Anyone work with Arduino

[Gixxerfool]

So I am learning how to code for the Arduino. I am all self taught through YouTube videos, blogs and forums to help me along. I am currently hitting a roadblock. Anyone mess with these at all?

 

[webby]

Only thing I've ever done is watch a bunch of coding videos for it due to interest in some projects people have done. I don't know that I'd be of much help. @ethlar may have messed with it? I could be wrong. What isn't going right, or what is the roadblock?

 

[Gixxerfool]

Only thing I've ever done is watch a bunch of coding videos for it due to interest in some projects people have done. I don't know that I'd be of much help. @ethlar may have messed with it? I could be wrong. What isn't going right, or what is the roadblock?

It's a timing issue from the best I can tell. I am trying to run leds in one direction. Sort of a one way Larson Scanner. I can get it to go up. It's the looping back around to start over that's the issue. I use the current LED position and have that increment to the next. So in effect it adds one. When I reach the end, it wants to keep incrementing. A Larson Scanner typically revereses. So you can decrement at the end. I have the typical Larson Scanner working. That was easy. Trying to modify it to do what I want is the issue.

 

[ethlar]

i never dove too deep into the arduino, but post your code so we can see how youre doing it

 

[Gixxerfool]

i never dove too deep into the arduino, but post your code so we can see how youre doing it

byte ledPin[] = {2, 3, 4, 5}; // Define the pins on arduino
int ledDelay(250); // delay changes
int leddirection = 1;
int ledcurrentLED = 0;
unsigned long changeTime;


void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
for (int x=0; x<4; x++) {
pinMode(ledPin[x], OUTPUT); } // set all pins to output
changeTime = millis();
}


void loop() {
if ((millis() - changeTime) > ledDelay) { // if it has been ledDelay ms since last change
changeLED();
changeTime = millis();
}

}

// Increment Function to turn off all LED
void changeLED() {
for (int x=0; x<4; x++) { // Increment x++
digitalWrite(ledPin[x], LOW);
}

digitalWrite(ledPin[ledcurrentLED], HIGH); // Turning on the current LED
ledcurrentLED += leddirection; // increment the direction by value

// changing the direction if we reach the last LED
if (ledcurrentLED == 4) {leddirection = -1;}
Serial.print(" ledcurrentLED = "); Serial.println(ledcurrentLED); Serial.print(" leddirection = "); Serial.println(leddirection);
if (ledcurrentLED == 0) {leddirection = 1;}

}

It's pretty straight forward. The direction change is where I think I need to make my change. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[webby]

is this kind of what you're trying to do...?

Go to like 5:17 into the vid. He has different versions of how slow/fast it moves earlier in the vid....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khD59VExpp0

 

[Gixxerfool]

is this kind of what you're trying to do...?

Go to like 5:17 into the vid. He has different versions of how slow/fast it moves earlier in the vid....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khD59VExpp0

Sort of. Half of it. I want it to go one way then loop back to the beginning.

To give a little background I achieved this with hardware a while ago. Problem was it was too limiting and decided to off load it to an Arduino instead to match my other sketch. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and I haven't been able to touch it in months. So I am in the middle of shaking off the rust.

 

[webby]

so ignore the colors changing... this is essentially going in a loop like you're looking to do?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5eV9_8jhFo

 

[webby]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEVMkO4RK0Y

 

[webby]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaClIgAVuI8

 

[Gixxerfool]

@webby essentially. Here's the rub, those are Neopixels. Those I have. In fact, I have those doing exactly what I need. The problem with those are they require a very specific timing instruction set that only work with them. That's what I first learn to write for. Let me see if I have video.


Here is a video of what I did, and I'm trying to do again, but this was all hardware.

Here is a complete video showing all the lighting in its Current stage. The three interior rings are all Neopixels. They're are done. Unless I start to think of fine tuning them more. I need to pick a place to call it done so I can move on with this project.

 

[webby]

I guess I just don't follow what is wrong with your example vids? It's basically doing the same thing I posted in the videos above?

 

[Gixxerfool]

I guess I just don't follow what is wrong with your example vids? It's basically doing the same thing I posted in the videos above?

The Larson Scanner goes in a 0,1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1,0 fashion. The one I'm looking to do would be 0,1,2,3,4,5,0,1,2,3,4,5. Either way I think I found a fix. Thank you for your help.

 

[ethlar]

glad you got it sorted, what is the whole project intended for?

 

[Gixxerfool]

glad you got it sorted, what is the whole project intended for?

One of my other hobbies is building replica props. This is my first foray into it. I'm trying to build the gun from the game Portal.

 

[13civicsi4]

I played with it for a while but haven't in a while.. Still have stuff somewhere.. That's pretty neat. I thought of using it for a retrofit headlight never did tho