers.