Category Archives: Arduino

Arduino Tutorial 52: Portable Temperature and Humidity Sensor with DHT11

portable temperature sensor
This shows our completed build creating a completely portable DHT11 sensor system

In this lesson we build a completely portable Temperature and Humidity Sensor using the DHT11 sensor. The project is powered by a 9 Volt battery, through the power supply board supplied in the Elegoo Kit.  This project builds on the work we did in Lessons 50 and 51.

Also, notice we used an Arduino Nano, which allows the entire project to be build on a single breadboard. This allows a neater, smaller build, and one less likely to have problems from poor or loose connections. The build neatness is also facilitated by using small straight jumper wires, which you can get HERE.

In the configuration in this project, the regulated power supply is providing power to the Arduino through the 5 Volt pin. In such cases, you should not Also plug the USB cable into the arduino. When powering the Arduino with a regulated power supply, do not connect the USB. If you need to program the arduino, disconnect the external power supply first.

The video below gives a detailed step-by-step description of the project.


The code we developed is presented below:

 

Arduino Tutorial 51: DHT11 Temperature and Humidity Sensor with LCD Display

DHT11
This shows our completed build with an Arduino Nano, LCD and DHT11 Sensor

In this lesson we work towards a stand alone Temperature and Humidity project using the DHT11 sensor.

This video will take you through the build and coding step-by-step, and the schematics below will help you follow along at home.

Our goal in this lesson is to add an LCD to the project. In lesson 50, we got the sensor working, and here we want to get the LCD connected. An official Arduino Uno R3 is available HERE. In this new series of lessons, I will be using the sensor and other components found in this KIT. In addition, your build can be much neater, cleaner and more stable is you use an arduino nano, instead of the standard arduino uno. The nano is small, and has male pins that allow it to be plugged directly into the breadboard, as seen above. I strongly suggest picking up an Arduino Nano, which you can get HERE. This lesson follows on to the work done in lesson 50. To recap, the DHT11 is connected as follows:

DHT11 Sensor
Connection schematic for the DHT11 Temperature Sensor.

You will also need to add the LCD, using the following schematic:

Arduino LCD Schematic
This schematic will allow you to connect the LCD to the

In my photograph at the top of the post, you can see it is important to keep the build neat, as there are lots of connections which must be made. Neat work is facilitated is you use short jumper wires, instead of the big male to male wires. You can get a jumper wire set that will keep your work neat HERE.  I am not trying to sell you a bunch of junk, but as projects get more complicated, you really need to use the short straight wires, or your build will become a rat’s nest.

We develop the code in the video in detail, but you can get the finished code down below.

 

 

Arduino Tutorial 50: How to Connect and Use the DHT11 Temperature and Humidity Sensor

In this lesson we show how to measure Temperature and Humidityusing the DHT11 sensor. This is a relatively simple sensor to use, but you will have to download and install a library. In our earlier lessons, we have used libraries before, but this is the first time you will have to download a library. The library I used was downloaded from HERE. The video explains in detail how to install the library, but in a nutshell you download the library from clicking the link on that page. Then you need to open the downloaded zip file, and then drag and drop the contents of the zip file to your desktop. Next you must determine where your arduino library folder is. You can do that by going to the arduino IDE, and under “file” select preferences. This will show you your “Sketchbook Location”, and that folder will contain your libraries folder. The folder you dragged and dropped onto your desktop should be dragged and dropped now into this library folder. The video shows you how to do this if this description is not clear. Now you will need to connect the sensor, according to this schematic:

DHT11 Sensor
Connection schematic for the DHT11 Temperature Sensor.

The video develops the code to use this sensor step-by-step, but the code is included below for your convenience.

An official Arduino Uno R3 is available HERE. In this new series of lessons, I will be using the sensor and other components found in this KIT.

Arduino Tutorial 49: How to Build a Simple Calculator with LCD Display

In this lesson we show you our solution to the assignment in Lesson 48 to build a simple calculator with an LCD Output. The video steps you through the project build step-by-step.

In the project, the following schematic is used.

Arduino LCD Schematic
This schematic will allow you to connect the LCD to the Arduino.

An official Arduino Uno R3 is available HERE. In this new series of lessons, I will be using the sensor and other components found in this KIT.

And this is the code developed in the video.

 

Arduino Tutorial 48: Connecting and Using an LCD Display

LCD Arduino
LCD connected to an Arduino.

It is often times useful to “un-tether” your arduino from your desktop PC, in order to have a system you can walk around with, and interact with the real world. One of the first steps in making this happen is to have some sort of display on your arduino project. In this lesson, we show you how to connect and program your project to be able to display simple messages on the LCD. This is a schematic diagram of how to connect the arduino to an LCD display. Many LCD displays in fact share this same connection schematic.

Arduino LCD Schematic
This schematic will allow you to connect the LCD to the arduino.

The details are provided in the following video.

 

Below is the code we developed in the video.

An official Arduino Uno R3 is available HERE. In this new series of lessons, I will be using the sensor and other components found in this KIT.