Category Archives: Arduino

In this video lesson I show you how you can create a project for measuring altitude using an arduino and a BMP180 Pressure Sensor. We go through the physics, math, circuit and coding to make this project work. For our example, we are using a GY-87 module, which has a BMP180 sensor on it. If you are using a BMP180 sensor directly, it should work the same. For your convenience, this is the circuit schematic we will be using:

For your convenience, the code we developed in the video lesson above is included below. Enjoy!

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;
bool BMPconnected;
bool haveBase = false;

float basePressure;
float Height = 0;
float HeightNow=0;

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(9600);
  BMPconnected = BP.begin();
  if (BMPconnected == true) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Found and Connected.");
  }
  if (BMPconnected == false) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Not Found! Check Connections.");
  }
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  if (haveBase==false){
    Serial.println("Place Device at Base, Enter Go:");
    while (Serial.available()==0){

    }
    basePressure=BP.readPressure();
    haveBase = true;
  }
  HeightNow = findHeight(basePressure);
  Height= .95*Height + .05*HeightNow;
  Serial.print(5);
  Serial.print(",");
  Serial.print(-5);
  Serial.print(",");
  Serial.print(HeightNow);
  Serial.print(",");
  Serial.println(Height);

  delay(10);

}

float findHeight(float p0){
  float d;
  float T0 =288.15;
  float L =.0065; 
  float R = 8.3144598;
  float M = .0289644;
  float g = 9.8;
  float pH;
  pH=BP.readPressure();
  float c=R*L/(M*g);
  d = T0/L*(1 - pow((pH/p0), c ));
  d = d * 3.28084;
  return d;
}

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;

bool BMPconnected;

bool haveBase = false;

float basePressure;

float Height = 0;

float HeightNow=0;

void setup() {

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

Serial.begin(9600);

BMPconnected = BP.begin();

if (BMPconnected == true) {

Serial.println("BMP180 Found and Connected.");

}

if (BMPconnected == false) {

Serial.println("BMP180 Not Found! Check Connections.");

}

void loop() {

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

if (haveBase==false){

Serial.println("Place Device at Base, Enter Go:");

while (Serial.available()==0){

}

basePressure=BP.readPressure();

haveBase = true;

}

HeightNow = findHeight(basePressure);

Height= .95*Height + .05*HeightNow;

Serial.print(5);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(-5);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.print(HeightNow);

Serial.print(",");

Serial.println(Height);

delay(10);

}

float findHeight(float p0){

float d;

float T0 =288.15;

float L =.0065;

float R = 8.3144598;

float M = .0289644;

float g = 9.8;

float pH;

pH=BP.readPressure();

float c=R*L/(M*g);

d = T0/L*(1 - pow((pH/p0), c ));

d = d * 3.28084;

return d;

}

Arduino

Measure Air Pressure with the Arduino and BMP180 Pressure Sensor

February 6, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we explain how to use the BMP180 to measure barometric pressure and temperature. We explain basic concepts of what pressure is, and we show how the BMP180 measures pressure. The circuit schematic we use is shown here:

For your convenience, this is the code we developed in the video for measuring Temperature and Barometric Pressure.

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>
Adafruit_BMP085 BP;

float Pressure;
float tempC;
bool BMPconnected;
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  BMPconnected = BP.begin();
  if (BMPconnected == true) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Found and Connected.");
  }
  if (BMPconnected == false) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Not Found. Check Connections");
  }
}
void loop() {
  tempC = BP.readTemperature();
  Pressure = BP.readPressure();
  Serial.println("READINGS ------------");
  Serial.print("Temperature = ");
  Serial.print(BP.readTemperature());
  Serial.println(" *C");

  Serial.print("Pressure = ");
  Serial.print(Pressure);
  Serial.println(" Pascals");
  Serial.println("");

  delay(1000);
}

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;

float Pressure;

float tempC;

bool BMPconnected;

void setup() {

Serial.begin(9600);

BMPconnected = BP.begin();

if (BMPconnected == true) {

Serial.println("BMP180 Found and Connected.");

}

if (BMPconnected == false) {

Serial.println("BMP180 Not Found. Check Connections");

}

void loop() {

tempC = BP.readTemperature();

Pressure = BP.readPressure();

Serial.println("READINGS ------------");

Serial.print("Temperature = ");

Serial.print(BP.readTemperature());

Serial.println(" *C");

Serial.print("Pressure = ");

Serial.print(Pressure);

Serial.println(" Pascals");

Serial.println("");

delay(1000);

}

Arduino

Arduino Project for a Portable Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

January 30, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we create a portable distance measuring prototype, using an Arduino Uno R4 WiFi. This project incorporates a HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor, a ‘Go’ button, and the SSD1306 OLED Display. The project is powered by the Sunfounder Breadboard power bank. The arduino is powered by the power bank as well, so the project can operate totally portable. When the device is turned on, the OLED prompts the user to position the device. When the ‘Go’ button is pushed, the device measures the distance to the target, then displays the distance on the OLED display.

The video above gives all the details of the project, with step-by-step instructions.

Portable Distance Sensor with HC-SR04 and SSD1306 OLED Display

For your convenience, the code developed in the video is presented below. Enjoy!

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

int butPin = 2;
int butVal = 1;
int butValOld = 1;

int trigPin = 4;
int echoPin = 3;
int pingTime;
float targDist;
int ft;
float in;

int screenWidth = 128;
int screenHeight = 64;
int oledReset = -1;
#define SCREEN_ADDRESS 0x3C
Adafruit_SSD1306 oled(screenWidth, screenHeight, &Wire, oledReset);

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(butPin, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
  oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);
  oled.clearDisplay();
  oled.display();
}
void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  oled.setCursor(0, 12);
  oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
  oled.setTextSize(1);
  oled.println("Point the ");
  oled.println("DistoMatic at");
  oled.println("Target and Press");
  oled.println("Go");
  oled.display();
  butVal = digitalRead(butPin);
  if (butValOld == 0 && butVal == 1) {
    targDist = findDistance();
    ft = targDist/12;
    in = targDist - ft*12;
    oled.clearDisplay();
    oled.setCursor(0, 0);
    oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
    oled.setTextSize(2);
    Serial.println(targDist);
    Serial.println(ft);
    Serial.println(in);
    oled.println(String(ft)+" Ft.");
    oled.println(String(in)+" In.");
    oled.display();
    delay(5000);
    oled.clearDisplay();
    oled.display();
  }
  butValOld = butVal;
}

float findDistance() {
  float d;
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  d = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH) / 2. * .0135;
  return d;
}

#include <SPI.h>

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

int butPin = 2;

int butVal = 1;

int butValOld = 1;

int trigPin = 4;

int echoPin = 3;

int pingTime;

float targDist;

int ft;

float in;

int screenWidth = 128;

int screenHeight = 64;

int oledReset = -1;

#define SCREEN_ADDRESS 0x3C

Adafruit_SSD1306 oled(screenWidth, screenHeight, &Wire, oledReset);

void setup() {

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

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(butPin, INPUT_PULLUP);

pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);

pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);

oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.display();

}

void loop() {

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

oled.setCursor(0, 12);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(1);

oled.println("Point the ");

oled.println("DistoMatic at");

oled.println("Target and Press");

oled.println("Go");

oled.display();

butVal = digitalRead(butPin);

if (butValOld == 0 && butVal == 1) {

targDist = findDistance();

ft = targDist/12;

in = targDist - ft*12;

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.setCursor(0, 0);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(2);

Serial.println(targDist);

Serial.println(ft);

Serial.println(in);

oled.println(String(ft)+" Ft.");

oled.println(String(in)+" In.");

oled.display();

delay(5000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.display();

}

butValOld = butVal;

}

float findDistance() {

float d;

digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);

delayMicroseconds(2);

digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);

delayMicroseconds(10);

digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);

d = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH) / 2. * .0135;

return d;

}

Arduino

Using the SSD1306 OLED With an Arduino

January 23, 2025 admin

In this Video Tutorial we show you how to incorporate the SSD1306 OLED into your Arduino project. This is a versatile, low power display that makes it easy for you to incorporate a nice display into your Arduino projects. For this project, we connect the OLED via I2C. The schematic for our project is presented below:

Our physical build looked like this:

The video above shows in depth description of the code development, but for your convenience, we include the code below.

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

int screenWidth = 128;
int screenHeight = 64;
int oledReset = -1;
#define SCREEN_ADDRESS 0x3C
Adafruit_SSD1306 oled(screenWidth,screenHeight,&Wire,oledReset);

void setup() {
  // put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(9600);
oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
oled.clearDisplay();
oled.display();
oled.setCursor(0,12);
oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
oled.setTextSize(3);
oled.println(" Hello");
oled.println(" World!");
oled.display();
delay(1000);
oled.invertDisplay(1);
delay(1000);
oled.invertDisplay(0);
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.drawPixel(64,32,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.drawLine(0,0,127,63,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.drawLine(0,32,127,32,WHITE);
oled.drawLine(64,0,64,63,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.drawRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.fillRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.fillRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);
oled.fillRect(5,5,118,54,BLACK);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.drawCircle(64,32,31,WHITE);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();
oled.fillCircle(64,32,31,WHITE);
oled.fillCircle(64,32,24,BLACK);
oled.display();
delay(1000);

}

#include <SPI.h>

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

int screenWidth = 128;

int screenHeight = 64;

int oledReset = -1;

#define SCREEN_ADDRESS 0x3C

Adafruit_SSD1306 oled(screenWidth,screenHeight,&Wire,oledReset);

void setup() {

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

Serial.begin(9600);

oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);

}

void loop() {

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

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.display();

oled.setCursor(0,12);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(3);

oled.println(" Hello");

oled.println(" World!");

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.invertDisplay(1);

delay(1000);

oled.invertDisplay(0);

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.drawPixel(64,32,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.drawLine(0,0,127,63,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.drawLine(0,32,127,32,WHITE);

oled.drawLine(64,0,64,63,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.drawRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.fillRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.fillRect(0,0,128,64,WHITE);

oled.fillRect(5,5,118,54,BLACK);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.drawCircle(64,32,31,WHITE);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.fillCircle(64,32,31,WHITE);

oled.fillCircle(64,32,24,BLACK);

oled.display();

delay(1000);

}

Arduino

Scan Arduino to Find I2C Addresses

November 26, 2024 admin

A challenge in many Arduino projects is that it can be difficult to get I2C components working properly. Many times the libraries and demonstration code indicate a certain I2C address for the component, but the Arduino is unable to find the component at that Address. This can be a challenge, because often times we might not have the exact same version of the component that is assumed in the libraries and code. A perfect example of this are the SSD1306 OLED displays. Many of the components look identical, but they can have different I2C addresses. In order to overcome this challenge, the following code allows you to scan your I2C Bus, and list the address of all the components found. Simply attach the component as instructed in the component documentation. Then run the following code. It will list the address of the I2C components it finds. Then you can edit the sample code to use the proper address. Enjoy!

#include <Wire.h>
#define myWire Wire
int numDevices;
byte error, address;
void setup() {
  myWire.begin();
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println("Find I2C Devices: ");
}
void loop() {
  Serial.println("Scanning...");
  numDevices = 0;
  for (address = 1; address < 127; address=address+1) {
    myWire.beginTransmission(address);
    error = myWire.endTransmission();
    if (error == 0) {
      Serial.print("I2C device found at address 0x");
      if (address < 16)
        Serial.print("0");
      Serial.print(address, HEX);
      Serial.println("  !");
      numDevices = numDevices + 1;
    } else if (error == 4) {
      Serial.print("Unknown error at address 0x");
      if (address < 16)
        Serial.print("0");
      Serial.println(address, HEX);
    }
  }
  if (numDevices == 0)
    Serial.println("No I2C devices found");
  delay(5000);  
}

#include <Wire.h>

#define myWire Wire

int numDevices;

byte error, address;

void setup() {

myWire.begin();

Serial.begin(9600);

Serial.println("Find I2C Devices: ");

}

void loop() {

Serial.println("Scanning...");

numDevices = 0;

for (address = 1; address < 127; address=address+1) {

myWire.beginTransmission(address);

error = myWire.endTransmission();

if (error == 0) {

Serial.print("I2C device found at address 0x");

if (address < 16)

Serial.print("0");

Serial.print(address, HEX);

Serial.println(" !");

numDevices = numDevices + 1;

} else if (error == 4) {

Serial.print("Unknown error at address 0x");

if (address < 16)

Serial.print("0");

Serial.println(address, HEX);

}

if (numDevices == 0)

Serial.println("No I2C devices found");

delay(5000);

}

Technology Tutorials

Category Archives: Arduino

Measure Altitude with an Arduino Project

Measure Air Pressure with the Arduino and BMP180 Pressure Sensor

Arduino Project for a Portable Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

Using the SSD1306 OLED With an Arduino

Scan Arduino to Find I2C Addresses

Making The World a Better Place One High Tech Project at a Time. Enjoy!