Day Four

Tutorial 15

For this tutorial we had disassemble the breadboard and start from scratch. We basically did some simple wiring that didn't take too long because a clear picture of the wiring was given to us in order to turn on an LED. But this wasn't just any LED, this was a RGB LED. This basically meant that it was able to show more than one color. The main three colors of this LED are Red, Green, and Blue. After we were done wiring it, we pasted the given code into the Arduino IDE program and it made the LED play Green, Blue, and Red in that order for about a second each. This was an easy task for us to complete. It was completed in a matter of seconds.

Tutorial 16

The breadboard for this tutorial stayed the same. Nothing was changed or edited on it. This tutorial was a coding challenge. So we went onto the Arduino IDE application and changed the code so that the code will make the LED show 5 more colors. We can do this by mixing the main three colors. By turning on 2 or 3 lights at the same time you can get other colors. Once we finished that all we had to do was show each color for about 5 seconds. This was way too easy for us to complete, so afterwards we decided to challenge ourselves. We made the colors randomly play with a short time so that it looked like a party light.

Day Three

Tutorial 12

For this tutorial, we had to start from scratch and disassemble our breadboard. This tutorial introduced the seven segment display which we hadn't used before. A seven segment display is commonly used in scoreboards, as they are relatively simple and display numbers very efficiently. A seven segment display is broken into seven segments, as shown below:

This was actually quite a difficult task as we had to individually each of the seven segments of the display. The code was also quite difficult, as we had to individually test and name each segment according to the diagram above. Here is our seven segment display in its testing program:

Tutorial 13:

In this tutorial we were given a code challenge using the seven segment display. Everything on the breadboard stayed the same. All we had to do was go on to Arduino IDE and code the seven segment display for it to show "ETHAN". This wasn't very hard because most of the code was already given to us. The only hard part about it was finding out which code turned on what section on the seven segment display. Once we figured that out, it was as easy as solving a second grade math equation. We made it blink each letter one by one for about a second until it completed spelled out "ETHAN". This didn't take us very long either.

Tutorial 14:

This tutorial was similar to the coding challenge given in tutorial 13. Instead of having to code the seven segment display to spell out "ETHAN", it now had to be programmed to count from 0 to 3. Everything on the breadboard stayed the same and most of the code stayed the same. We barely even modified the code. The only hard part about this challenge was finding out which code turned on what section on the seven segment display all over again. But after this was done it was very simple to complete. Each number blinked for about 1 second each until it finished counting. It was on a loop so it kept counting on and on.This didn't take us very long to finish at all.

Day Two

Tutorial 8:

There were only a few things that had to be plugged in and wired in order to make the speaker play. After we were done with that we went to the Arduino IDE program and inserted the code provided. This made the speaker play Twinkle Little Stars which was actually quite impressive. But that was way too easy, it took us only about 3 minutes to finish this tutorial. So we decided to challenge ourselves and code the speaker so that it would play our own song. All we did to make it play our own song was we went onto the code and changed the song notes. This wasn't very hard either, but we couldn't challenge ourselves anymore. The challenge was completed with a lot of time to spare.

Tutorial 9:

For this task we had to start from scratch on the breadboard. We took out all the wires and used new ones. The potentiometer is something new that we are using and it is a variable resistor. It has a knob that we can turn in order to change the resistance. It was all pretty basic wiring, but there were so many things that we had to plug in so it took time. It was also a bit confusing because there are so many wires at times they tangle, so we don't know which wire is which. Luckily we still had a picture right in front of us along with the instructions which was surprisingly very helpful. What this basically does is it changes the brightness of the LED by turning the knob of the potentiometer (also known as changing the resistance).

Tutorial 10:

Again we had to disassemble everything we did from the last task and start from scratch. A momentary switch is something new that we are using. This is basically a button that turns the whole breadboard on or off when it is pushed. The wiring was actually a lot easier than it was last time. But the pictures we were given were horrible. They were taken at different and unreasonable angles. So it was hard to tell which wire was where which just made things harder for us. Once everything was wired and set up the LED was supposed to light up every time the momentary switch was pushed and held. When it was not being pushed the LED should've been off. That is exactly how everything went, therefore we were successful.

Tutorial 11:

In this task nothing in the breadboard was changed which actually made things a bit more easier for us. But overall the challenge was very hard because it was all about coding. Every time we tried to code there was some type of bug that stopped the code from working. The code was supposed to modify the momentary switch. When the button was pressed once the LED would light up without us having to hold it down. When it was pressed twice the LED would turn off. It basically turned the momentary switch into an on and off button. But we had so many problems while coding, for example the switch at times would work on its own. Every 1-3 times it was pressed it would turn on, and every 4-6 times it would turn off. It kept randomizing from time to time in the code which was a huge struggle. It took us a while to figure out what was wrong but we managed to get through it. At the end the code worked and we completed the task.

Day One

Tutorial 1:

We had a lot of trouble trying to get the Arduino to blink at first. Whenever we connected the Arduino to our computers it kept saying "unrecognizable device". So Ethan like the smart guy he is manually updated the driver using a specific file. After that it was a piece of cake. All we had to do was copy and paste the code into the Arduino IDE software program. Once the code was in and updated, the Arduino began to blink and that is when we knew the task was completed.

Tutorial 2:

This task was a lot easier than the first one was. The Arduino was already set up and hooked up to the computer. We were given the basic code which turned on the LED and slowly made it blink. So all we had to do was edit the code. In the code we changed how fast or slow the light was off for, and how fast or slow the light was on for. Basically we changed the speed of the blinking Arduino. In the code this is known as the delay.

Tutorial 3:

We began to use the breadboard in this one. The breadboard is a tool used for quickly and easily building circuits. We had to make an LED turn on just by using one resistor, jumper cables and one LED. The only trouble we had was that at first the resistor was not working. We kept moving it around on the breadboard to see if it would help. however it didn't so we changed it and it ended up working. After that this wasn't much of a challenge. We had a picture in front of us that we were able to follow so all we did was we plugged in and set up all the cables the same way they were in the picture.

 

Tutorial 4:

Nothing was changed in the breadboard during this task. We moved on to Arduino IDE software program and we started coding again. Our goal here was to make it blink at different speeds. For example, one minute it would blink rapidly, and the other it would blink slowly. The whole point was to learn to code and control the LED. It was pretty easy overall because we had the basic code given to us already. All we had to do was edit the delay of the light. For example, we changed the delay from 1000 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds to speed up how fast the LED blinked.

Tutorial 5:

For this task we moved back to the breadboard and we began to change it. We modified and improved it by adding another LED, but this time it was a green LED. We already had the code for the first LED so it was pretty easy to set it up. All we did was we changed the code to make the red LED and the green LED light up alternately. The only problem we ran into was that the resistor we used had a high resistance which made the green LED dim. We easily resolved this problem by switching to a resistor that had a lower resistance. After that everything went smoothly and the LED's lit up like pretty little Christmas lights.

Tutorial 6:

This challenge was similar to what he had to do in tutorial 5. The only difference between these two tutorials is that we now have 3 lights. The breadboard stayed the same, all we had to do was add another LED, but this time the LED was white. We had to add a new variable in order to compensate for the third LED bulb. We already had the code for the first and second LED so all we had to do was copy and paste it again. The only thing we changed the code to make the white , red, and green LED light up alternately. We luckily didn't encounter any problems and everything went smoothly. The LED's lit up like even prettier little Christmas lights.

Tutorial 7:

This task was a coding challenge. The breadboard was kept the exact same way. Nothing was changed. We went back to the Arduino IDE software program and we modified the code so it would count in binary numbers. The LED's were controlled by the binary numbers. It counted from only one to three in the binary system which is why only two of the LED's lit up. It is also the reason why the LED's lit up in that order and in those time periods. The binary numbers controlled almost everything. The reason why in the video it looks like the wrong LED's are being lit up is because the video is mirrored. But overall the coding was pretty easy and the task was completed really quickly. It didn't take much time.