Week 9: Output Devices

This week I tested the connections of my board (how my board was designed and fabricated) and programmed it to do some simple functions. I worked in a group to control a motor and measure its draw. Our group documentation can be found here.
In the group assignment I learned how to use a multimeter to measure the power and current draw of an output device. I also learned how much the current draw changes depending on the strain put on the motor.

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Using my microcontroller to do stuff

Here is the code: [ download ]

It sets up an LCD connection using the LiquidCrystal library, then switches the motor on and off when you press a button. It prints messages to the LCD screen to indicate when the output pin is on or off.

        #include 
        LiquidCrystal lcd(9, 10, 8, 20, 21, 7);

        int ButtonPin = 6;  //HIGH when button pressed.
        int poPin = 5; // potentiometer analog input pin

        bool motorState = 0;
        bool buttonState = 0;

        int counter = 0;

        void setup() {
          lcd.begin(16, 2); // Set up the number of columns and rows on the LCD.
          lcd.setCursor(0,0);
          lcd.print("Hello world");
          pinMode(ButtonPin,INPUT);
          pinMode(poPin,INPUT);

          pinMode(2,OUTPUT);
        }

        void loop() {
          if(digitalRead(ButtonPin)==HIGH){ // if the button has been pushed
            if(!buttonState){ // then if the button wasn't already pushed
              buttonState=1;   // record it as being pushed
              lcd.setCursor(0,0); // move cursor to position 0,0
              if(motorState){    // if the motor was on
                digitalWrite(2,LOW); // turn it off
                lcd.print("motor off         "); //print to lcd
                motorState=0;   //record the motor as being off
              }else{   //otherwise
                digitalWrite(2,HIGH); // turn it on
                lcd.print("motor on          "); //print to lcd
                motorState=1;   //record the motor as being on
              }
            }
          }else{ // otherwise record that the button is not pressed
            buttonState=0;
          }
          delay(1);
        }