An Electronic Tester Have you noticed household objects that appear to be made of metal when they’re not? You and a friend can build an instrument that checks the metal properties of household objects in your home using an Arduino and a few electronic parts. The Arduino Metal Checker emits a tone when a metal object… Continue reading Introduction
Circuit Theory
The Arduino controls the tricolor pattern that is sent to the RGB LED, as shown in Example 10-1. The RGB LED sequence or pattern is started with a short press of the mini pushbutton switch. Within the sketch is a counter that plays the pattern for a set number of times (in this case, three times). The replay… Continue reading Circuit Theory
Upload the Magic Light Bulb Sketch
With the Magic Light Bulb circuit built on the MakerShield, it’s time to upload the sketch. Example 10-1 operates the RGB LEDs using a mini pushbutton switch. Here are the steps you’ll need to follow: The Arduino will sequence the RGB LED tricolor pattern three times. Figure 10-3 shows the Magic Light Bulb in action. Figure 10-3. The Magic Light Bulb running through… Continue reading Upload the Magic Light Bulb Sketch
Let’s Build a Magic Light Bulb
The Magic Light Bulb is an easy-to-build Arduino project. You can build the electronic circuit on a breadboard or the MakerShield. Building the Magic Light Bulb on the MakerShield allows the project to fit nicely in the palm of your hand, which offers great visual appeal for presentation to your friends. The wiring for the Magic Light… Continue reading Let’s Build a Magic Light Bulb
Parts List
Figure 10-1. The Magic Light Bulb
Introduction
Pushbutton Multicolor Flasher Here’s a cool trick you can play on a friend using the Arduino and an RGB LED. Build an RGB flasher with a mini pushbutton switch on an Arduino MakerShield. Show your friend the MakerShield and tell him the mini light bulb is magical and it can produce three colors: red, green, and… Continue reading Introduction
The RGB FlasherThe RGB Flasher
The RGB Flasher is an awesome Arduino microcontroller gadget that displays three colors (red, green, and blue) on one LED. You can easily build the circuit on the MakerShield, which will make it portable so you can carry it in your shirt pocket. You can use either the Fritzing diagram shown in Figure 9-4 or the circuit schematic diagram… Continue reading The RGB FlasherThe RGB Flasher
Circuit Theory
Figure 9-2 shows a typical RGB LED with the wiring pinout names. There are three pins, one for each color, and one common pin for positive attachment to a power supply. Like the ordinary LED, the positive and negative pins are wired to the positive and negative points of a DC (direct current) circuit. To illustrate, Figure 9-3 shows three SPST (single… Continue reading Circuit Theory
Parts List
Figure 9-1. The RGB Flasher block diagram
Introduction
Free Running Switcher In past projects, one or two LEDs, usually red and/or green, were used as visual indicators, letting us know that the Arduino had completed a task or operation. But why limit ourselves to red and green? There is a type of LED that has three different colors all in the same package.… Continue reading Introduction