All posts by admin

In this video lesson I show you how to parse NMEA sentences using the Raspberry Pi Pico W. In our project our pico is connected to the Adafruit Ultimate GPS V3. For this lesson we are using the following schematic:

Pi Pico GPS — This schematic shows how to connect the Adafruit Ultimate GPS to the Raspberry Pi Pico W

For your convenience, I have included the code below developed in the video:

from machine import Pin,I2C,UART
import time
import _thread
dataLock = _thread.allocate_lock()
keepRunning = True
GPS = UART(1, baudrate=9600, tx=machine.Pin(8), rx=machine.Pin(9))
# The following line ensures that the GPS reports the GPVTG NMEA Sentence
GPS.write(b"$PMTK314,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0*28\r\n")
NMEAdata = {
    'GPGGA' : "",
    'GPGSA' : "",
    'GPRMC' : "",
    'GPVTG' : ""
    }
GPSdata = {
    'latDD' 	: 0,
    'lonDD'		: 0,
    'heading'	: 0,
    'fix'		: False,
    'sats'		: 0,
    'knots'		: 0
    }
def gpsThread():
    print("Thread Running")
    global keepRunning,NMEAdata
    GPGGA = ""
    GPGSA = ""
    GPRMC = ""
    GPVTG = ""
    while not GPS.any():
        pass
    while GPS.any():
        junk = GPS.read()
        print(junk)
    myNMEA = ""
    while keepRunning:
        if GPS.any():
            myChar=GPS.read(1).decode('utf-8')
            myNMEA = myNMEA + myChar
            if myChar == '\n':
                myNMEA = myNMEA.strip()
                if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPGGA":
                    GPGGA = myNMEA
                if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPGSA":
                    GPGSA = myNMEA
                if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPRMC":
                    GPRMC = myNMEA
                if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPVTG":
                    GPVTG = myNMEA
                if GPGGA != "" and GPGSA!="" and GPRMC!="" and GPVTG!="":
                    dataLock.acquire()
                    NMEAdata = {
                        'GPGGA' : GPGGA,
                        'GPGSA' : GPGSA,
                        'GPRMC' : GPRMC,
                        'GPVTG' : GPVTG
                        }
                    dataLock.release()
                myNMEA = ""
    print("Thread Terminated Cleanly")
def parseGPS():
    readFix=int(NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[6])
    if readFix !=0:
        GPSdata['fix'] = True
        latRAW = NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[2]
        latDD = int(latRAW[0:2]) + float(latRAW[2:])/60
        if NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[3] == 'S':
            latDD = -latDD
        GPSdata['latDD']= latDD
        lonRAW=NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[4]
        lonDD=int(lonRAW[0:3]) + float(lonRAW[3:])/60
        if NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[5] == 'W':
            lonDD = -lonDD
        GPSdata['lonDD'] = lonDD
        heading = float(NMEAmain['GPRMC'].split(',')[8])
        GPSdata['heading'] = heading
        knots = float(NMEAmain['GPRMC'].split(',')[7])
        GPSdata['knots'] = knots
        sats = NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[7]
        GPSdata['sats'] = sats
        
        
_thread.start_new_thread(gpsThread,())
time.sleep(2)
try:
    while True:
        dataLock.acquire()
        NMEAmain = NMEAdata.copy()
        dataLock.release()
        parseGPS()
        if GPSdata['fix'] == False:
            print("Waiting for Fix . . .")
        if GPSdata['fix'] == True:
            print("Ultimate GPS Tracker Report: ")
            print("Lat and Lon: ",GPSdata['latDD'],GPSdata['lonDD'])
            print("Knots: ",GPSdata['knots'])
            print("Heading: ",GPSdata['heading'])
            print("Sats: ",GPSdata['sats'])
            print()

        time.sleep(10)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("\nStopping Program . . . Cleaning Up UART")
    keepRunning = False
    time.sleep(1)
    GPS.deinit()
    time.sleep(1)
    print("Exited Cleanly")

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from machine import Pin,I2C,UART

import time

import _thread

dataLock = _thread.allocate_lock()

keepRunning = True

GPS = UART(1, baudrate=9600, tx=machine.Pin(8), rx=machine.Pin(9))

# The following line ensures that the GPS reports the GPVTG NMEA Sentence

GPS.write(b"$PMTK314,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0*28\r\n")

NMEAdata = {

'GPGGA' : "",

'GPGSA' : "",

'GPRMC' : "",

'GPVTG' : ""

}

GPSdata = {

'latDD' : 0,

'lonDD' : 0,

'heading' : 0,

'fix' : False,

'sats' : 0,

'knots' : 0

}

def gpsThread():

print("Thread Running")

global keepRunning,NMEAdata

GPGGA = ""

GPGSA = ""

GPRMC = ""

GPVTG = ""

while not GPS.any():

pass

while GPS.any():

junk = GPS.read()

print(junk)

myNMEA = ""

while keepRunning:

if GPS.any():

myChar=GPS.read(1).decode('utf-8')

myNMEA = myNMEA + myChar

if myChar == '\n':

myNMEA = myNMEA.strip()

if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPGGA":

GPGGA = myNMEA

if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPGSA":

GPGSA = myNMEA

if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPRMC":

GPRMC = myNMEA

if myNMEA[1:6] == "GPVTG":

GPVTG = myNMEA

if GPGGA != "" and GPGSA!="" and GPRMC!="" and GPVTG!="":

dataLock.acquire()

NMEAdata = {

'GPGGA' : GPGGA,

'GPGSA' : GPGSA,

'GPRMC' : GPRMC,

'GPVTG' : GPVTG

}

dataLock.release()

myNMEA = ""

print("Thread Terminated Cleanly")

def parseGPS():

readFix=int(NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[6])

if readFix !=0:

GPSdata['fix'] = True

latRAW = NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[2]

latDD = int(latRAW[0:2]) + float(latRAW[2:])/60

if NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[3] == 'S':

latDD = -latDD

GPSdata['latDD']= latDD

lonRAW=NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[4]

lonDD=int(lonRAW[0:3]) + float(lonRAW[3:])/60

if NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[5] == 'W':

lonDD = -lonDD

GPSdata['lonDD'] = lonDD

heading = float(NMEAmain['GPRMC'].split(',')[8])

GPSdata['heading'] = heading

knots = float(NMEAmain['GPRMC'].split(',')[7])

GPSdata['knots'] = knots

sats = NMEAmain['GPGGA'].split(',')[7]

GPSdata['sats'] = sats

_thread.start_new_thread(gpsThread,())

time.sleep(2)

try:

while True:

dataLock.acquire()

NMEAmain = NMEAdata.copy()

dataLock.release()

parseGPS()

if GPSdata['fix'] == False:

print("Waiting for Fix . . .")

if GPSdata['fix'] == True:

print("Ultimate GPS Tracker Report: ")

print("Lat and Lon: ",GPSdata['latDD'],GPSdata['lonDD'])

print("Knots: ",GPSdata['knots'])

print("Heading: ",GPSdata['heading'])

print("Sats: ",GPSdata['sats'])

print()

time.sleep(10)

except KeyboardInterrupt:

print("\nStopping Program . . . Cleaning Up UART")

keepRunning = False

time.sleep(1)

GPS.deinit()

time.sleep(1)

print("Exited Cleanly")

Arduino

Add an MPU6050 Accelerometer to your Arduino Project

July 10, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we will show you how to incorporate accelerometers into your Arduino projects. Your Sunfounder kit includes the GY-87 IMU module. This module contains a BMP180 pressure sensor, which we have already used in earlier lessons, and an MPU6050 6 axis IMU. The MPU6050 includes 3 accelerometers and 3 gyros. In today’s lesson, we learn how to use the MPU6050 accelerometers. I will explain how these MEMS bases accelerometers work, and how we can use them in our project.

This is the schematic we use in todays lesson.

MPU6050 — Schematic for connecting the GY-87 module to the Arduino

For your convenience, the code developed in the lesson is presented below:

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>
#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Wire.h>
float Ax;
float Ay;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(115200);
  mpu.begin();
  Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");
  mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);
  mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);


}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  sensors_event_t a, g, temp;
  mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);
  Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;
  Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

  Serial.print(Ax);
  Serial.print(',');
  Serial.println(Ay);

  delay(50);

}

#include <Adafruit_MPU6050.h>

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>

#include <Wire.h>

float Ax;

float Ay;

Adafruit_MPU6050 mpu;

void setup() {

// put your setup code here, to run once:

Serial.begin(115200);

mpu.begin();

Serial.println("MPU6050 Started!");

mpu.setAccelerometerRange(MPU6050_RANGE_2_G);

mpu.setFilterBandwidth(MPU6050_BAND_21_HZ);

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

sensors_event_t a, g, temp;

mpu.getEvent(&a, &g, &temp);

Ax=a.acceleration.x/9.81;

Ay=a.acceleration.y/9.81;

Serial.print(Ax);

Serial.print(',');

Serial.println(Ay);

delay(50);

}

MicroPython, Raspberry Pi Pico, Tutorial

Getting Latitude and Longitude from the Adafruit Ultimate GPS with Raspberry Pi Pico W

July 1, 2025 admin

In this video lesson I show how to get usable Latitude and Longitude from the Adafruit Ultimate GPS version 3 using the Raspberry Pi Pico W. We read the NMEA sentences from the GPS, we parse them into individual strings for each sentence, and then we create arrays of data from the strings. Then we begin to parse the arrays, and convert the confusing numbers into useful Decimal Degree values for Latitude and Longitude.

For your convenience, this is the code we developed in todays lesson:

from machine import Pin,I2C,UART  #***************
import time
GPS = UART(1, baudrate=9600, tx=machine.Pin(8), rx=machine.Pin(9))
# The following line ensures that the GPS reports the GPVTG NMEA Sentence
GPS.write(b"$PMTK314,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0*28\r\n")
myNMEA=""
GPGGA=""
GPGSA=""
GPRMC=""
GPVTG=""
GPGSV=""
while not GPS.any():
    pass
while GPS.any():
    junk=GPS.read()
    print(junk)
try:
    while True:
        if GPS.any():
            #myChar=GPS.read(1)
            myChar=GPS.read(1).decode('utf-8')
            myNMEA=myNMEA+myChar
            if myChar=='\n':
                if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGGA":
                    GPGGA=myNMEA
                    GPGGAarray=GPGGA.split(',')
                    #print(GPGGA)
                    #print(GPGGAarray)
                    if int(GPGGAarray[6]) != 0:
                        latRAW=GPGGAarray[2]
                        lonRAW=GPGGAarray[4]
                        numSat=int(GPGGAarray[7])
                        latDD=int(latRAW[0:2])+float(latRAW[2:])/60
                        lonDD=int(lonRAW[0:3])+float(lonRAW[3:])/60
                        if GPGGAarray[3]=='S':
                            latDD=-latDD
                        if GPGGAarray[5]=='W':
                            lonDD=-lonDD
                        print("LAT, LON, numSat ",latDD,lonDD,numSat)
                if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGSA":
                    GPGSA=myNMEA
                    GPGSAarray=GPGSA.split(',')
                if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPRMC":
                    GPRMC=myNMEA
                    GPRMCarray=GPRMC.split(',')
                    knots=float(GPRMCarray[7])
                    heading=float(GPRMCarray[8])
                    print(knots, "Knots at a Heading of: ",heading)
                if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPVTG":
                    GPVTG=myNMEA
                    GPVTGarray=GPVTG.split(',')
                if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGSV":
                    GPGSV=myNMEA
                    GPGSVarray=GPGSV.split(',')
                    if GPGGA!="":
                        if int(GPGGAarray[6])==0:
                            print('Aquiring Fix:', GPGSVarray[3], "Sattellites in View")
                                              
                myNMEA=""
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("\nStopping program... Cleaning up UART.")
    GPS.deinit()  # Properly release UART before exit
    time.sleep(1)  # Short pause to ensure clean shutdown
    print("Exited cleanly.")

from machine import Pin,I2C,UART #***************

import time

GPS = UART(1, baudrate=9600, tx=machine.Pin(8), rx=machine.Pin(9))

# The following line ensures that the GPS reports the GPVTG NMEA Sentence

GPS.write(b"$PMTK314,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0*28\r\n")

myNMEA=""

GPGGA=""

GPGSA=""

GPRMC=""

GPVTG=""

GPGSV=""

while not GPS.any():

pass

while GPS.any():

junk=GPS.read()

print(junk)

try:

while True:

if GPS.any():

#myChar=GPS.read(1)

myChar=GPS.read(1).decode('utf-8')

myNMEA=myNMEA+myChar

if myChar=='\n':

if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGGA":

GPGGA=myNMEA

GPGGAarray=GPGGA.split(',')

#print(GPGGA)

#print(GPGGAarray)

if int(GPGGAarray[6]) != 0:

latRAW=GPGGAarray[2]

lonRAW=GPGGAarray[4]

numSat=int(GPGGAarray[7])

latDD=int(latRAW[0:2])+float(latRAW[2:])/60

lonDD=int(lonRAW[0:3])+float(lonRAW[3:])/60

if GPGGAarray[3]=='S':

latDD=-latDD

if GPGGAarray[5]=='W':

lonDD=-lonDD

print("LAT, LON, numSat ",latDD,lonDD,numSat)

if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGSA":

GPGSA=myNMEA

GPGSAarray=GPGSA.split(',')

if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPRMC":

GPRMC=myNMEA

GPRMCarray=GPRMC.split(',')

knots=float(GPRMCarray[7])

heading=float(GPRMCarray[8])

print(knots, "Knots at a Heading of: ",heading)

if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPVTG":

GPVTG=myNMEA

GPVTGarray=GPVTG.split(',')

if myNMEA[1:6]=="GPGSV":

GPGSV=myNMEA

GPGSVarray=GPGSV.split(',')

if GPGGA!="":

if int(GPGGAarray[6])==0:

print('Aquiring Fix:', GPGSVarray[3], "Sattellites in View")

myNMEA=""

except KeyboardInterrupt:

print("\nStopping program... Cleaning up UART.")

GPS.deinit() # Properly release UART before exit

time.sleep(1) # Short pause to ensure clean shutdown

print("Exited cleanly.")

Arduino, Python

Controlling Brightness of Arduino LED Remotely Using PyQt and WiFi

June 25, 2025 admin

In this lesson we will use PyQt5, UDP and WiFi to control the brightness of an Arduino LED circuit remotely. The PyQt generates a constantly updating sin wave, which it plots on a PyQt graph, and then transfers the brightness in real time to the arduino project. This lesson teaches many important skills including UDP, WiFi, PyQt5, Python, Arduino and LEDs.

When using the breadvolt, or any battery power supply on a breadboard project, do not turn the power supply on while the Arduino is connected to USB, as you could generate voltage conflicts. It is an either or. If the USB is connected, the power supply should be OFF. The schematic for the arduino circuit is shown below:

Schematic of our Arduino Uno R4 Wifi connected to an RGB LED

In the video, we develop code for the server, on the arduino, and the client, running in Python on the desktop. We present the code below for your convenience.

This is the Server code for the Arduino:

#include <WiFiS3.h>
#include "secrets.h"
WiFiUDP udp;
int PORT = 12345;
String myString;
String stringArray[10];
String response = "ACK";
int redPin=9;
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(redPin,OUTPUT);
  Serial.print("Connecting to ");
  Serial.println(mySSID);
  WiFi.begin(mySSID, myPASS);
  while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
    delay(100);
    Serial.print(".");
  }
  Serial.println("\nConnected to WiFi");
  Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());
  udp.begin(PORT);
  Serial.print("UDP Server started on port ");
  Serial.print(PORT);
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
}
void splitString() {
  int startIndex = 0;
  int indexCount = 0;
  int i;
  int j;
  myString = myString + ':';
  for (i = 0; i < myString.length(); i = i + 1) {
    if (myString[i] == ':') {
      stringArray[indexCount] = myString.substring(startIndex, i);
      indexCount = indexCount + 1;
      startIndex = i + 1;
    }
  }
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  if (udp.parsePacket()) {
    myString = udp.readStringUntil('\n');
    splitString();
    analogWrite(redPin,stringArray[0].toInt());
  }
}

#include <WiFiS3.h>

#include "secrets.h"

WiFiUDP udp;

int PORT = 12345;

String myString;

String stringArray[10];

String response = "ACK";

int redPin=9;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(redPin,OUTPUT);

Serial.print("Connecting to ");

Serial.println(mySSID);

WiFi.begin(mySSID, myPASS);

while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {

delay(100);

Serial.print(".");

}

Serial.println("\nConnected to WiFi");

Serial.println(WiFi.localIP());

udp.begin(PORT);

Serial.print("UDP Server started on port ");

Serial.print(PORT);

// put your setup code here, to run once:

}

void splitString() {

int startIndex = 0;

int indexCount = 0;

int i;

int j;

myString = myString + ':';

for (i = 0; i < myString.length(); i = i + 1) {

if (myString[i] == ':') {

stringArray[indexCount] = myString.substring(startIndex, i);

indexCount = indexCount + 1;

startIndex = i + 1;

}

void loop() {

// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

if (udp.parsePacket()) {

myString = udp.readStringUntil('\n');

splitString();

analogWrite(redPin,stringArray[0].toInt());

}

You will need to open a new tab, and save the following code as “secrets.h” with the program above.

#define mySSID "Your WiFi Name"
#define myPASS "Your WiFi Password"

1 2	#define mySSID "Your WiFi Name" #define myPASS "Your WiFi Password"

On the Python side, this is the Client code:

import pyqtgraph as pg
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *
from PyQt5.QtCore import *
from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication
import sys
from math import sin,pi
import time
import socket
 
# Arduino’s IP address (from Arduino Serial Monitor)
HOST = "192.168.88.120"  # Use Your Arduino's IP. It will print when
                        #You Run the Arduino Server Program
PORT = 12345            # Must match Arduino’s UDP port
 
# Create a UDP socket
mySocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
mySocket.settimeout(5.0)  # 5 seconds timeout for responses

Period = 5
frequency = 1/Period
numPoints = 500
timeStep = Period/numPoints
redData = [0]*numPoints
timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])
window = QMainWindow()
window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")
window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

screens =QGuiApplication.screens()
window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()
window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()
plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")
plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")
plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")
plotWidget.addLegend()
mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):
    t = i * timeStep
    timeData[i] = t
    redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")
tStart = time.perf_counter()
def updateGraph():
    global t,tStart,frequency
    t = t +timeStep
    r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)
    redWrite = int((r*255 + 255)/2)
    myData= str(redWrite)+'\n'
    myDataEncoded=myData.encode()
    mySocket.sendto(myDataEncoded, (HOST,PORT))
    for i in range(numPoints -1):
        redData[i] = redData[i+1]
        timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]
    redData[numPoints - 1] = r
    timeData[numPoints -1] = t
    redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)
    if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:
        measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart
        print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)
        tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()
timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)
timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()
sys.exit(app.exec_())

import pyqtgraph as pg

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *

from PyQt5.QtCore import *

from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication

import sys

from math import sin,pi

import time

import socket

# Arduino’s IP address (from Arduino Serial Monitor)

HOST = "192.168.88.120" # Use Your Arduino's IP. It will print when

#You Run the Arduino Server Program

PORT = 12345 # Must match Arduino’s UDP port

# Create a UDP socket

mySocket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)

mySocket.settimeout(5.0) # 5 seconds timeout for responses

Period = 5

frequency = 1/Period

numPoints = 500

timeStep = Period/numPoints

redData = [0]*numPoints

timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])

window = QMainWindow()

window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")

window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

screens =QGuiApplication.screens()

window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()

window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()

plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")

plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")

plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")

plotWidget.addLegend()

mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):

t = i * timeStep

timeData[i] = t

redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")

tStart = time.perf_counter()

def updateGraph():

global t,tStart,frequency

t = t +timeStep

r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redWrite = int((r*255 + 255)/2)

myData= str(redWrite)+'\n'

myDataEncoded=myData.encode()

mySocket.sendto(myDataEncoded, (HOST,PORT))

for i in range(numPoints -1):

redData[i] = redData[i+1]

timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]

redData[numPoints - 1] = r

timeData[numPoints -1] = t

redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)

if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:

measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart

print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)

tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()

timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)

timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()

sys.exit(app.exec_())

Arduino, Python

Plot Live Data in Python Using PyQt5

June 18, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we show you how to plot live data in Python using PyQt5. In this lesson, we generate the data in python on the fly, but in future lessons we will bring the data in from the Arduino Project over WiFi using UDP. For your convenience, the code we developed in this lesson is below:

import pyqtgraph as pg
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *
from PyQt5.QtCore import *
from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication
import sys
from math import sin,pi
import time

Period = 5
frequency = 1/Period
numPoints = 500
timeStep = Period/numPoints
redData = [0]*numPoints
timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])
window = QMainWindow()
window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")
window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

#screens =QGuiApplication.screens()
#window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()
window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()
plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")
plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")
plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")
plotWidget.addLegend()
mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):
    t = i * timeStep
    timeData[i] = t
    redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")
tStart = time.perf_counter()
def updateGraph():
    global t,tStart,frequency
    t = t +timeStep
    r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)
    for i in range(numPoints -1):
        redData[i] = redData[i+1]
        timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]
    redData[numPoints - 1] = r
    timeData[numPoints -1] = t
    redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)
    if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:
        measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart
        print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)
        tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()
timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)
timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()
sys.exit(app.exec_())

import pyqtgraph as pg

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import *

from PyQt5.QtCore import *

from PyQt5.QtGui import QGuiApplication

import sys

from math import sin,pi

import time

Period = 5

frequency = 1/Period

numPoints = 500

timeStep = Period/numPoints

redData = [0]*numPoints

timeData =[0]*numPoints

app = QApplication([])

window = QMainWindow()

window.setWindowTitle("Red Sine Wave Graph")

window.setGeometry(100,100,800,600)

#screens =QGuiApplication.screens()

#window.move(screens[1].geometry().x() +100,screens[1].geometry().y() +100)

widgetContainer =QWidget()

window.setCentralWidget(widgetContainer)

mainLayout = QVBoxLayout(widgetContainer)

plotWidget = pg.PlotWidget()

plotWidget.setLabel("left", "y=sin(2*Pi*f*t")

plotWidget.setLabel("bottom", "Time (s)")

plotWidget.setTitle("My Fine Sin Wave")

plotWidget.addLegend()

mainLayout.addWidget(plotWidget)

for i in range(numPoints):

t = i * timeStep

timeData[i] = t

redData[i] = sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

redPlot = plotWidget.plot(timeData,redData, pen=pg.mkPen("r", width=3), name="Red")

tStart = time.perf_counter()

def updateGraph():

global t,tStart,frequency

t = t +timeStep

r= sin(2*pi*frequency*t)

for i in range(numPoints -1):

redData[i] = redData[i+1]

timeData[i] = timeData[i+1]

redData[numPoints - 1] = r

timeData[numPoints -1] = t

redPlot.setData(timeData,redData)

if redData[0] <=0 and redData[1] > 0:

measuredPeriod = time.perf_counter() - tStart

print("Measured Period: ",measuredPeriod)

tStart = time.perf_counter()

timer = QTimer()

timer.timeout.connect(updateGraph)

timer.start(int(timeStep*1000))

window.show()

sys.exit(app.exec_())

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