Arduino Projects

[Dave Cooper]

Hi Graeme, I recently needed some 5k pot's to repair a radio control system for a model boat.

On the recommendation of a relative (the same one who supplied me with a free oscilloscope), I ordered from Switch Electronics - a British firm. Price was very reasonable at 59p each and delivery took just a few days. Pot action was beautifully smooth too. I expect they will do a full range of resistors etc.

Their website is "switchelectronics.co.uk" and the on-line catalogue seems very comprehensive. I think I may order a full set of resistors for use with the Arduino kit and just use the kit supplied ones as "stock"...
Dave

[Phil Court]

Just bend the leads over so they lay flat on the copper about 1mm will do. (before soldering!!!!)
I was taught 50 years ago that soldering is for the electrical connection and a mechanical "joint/fixing" should be for holding the component in place. :police:
Not quite applicable to SMT devices but even thy were glued in place in the early days.

[Dave Cooper]

Not quite sure I follow your method here Phil. The problem with the Arduino kits is a round resistor lead being retained by a square breadboard hole. So, the 'mechanical' bit is the fit between the gauge of resistor wire with the internal dimensions of the breadboard's hole.

There's no soldering involved just a 'plug-in and play' philosophy...the electrical connections are taken care of by the breadboard's internal bus wiring once you've decided on which particular row-and-column to use for your component(s).

However, I do agree with your general practice that soldered joints should have mechanical support (even if it's just a bit of heat-shrink !
Dave

[Graeme Dunbar]

Given how simple they are, solderless breadboards are remarkably reliable and cope with a fair range of component wire diameter and profiles (IC legs, some push switches etc.)

Inside, they are simply rows of connected pairs of fingers a bit like rows of dolly pegs with the finger tips touching. The component leg slides between a pair of fingers. With use, and particularly extended rough handling with oversized component legs the fingers splay and no longer retain their spring. With care the back cover can be removed, a row of fingers removed and gently squeezed together before reassembling.

... which is a round about way of saying the connections are made in almost exacly the same way as rail joiner/fishplates on model track - except the component is inserted from the top. It can suffer exactly the same sort of problem as settrack does when it is connected and separated many times - and the solution (with careful application of a pair of pliers) is similar.

[Phil Court]

Not quite sure I follow your method here Phil. The problem with the Arduino kits is a round resistor lead being retained by a square breadboard hole. So, the 'mechanical' bit is the fit between the gauge of resistor wire with the internal dimensions of the breadboard's hole.

There's no soldering involved just a 'plug-in and play' philosophy...the electrical connections are taken care of by the breadboard's internal bus wiring once you've decided on which particular row-and-column to use for your component(s).

However, I do agree with your general practice that soldered joints should have mechanical support (even if it's just a bit of heat-shrink !
Dave

Sorry misunderstood your meaning of breadboard.
Thought it was a more generic expression as bread board originaly used to be a real breadboard with brass nails hammered in and then components soldered to!

Then as "technology" progressed we had the breadboard as you describe and veroboard (now called stripboard).
I assumed it was the veroboard type of prototype as we used to refer to breadbording as any type of lash up prior to committing a design to printed circuit board.

Sorry for the confusion


I would agree that fine wire components in bread board can be  a problem with the leads buckling as you push them in.

[Dave Cooper]

No problem Phil, if you Google Arduino breadboards a good selection will appear. Also, there are some good Youtube videos on circuits under construction...

Graeme is an expert in this area, so, you could 'steer' any technical questions you may have his way.
Regards,
Dave

[Graeme Dunbar]

Many thanks Dave - I think! (... given the disdain with which "experts" appear to be viewed in present times  :D )

Anyway as of last Friday I'm officially retired and am now an amateur  ;D ;D ;D

[Dave Cooper]

Enjoy your retirement Graeme - I can recommend it !

[Graeme Dunbar]

Enjoy your retirement Graeme - I can recommend it !

Thanks! I intend to. An oval of Peco 009 Setrack arrived in the post yesterday. Perhaps even an Arduino project? I'm still thinking...

[Dave Cooper]

Just got a book for my 72nd birthday "Exploring Arduino". It seems to be based on the "Uno" board but mentions several others with various pro's and con's...

Any suggestions for a beginner like me ? Likely projects would include automatic control of a 'rope-worked' incline on the 009 lines and, a rotating radar scanner on a model RAF Air-Sea Rescue launch (where space is a little tight).

I'm sure other projects will spring to mind as I plough through the book (probably, of a motor /servo control nature).

Regards,
Dave

[Graeme Dunbar]

Many Happy Returns and all that!

As for projects I recommend starting out taking the "solution looking for a problem" approach. It can be quite easy to come up with a control idea that seems achieveable and commit to building the model only to find the software control is harder than expected or does not give as convincing a solution as hoped.

Building up experience by making your own "toobox" of simple contol programs and exercises will help identify the most likely successful approach to solving more complex tasks.

You mention servos. They can be reliable, inexpensive an easy to control with an Arduino. Clearly the performance of cheaper ones is unlikely to match more expensive ones, so writing some code to put them through their paces will suggest applications appropriate to whatever combination of cost and performance they can deliver.

The Uno is a good starting point as it covers most eventualities. If the bug bites there are inexpensive clones from the Far East and Nano is excellent for building into small projects.

[Dave Cooper]

Thanks for the advice Graeme. The book recommends 'Uno' for the projects contained therein. After a quick flick through, they seem to build on the experience of previous ones constructed.

As for the code, there seems to be a good set of ready-built libraries /routines to use as a basis for a new project (C, C++ or Java it's hard to tell ?). All this is accessed via the IDE apparently which you download as a first step. 

They also recommend "SparkFun" and/or "Newark element14" for components. I think you said in a previous post that SparkFun were good suppliers but I'd not heard of Newark before... :)

[Neil McGrath]

I tend to use the UNO for developing projects as it is easy to connect the jumper wires. After I have proven that the idea works, I will use a Nano for installation on the layout as it is cheaper and smaller. You can get a Nano with or without the USB connector. I will always pay a little extra for the USB version as programming can be fiddly through an adapter. The cheap Chinese clones work well for me.

Neil

[Retiarius]

a rotating radar scanner on a model RAF Air-Sea Rescue launch (where space is a little tight).

Have you thought of fitting an N20 geared motor? They come in speeds as low as 10rpm on 3v-6v. I use one to power my turntable, with extra gearing, at 1.5v from a DCC loco chip.

[Neil McGrath]

Just got a book for my 72nd birthday "Exploring Arduino". It seems to be based on the "Uno" board but mentions several others with various pro's and con's...

Any suggestions for a beginner like me ? Likely projects would include automatic control of a 'rope-worked' incline on the 009 lines and, a rotating radar scanner on a model RAF Air-Sea Rescue launch (where space is a little tight).

I'm sure other projects will spring to mind as I plough through the book (probably, of a motor /servo control nature).

Regards,
Dave

Anything that involves flashing LEDs is fairly easy to start with (welding or fire effects, emergency vehicles etc).
You could then move on to simple servo circuits. I use mine to operate a tipper truck and a workshop car lift.
Motor control can be from a simple MOSFET for single direction control or an H bridge for forward and reverse operation. The ready made modules can work out cheaper than building these circuits.