31 October 2014
New Wordpress Blog
I am no longer using Blogger. You can find my new Blog by going to TheArduinoGuy.org or by clicking HERE.
See you there.
Mike...
29 October 2014
Pin Powered Sensor
In an attempt to increase battery life further I've now got the HTU21D humidity and temperature sensor powered by a digital pin from the ATMega328p. In code the sensor is powered up and then back down again in-between reads in an effort to squeeze...
28 October 2014
Voltage Loss over a week
I've had the wireless sensor node with sleep functions transmitting every two seconds for a week now to see how fast or slow the power loss was. After about 5 days the battery lost 1 volt which is more than expected.
After reviewing the code it would...
19 October 2014
Change of RFM69 Libraries
Today I decided to change from using the Jeelib library for the RFM69 and instead i've started using the RFM69 library from LowPowerLabs. Not only is it easier to use than the Jeelib library, but it is optimised for using the RFM69 whereas the Jeelib...
18 October 2014
Sensor Node Progress
I've made some great progress with the sensor node project over the last two days. After finally getting around the problems I was having with the software bugs and the SPI restrictions I settled on the circuit you can see on the left.
This is a...
17 October 2014
Wireless Sensor Node - successful transmissions
If you've been following the blog lately you would have read about the issues I had with transmitting data packets over a wireless netwrok between two Arduinos using an RFM69CW radio transceiver module.
A quick recap - I first had lost packets and...
11 October 2014
RFM69CW - Never ending issues
I have no idea why but my experiments with the RFM69CW have descended into chaos and frustration.
At first I had the units talking to each other and sending out test packets for nearly 24 hours with no issue. Then I started to modify my code and...
09 October 2014
RFM69CW packet loss *solved*
It turns out that all of the CRC errors and the packet loss I was experiencing was nothing to do with interference at all. It was a bug in the library!
After contacting the guys on the Jeelib Cafe forum I was made aware that the CRC errors was a...
08 October 2014
RFM69CW issues
Over the last few days I've had two RFM69CW radio modules hooked up to two Arduino Uno's. They both have correct length 1/4 wave antenna and I've been running tests sending data from one unit to another. Seems like a simple test and yet I have had...
05 October 2014
Arduino Yun and the RFM69CW
I've been playing around with RFM69CW radio tx/rx modules lately for an environmental sensor node monitoring project. Using the Jeelibs RFM12 library I was trying to get the Arduino Yun to talk to and configure the device over SPI to no avail....
11 August 2014
Wireless Environmental Monitoring
I've been asked to get involved in an Arduino based environmental monitoring project recently. I'm looking forward to it as it's been a while since I dusted off my Arduino's and actually did anything with them. it's also a good excuse to get my lab...
10 July 2014
Lifehacker mention
Lifehacker recently featured, briefly, my new Electronics Lab/Home Office build. You can see it HERE.
You can also see the Flickr album for the entire build HERE....
09 June 2014
New Electronics Lab Build
So the build of my new Electronics lab/workshop/home office has begun. I'm starting completely from scratch and building a complete wrap around curved desk that covers 3.5 walls in a roughly square room. It's quite ambitious and will no doubt be a lot...
10 May 2014
Long time no post
Sorry for the big delay in posts guys. It's been a tumultuous 6 months for me and a lot going on in my life.
I'll have a new workshop over the next month or so and will be active again in electronics so watch this space.
Mike
...
05 November 2013
Turning an old PC ATX Power Supply into a bench PSU
Old ATX power supplies are an excellent and cheap way of getting a power supply that can generate 3.3, 5 and 12 Volts in a stable form and with high currents. It's also really easy to convert them into bench power supplies or to power anything that...
03 November 2013
Vacuum sealer for my sous vide cooker
If you have read my previous post you will know that I recently made a digital temperature controller to turn a cheap crock pot into a sous vide cooker. Well, I got myself a cheap vacuum sealer from eBay for use with the sous vide cooker recently. It...
21 October 2013
DIY Sous Vide Cooker Project
I had seen plenty of websites or videos of people making their own sous vide cookers so thought I would give it a go myself. If you don't already know, sous vide is a method of cooking food in sealed bags in a water bath with the water held at a very...
04 October 2013
Telescope Focus Controller - Part 1 - The Idea.
One of my hobbies is astronomy and more specifically, astro-photogaphy. I have a pretty sophisticated setup with a computerised GoTo mount with a cooled CCD camera, motorised filter wheel, guide camera, etc. Most of the gear is automated and can be...
Sous Vide Cooker Experiment
So, if you haven't already heard of Sous Vide cooking I'd highly recommend reading a bit about it. In a nutshell, it is cooking food in a water bath at a certain temperature with the idea being that the food cooks slowly and evenly resulting in a perfect...
