DIY – Page 2 – SuperHouse Automation

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Sound Generation

Regardless of what type of electronics project you are working on you will likely have to provide feedback to your users about the status of the system. Typically this can be done visually using LEDs or small displays. However, another great way to provide user feedback can be through sound. This might be as simple as a quick “beep” to indicate that the fridge door has been left open, or as complex as providing background music for a game! Thankfully adding sound to your projects is actually quite easy! The best way to get started is to checkout the following guide.

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Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted on March 6, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Motion Sensing Water Gun

During the warm Australian summer months there is nothing more refreshing than a water fight! James Cripps’s, motion sensor water gun you can make sure you always emerge from these fights victorious. The water gun uses a motion sensor and an Arduino to fire the gun anytime motion is detected. The instructions James provides are very thorough so you should have no problem getting started building your own water gun.

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Posted on February 28, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 1 Comment

Building GPS into your Arduino projects

Adding GPS (Global Positioning System) to an Arduino project can open up many possibilities for location sensitive projects. Using GPS you could easily track where your cat disappears to at night or trigger a specific action when you reach a certain location. Fortunately, adding in GPS functionality to your own project is actually significantly easier than you might imagine. One of the easiest ways is to use the Freetronics GPS Module and to follow the instructions on the following page.

The Freetronics GPS Module is a compact but very powerful device! Providing accuracy down to 3m and including a battery backup the module is a reliable choice. Indeed, the module connects to an Arduino via a simple serial connection and is fully compatible with existing Arduino libraries. To find out more check out the following link.

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Posted on February 25, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 2 Comments

What is millis()?

If you have been working with Arduino for long enough you may have come across the millis function example code you have been working with and have probably wondered what it was used for! The simple explanation is that millis returns the number of milliseconds since the Arduino sketch has been running. However, without further clarification it can be unclear how this would be useful! Fortunately John Boxall from Tronixlabs has written a great tutorial which explains the ins and outs of the millis function! Checkout the following link to find out more.

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Posted on February 20, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Build Your Own Autonomous Vacuum Cleaner

With this great project from instructables member revrekad you can make a robot which will help you with the cleaning! Revrekad’s vacuum cleaner robot uses an Arduino and a few motors to drive the robot around whilst an old computer fan provides the suction! The great thing about this project is that it is mostly made from easily sourced materials such as cardboard and aluminium cans, so you have no excuse not to get started building your own right away! To find out more about this project check out the following link or the video below.

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Posted on February 17, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Repairing Pinball Machines with Arduino!

One of the great thing about electronics is that they can be used for millions and millions of different applications. Recently we came across James, a pinball machine repair enthusiast! James has used an Arduino and two freetronics N-Drive Shields to control all of the lights and action on one of his pinball machines. You can checkout some pictures of James’s projects below.

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Posted on February 16, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Pulse Width Modulation

Using the digitalWrite() function in Arduino it is very simple to turn an output pin on or off. However, what if we want to alter the speed of a motor or dim an LED? This is where Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) can be really useful. By rapidly switching a signal high and low, and varying the proportion of time that the signal is high we can digitally emulate analog results! To find out more about this very useful function checkout the full tutorial or the helpful diagram and video example below.

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Posted on February 12, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Tree Climbing Robot

For someone interested in mechatronics, this tree climbing robot would be a great project to attempt. The tree climbing robot uses two segments, one which attaches to the tree and another which continues to climb upwards after which they swap roles, slowly edging the robot up the tree. The result is surprisingly effective and very satisfying to watch! To find out more check out the following link or the video below.

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Posted on February 10, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Back to the Future Inspired Auto Lacing Shoes!

Instructables member blakebevin has create her own Power Laces! The concept is quite simple, a force sensor detects when your foot is firmly in the shoe and two servo motors apply tension to the laces, tightening the laces. To find out more about this awesome project check out the following link or the video of the shoe in action below.

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Posted on February 7, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 1 Comment

Power Monitoring with Arduino

Using a Clipsal Cent-A-Meter you can effectively monitor the power usage of different appliances. This is great, however the built in functionality can be rather limiting. You can not, for example track the power consumption of a device over time. Thankfully, combining this meter with Arduino can allow you to reach the power meter’s full potential! Specifically, a 433MHz receiver can provide a communication bridge between the power monitoring system and an Ethernet connected Arduino allowing the power meter’s data to be sent into a SQL database for analysis and tracking. To find out more about this hack checkout the following link.

If you’re looking to work with your own RF wireless hardware, but don’t want to make your own receiver circuit – check out the Freetronics range of 315/433 MHz receiver shields:

Apart from being idea for working with the various low-cost data links on the market, the shield can also be used to capture wireless weather station data, as described in the book “Practical Arduino“. For more information and ideas, check out the product page.

Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!