MORE ABOUT Arduino

In the 2014 July/August issue of Elektor we wrote about our Arduino Extension Shield that, in particular for the Arduino Uno, provided additional interface options, LEDs, pushbuttons and an LCD. The shield enjoyed — and continues to enjoy — a great deal of interest. Time for a makeover! The Arduino Experimenting Shield 2.0 offers largely the same features as its predecessor, but, after 3.5 years, quickly revisiting the specific details can do no harm.

It’s always a bonus when you realize you can use part of a previous Elektor project to solve a completely different problem. In this instance we use the transmitter design from the recent ‘Wireless Quizbuttons’ project in combination with some clever Hoodloader software for the Arduino to provide a remote control function for a media player running on a PC.

In the last episode, we configured the ESP32 to set up its own local Wi-Fi network. With a PC, smartphone or tablet, we are able to log into this network called ‘ESP32_MyJourneyIoT’ and request a configuration page from the ESP32 web server using a web browser. To show successful hook up we light up an LED. In this episode we change the indicator light to a pulsing LED and write our own class library.

This week Elektor E-zine readers have again an automatic chance of winning a fantastic prize. This time we raffle off an RFID starter kit for Arduino with the accompanying book Home Automation Projects with Arduino, with a total value of € 82.90.

Arduino OBD2 diagnostic tester supporting Diamex DXM and Pi-OBD (AGV) modules

A 3D Christmass tree for Arduino Uno

Now available in the Elektor Store is a new book all about DC electric motors and their use in Arduino and Raspberry Pi Zero W based projects. Many tested and working projects are given in the book for real-time control of standard DC motors, stepper and servo motors, and mobile robots.

In the Sand Clock, every minute, two vibrator motors shake the sand to erase the time before writing the new time. To avoid the noise this causes, Elektor Labs thought of replacing the stylus and the sand by a small laser module (under 5V) and a sheet of phosphorescent self-adhesive paper: the result is a bright display with plenty of contrast, perfectly readable from afar, and perfectly silent.

This kit enables the rapid development of applications for fun, sound, useful or just pleasing. With conductive ink and other conductors of adhesive copper track. These components form switches and sensors which are controlled by a programmable board such as an Arduino. It can also make sounds. Five minutes after unpacking, thanks to the included accessories, you’re already having lots of fun.

Access to and control of IoT device data can happen via various methods, the best known of which is the asynchronous “big data” IoT approach. This article is about the lesser known synchronous “realtime” operation.