Society of Robots - Robot Forum

Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: MarkBrown on August 19, 2008, 07:40:32 PM

Title: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: MarkBrown on August 19, 2008, 07:40:32 PM: What is the best method to view the values a sensor is sending to my controller? Do I have to set up some sort of wireless something or other to view what the controller is receiving? Is this what UART is for? Can I use a digital display to send the values I want to observe to?

With photo sensors, like the ones created in the $50 tutorial, what value is being sent to the controller. It seems to me it would be the voltage with the resistance from the photo resistor applied. I am trying to determine the range of values I could get from a photo resistor in what ever value the controller would receive.

Thanks very much for your help,

Mark
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: pomprocker on August 19, 2008, 08:22:41 PM: use uart to send it to a com port, then u connect to your robot via hyperterminal and it prints your values to the screen
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: airman00 on August 19, 2008, 09:22:19 PM: or just use a serial LCD display
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Iron Man on August 19, 2008, 09:29:10 PM: or you could create a binary LED display... that's always fun.
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Brandon121233 on August 21, 2008, 07:28:07 PM: you could use LEDs set at a PWM signal equal to the analog values you are getting off of your sensors ADC ports, thats a little less accurate but it beats lugging a computer around tethered to your robot to see what value its printing
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: pomprocker on August 22, 2008, 09:59:16 AM: unless you have a BlueSMiRF ;D
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Gertlex on August 22, 2008, 10:50:39 AM: Aye. A bluetooth serial connection is one of the wireless ways to go. I haven't gotten around to it myself since the one i have is a PITA to setup (i.e. power it on and wait 15 seconds before pairing x_x)
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Admin on August 23, 2008, 08:25:01 PM: If its an analog sensor, like a photoresistor, you could put a multimeter across it . . .
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: MarkBrown on August 23, 2008, 08:51:10 PM: Quote from: Admin on August 23, 2008, 08:25:01 PM
If its an analog sensor, like a photoresistor, you could put a multimeter across it . . .

Would that be across ground and and the sensor wire then?
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Admin on August 23, 2008, 09:14:02 PM: yup

but if you did power to sensor output wire, that would also work too ;D
Title: Re: Viewing Sensor Values
Post by: Brandon121233 on August 23, 2008, 11:27:31 PM: Why the heck would you pay $65 for a bluesmirf when you could just as easily put a chip of 1/20 the size and cost, with less power consumption, and further range that does the exact some thing? Like the Nordic nRF24L01 http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=690 (http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=690).