In this video lesson we show how to build an Arduino based Weather Barometer. We will use the BMP180 pressure sensor on the GY-87 module. This lesson will likely also work fine if you are just using the BMP180 directly. We show how to measure barometric pressure, convert it to Inches of Mercury, stabilize it with a low pass filter, and then normalize it to standard sea level pressure. With this, our values should very closely match what is being seen on weather maps. This is the schematic of the circuit we will be working on.

Arduino Altimeter — Schematic for the Portable Arduino Barometer

For your convenience, here is the code we developed in the video.

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>
#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;
bool BMPconnected = false;

float BarPress = 30;
float BarPressNow = 30;
float alt =  1127;

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);
  BMPconnected = BP.begin();
  if (BMPconnected == true) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 found and Connected");
  }
  if (BMPconnected == false) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 not found, Check Connections");
  }
  oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC,SCREEN_ADDRESS);
  oled.clearDisplay();
  oled.display();
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  BarPressNow = normPress(alt);
  BarPress = .95*BarPress + .05*BarPressNow;
  oled.clearDisplay();
  oled.setCursor(0,12);
  oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
  oled.setTextSize(3);
  oled.println(BarPress);
  oled.println("In HG");
  oled.display();
}

float normPress(float elev){
  float BPRaw;
  float BPNorm;
  float T0 = 288.15;
  float L = .0065 ;
  float R = 8.3144598;
  float M = .0289644;
  float g = 9.8;
  float c = M*g/(R*L);
  BPRaw =BP.readPressure()*.0002953;
  BPNorm = BPRaw/pow(1-L*elev/T0,c);
  return BPNorm;
}

#include <SPI.h>

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;

bool BMPconnected = false;

float BarPress = 30;

float BarPressNow = 30;

float alt = 1127;

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);

BMPconnected = BP.begin();

if (BMPconnected == true) {

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

}

if (BMPconnected == false) {

Serial.println("BMP180 not found, Check Connections");

}

oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC,SCREEN_ADDRESS);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.display();

}

void loop() {

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

BarPressNow = normPress(alt);

BarPress = .95*BarPress + .05*BarPressNow;

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.setCursor(0,12);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(3);

oled.println(BarPress);

oled.println("In HG");

oled.display();

}

float normPress(float elev){

float BPRaw;

float BPNorm;

float T0 = 288.15;

float L = .0065 ;

float R = 8.3144598;

float M = .0289644;

float g = 9.8;

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

BPRaw =BP.readPressure()*.0002953;

BPNorm = BPRaw/pow(1-L*elev/T0,c);

return BPNorm;

}

Python, Raspberry Pi Pico

Simple Client Server Project for the Raspberry Pi Pico W

February 25, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we demonstrate a simple client server project on the Raspberry Pi Pico W. The Pico is configures as the server, and your desktop pc or laptop is configures to be the client. You will be running python on your PC. The project requests the user on the PC to specify a desired color. The color is then sent to the Pico, the Server. Then the Pico sets that color to ‘ON’. The pi pico is powered by a breadboard power bank, and there is no need for any connections to the pico. You can pick up the breadBoard Power Bank HERE [Affiliate Link]. Below is the schematic for the Server Side of the project:

LED and Buttons — Schematic for Circuit to Demonstrate a Client Server Example on Pi Pico

For your convenience, this is the code we developed in the video

import network
import usocket as socket
import secrets
import time

greenLED=machine.Pin(18,machine.Pin.OUT)
yellowLED=machine.Pin(19,machine.Pin.OUT)
redLED=machine.Pin(20,machine.Pin.OUT)
# Set up WiFi connection
wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
wlan.active(True)
print(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)
wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

# Wait for connection
while not wlan.isconnected():
    time.sleep(1)
print("Connection Completed")
print('WiFi connected')
print(wlan.ifconfig())

# Set up UDP server
server_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
server_socket.bind((wlan.ifconfig()[0], 12345))
print("Server is Up and Listening")
print(wlan.ifconfig()[0])

while True:
    print('Waiting for a request from the client...')
    # Receive request from client
    color, client_address = server_socket.recvfrom(1024)
    color=color.decode()
    print("Client Request:",color)
    print("FROM CLIENT",client_address)
    
    if (color=="green"):
        greenLED.on()
        yellowLED.off()
        redLED.off()
    if (color=="yellow"):
        greenLED.off()
        yellowLED.on()
        redLED.off()
    if (color=="red"):
        greenLED.off()
        yellowLED.off()
        redLED.on()
    if (color=="off"):
        greenLED.off()
        yellowLED.off()
        redLED.off()
    
    # Send data to client
    data="LED "+color+" executed"
    server_socket.sendto(data.encode(), client_address)
    print(f'Sent data to {client_address}')
    
    # Optional: Pause for a short period to prevent overwhelming the client
    time.sleep(1)

import network

import usocket as socket

import secrets

import time

greenLED=machine.Pin(18,machine.Pin.OUT)

yellowLED=machine.Pin(19,machine.Pin.OUT)

redLED=machine.Pin(20,machine.Pin.OUT)

# Set up WiFi connection

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)

wlan.active(True)

print(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

# Wait for connection

while not wlan.isconnected():

time.sleep(1)

print("Connection Completed")

print('WiFi connected')

print(wlan.ifconfig())

# Set up UDP server

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

server_socket.bind((wlan.ifconfig()[0], 12345))

print("Server is Up and Listening")

print(wlan.ifconfig()[0])

while True:

print('Waiting for a request from the client...')

# Receive request from client

color, client_address = server_socket.recvfrom(1024)

color=color.decode()

print("Client Request:",color)

print("FROM CLIENT",client_address)

if (color=="green"):

greenLED.on()

yellowLED.off()

redLED.off()

if (color=="yellow"):

greenLED.off()

yellowLED.on()

redLED.off()

if (color=="red"):

greenLED.off()

yellowLED.off()

redLED.on()

if (color=="off"):

greenLED.off()

yellowLED.off()

redLED.off()

# Send data to client

data="LED "+color+" executed"

server_socket.sendto(data.encode(), client_address)

print(f'Sent data to {client_address}')

# Optional: Pause for a short period to prevent overwhelming the client

time.sleep(1)

Remember you must create a secrets.py file, and save it on the Pi Pico in the lib folder. You need to specify YOUR WiFi name and password in the file.

SSID="YOUR WIFI NAME"
PASSWORD="YOUR WIFI PASSWORD"

1 2	SSID="YOUR WIFI NAME" PASSWORD="YOUR WIFI PASSWORD"

And finally, here is the code to run on the client side on your PC

import socket
import time

# Set up UDP client
client_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
server_address = ('192.168.88.71', 12345)  # Adjust IP address and port as needed

while True:
    # Send request to the server
    myColor=input("Please Input Your Color (Green, Yellow, Red, Off )")
    myColor=myColor.lower()
    client_socket.sendto(myColor.encode(), server_address)
    
    # Receive data from the server
    data, addr = client_socket.recvfrom(1024)
    print('Received data:', data.decode())

import socket

import time

# Set up UDP client

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

server_address = ('192.168.88.71', 12345) # Adjust IP address and port as needed

while True:

# Send request to the server

myColor=input("Please Input Your Color (Green, Yellow, Red, Off )")

myColor=myColor.lower()

client_socket.sendto(myColor.encode(), server_address)

# Receive data from the server

data, addr = client_socket.recvfrom(1024)

print('Received data:', data.decode())

Arduino

Portable Altimeter Project with Arduino

February 20, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we create a portable altimeter that measures altitude above a base reference location. The device uses an arduino uno R4 Wifi, a BMP180 pressure sensor which is on the GY-87 module. For your convenience, we present the circuit diagram used below:

This is the code for this project, for your convenience.

#include <SPI.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>
#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>
#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;
bool BMPconnected;
bool haveBase = false;

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

float basePressure;
float Height = 0;
float HeightNow = 0;
int feet;
int inches;


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);
  delay(250);
  BMPconnected = BP.begin();
  if (BMPconnected == true) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Found and Connected.");
  }
  if (BMPconnected == false) {
    Serial.println("BMP180 Not Found! Check Connections.");
  }
  oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);
  oled.clearDisplay();
  oled.setCursor(0, 12);
  oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
  oled.setTextSize(1);
  oled.println("Place the Deluxe ");
  oled.println("HeightOmatic at");
  oled.println("Base Location, and");
  oled.println("Press Go!");
  oled.display();
}

void loop() {
  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
  butVal = digitalRead(butPin);
  if (butVal == 1 && butValOld == 0) {
    basePressure=0;
    oled.clearDisplay();
    oled.setCursor(0,12);
    oled.setTextSize(1);
    oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
    oled.println("WAIT . . .");
    oled.display();
    for (int i=1;i<=100;i=i+1){
      basePressure=basePressure + BP.readPressure();
    }
    basePressure = basePressure/100;
    haveBase = true;
  }
  butValOld = butVal;
  if (haveBase == true) {
    HeightNow = findHeight(basePressure);
    Height = .95 * Height + .05 * HeightNow;
    feet = Height;
    inches = (Height - feet) * 12; 
    oled.clearDisplay();
    oled.setCursor(0, 12);
    oled.setTextColor(WHITE);
    oled.setTextSize(1);
    oled.print(feet);
    oled.print(" Ft ");
    oled.print(inches);
    oled.println(" In");
    oled.setTextSize(1);
    oled.println("Place the Deluxe ");
    oled.println("HeightOmatic at");
    oled.println("Base Location, and");
    oled.println("Press Go!");
    oled.display();
    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;
}

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

#include <SPI.h>

#include <Wire.h>

#include <Adafruit_GFX.h>

#include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h>

#include <Adafruit_BMP085.h>

Adafruit_BMP085 BP;

bool BMPconnected;

bool haveBase = false;

int butPin = 2;

int butVal = 1;

int butValOld = 1;

float basePressure;

float Height = 0;

float HeightNow = 0;

int feet;

int inches;

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);

delay(250);

BMPconnected = BP.begin();

if (BMPconnected == true) {

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

}

if (BMPconnected == false) {

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

}

oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, SCREEN_ADDRESS);

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.setCursor(0, 12);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(1);

oled.println("Place the Deluxe ");

oled.println("HeightOmatic at");

oled.println("Base Location, and");

oled.println("Press Go!");

oled.display();

}

void loop() {

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

butVal = digitalRead(butPin);

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

basePressure=0;

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.setCursor(0,12);

oled.setTextSize(1);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.println("WAIT . . .");

oled.display();

for (int i=1;i<=100;i=i+1){

basePressure=basePressure + BP.readPressure();

}

basePressure = basePressure/100;

haveBase = true;

}

butValOld = butVal;

if (haveBase == true) {

HeightNow = findHeight(basePressure);

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

feet = Height;

inches = (Height - feet) * 12;

oled.clearDisplay();

oled.setCursor(0, 12);

oled.setTextColor(WHITE);

oled.setTextSize(1);

oled.print(feet);

oled.print(" Ft ");

oled.print(inches);

oled.println(" In");

oled.setTextSize(1);

oled.println("Place the Deluxe ");

oled.println("HeightOmatic at");

oled.println("Base Location, and");

oled.println("Press Go!");

oled.display();

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;

}

Python, Raspberry Pi Pico

Sending Data Over WiFi Between Raspberry Pi Pico W and Your PC

February 18, 2025 admin

In this video lesson we show how we can send and receive data between the Raspberry Pi Pico W, and your PC. We will be running python on the PC, and we will exchange data using the UDP protocol. UDP is simple, and a very reliable way to send data packets back and forth. In this example, we will be demonstrating a simple Client Server relationship between the Pi Pico and PC using UDP over WiFi.

In this lesson, we will just be showing simple exchange of data, but in preparation for future lessons, go ahead and build this circuit.

For your convenience, this is the “Server” software you will run on the Pi Pico.

import network
import usocket as socket
import secrets
import time

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)
wlan.active(True)
wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

# Wait for connection
while not wlan.isconnected():
    time.sleep(1)
print("Connection Completed")
print('WiFi connected')
print(wlan.ifconfig())

# Set up UDP server
server_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
server_socket.bind((wlan.ifconfig()[0], 12345))
print("Server is Up and Listening")
print(wlan.ifconfig()[0])

while True:
    print('Waiting for a request from the client...')
    # Receive request from client
    request, client_address = server_socket.recvfrom(1024)
    print("Client Request:",request.decode())
    print("FROM CLIENT",client_address)
    
    # String to send
    data = "225,128,64"
    
    # Send data to client
    server_socket.sendto(data.encode(), client_address)
    print(f'Sent data to {client_address}')
    
    # Optional: Pause for a short period to prevent overwhelming the client
    time.sleep(1)

import network

import usocket as socket

import secrets

import time

wlan = network.WLAN(network.STA_IF)

wlan.active(True)

wlan.connect(secrets.SSID,secrets.PASSWORD)

# Wait for connection

while not wlan.isconnected():

time.sleep(1)

print("Connection Completed")

print('WiFi connected')

print(wlan.ifconfig())

# Set up UDP server

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

server_socket.bind((wlan.ifconfig()[0], 12345))

print("Server is Up and Listening")

print(wlan.ifconfig()[0])

while True:

print('Waiting for a request from the client...')

# Receive request from client

request, client_address = server_socket.recvfrom(1024)

print("Client Request:",request.decode())

print("FROM CLIENT",client_address)

# String to send

data = "225,128,64"

# Send data to client

server_socket.sendto(data.encode(), client_address)

print(f'Sent data to {client_address}')

# Optional: Pause for a short period to prevent overwhelming the client

time.sleep(1)

Notice that the above code wants to load a “secrets” file that contain your WiFi name, and password

You should edit the code below with your WiFi username and your password, and then save the file in the Pi Pico lib folder, with the name secrets.py (don’t forget the .py)

SSID="YOUR WIFI NAME"
PASSWORD="YOUR WIFI PASSWORD"

1 2	SSID="YOUR WIFI NAME" PASSWORD="YOUR WIFI PASSWORD"

Now, on the PC side, you will run your client, which will be run in Python. Here is the client software:

import socket
import time

# Set up UDP client
client_socket = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
server_address = ('192.168.88.71', 12345)  # Adjust IP address and port as needed

while True:
    # Send request to the server
    request_message = "SEND DATA"
    client_socket.sendto(request_message.encode(), server_address)
    
    # Receive data from the server
    data, addr = client_socket.recvfrom(1024)
    print('Received data:', data.decode())
    
    # Send acknowledgment back to server
    #ack_message = "Data received successfully"
    #client_socket.sendto(ack_message.encode(), addr)
    
    # Wait for 10 seconds before next request
    time.sleep(10)

import socket

import time

# Set up UDP client

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

server_address = ('192.168.88.71', 12345) # Adjust IP address and port as needed

while True:

# Send request to the server

request_message = "SEND DATA"

client_socket.sendto(request_message.encode(), server_address)

# Receive data from the server

data, addr = client_socket.recvfrom(1024)

print('Received data:', data.decode())

# Send acknowledgment back to server

#ack_message = "Data received successfully"

#client_socket.sendto(ack_message.encode(), addr)

# Wait for 10 seconds before next request

time.sleep(10)

Arduino

Measure Altitude with an Arduino Project

February 13, 2025 admin

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;

}

Technology Tutorials

Arduino Weather Barometer

Simple Client Server Project for the Raspberry Pi Pico W

Portable Altimeter Project with Arduino

Sending Data Over WiFi Between Raspberry Pi Pico W and Your PC

Measure Altitude with an Arduino Project

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