Arduino newbie

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

14 hours ago, Richard (OldStager) said:

@Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO

 

Had to page through your build thread before I came to the Ardunio parts, and that video is what I am after in that self cancel for indicators (and I love the brake release bit too ) , however I would need to complely rip out my current setup, as I made all my stuff from old velleman boards ( about 12 years ago) which I cobbled together with various diodes to stop back feeding things and that works just fine, this may sound odd (and it may well be) but the main (velleman) flasher basically provides a constant flash rate and the switch on the car just selects which side of the car that flash rate gets fed to, the common of the switch being the positive from the flasher.

 

So without ripping out my old setup ( but I might have to), I have had a thought to just get an ardunio to switch off the output from which ever side of the car is active after a certain time , which for me means two ardunios, which seems overkill ( thinking out loud here by the way) do  you think I can use just one ardunio for this or the two I think I may need?.

 

I Designed mine during my build and aimed for both pre and post IVA operation. Hence some things like Hazards and side lights needed to work with ignition off.

 

I don't have a flasher relay, the flasher is done in software

 

Some of my switches are momentary (e.g. left and right indicator).others are latched (e.g. hazards/light) as the latched switches combine two functions-1 digital input to the Arduino and 2- 12V power to the regulator which supplies the Arduino. 

 

see attached circuit diagram for my interface PCB. You'll see the Arduino can be powered from 3 different sources- 1 - ignition, 2 - light switch and 3-hazard switch, all autioneered with diodes.

 

14 hours ago, Richard (OldStager) said:

Failing that I rip my old stuff out and build what you have done ?.

 

Heres' the factory scheme (2004 onwards) for the hazards/indicators-

 

 

You should be able to split the left and right indicator feeds away from the hazard relay and factory left/right toggle and feed via Mosfets (controlled by the Arduino) as I have.

 

 

 

IK Arduino Dash Controller V2.0 Jan 2017.pdf

[Richard (OldStager)]

Thank you Ian, it looks like I am half way there already then, I too don't have a relay (in the conventional sense) to produce the flash rate either, and I also don't have a separate hazard one either, that too uses the original flash pulse that the normal indicators use - just bridged to flash both sides at once using those diodes I mentioned to prevent backfeeding when using a normal left/right turn. I am sure I can integrate an ardunio in there somewhere to act as the self cancel, my freind who suggested the ardunio stuff in the first place said he would give it a go, as he has far more experience at coding than I have after two days 😄

[Richard (OldStager)]

Just to button the temp gauge project up, removed devices and soldered to vero, will order a nano and suitable box for this and another nano for the  indicator flasher project. I will post any further aurdunio projects in my garage thread. Thank you for all the comments and hopefully I will learn how to code myself one day.

Anyway successful 1st project, even if I did copy and paste the coding and least I now am getting familiar with it.

 

[corsechris]

Don't forget to order the 3D printer to go along with the Arduino....you'll be needing lots of custom cases and parts soon, may as well succumb to the inevitable.....  

[Richard (OldStager)]

Life was so easy once, you trotted down to Maplins, picked your Velleman kit went home and got the soldering iron out, you then trotted back to pick a suitable housing for it 😉

 But I will certainly have to look into the printer, as then you can design one bespoke rather than getting whatever size happened to be at Maplins. Is there a printer for newbies or is there one that will be easy for me to operate, some makes and models would be handy at this stage. It only needs to be a smallish one, just for project boxes and the odd small parts on the car.

 

Geez, this time last year I was stuck in the late 90's tech wise, feels like I fell asleep and woke up in 2022 🤣

[corsechris]

There was a long discussion on entry level printers over in the 3D printing section.

 

Probably the first decision to make is budget.  Basically, £200 gets you something that is capable of excellent results but may require some nursing from time to time. 4 to 5 times that gets you something that doesn't print 4 to 5 times better, but will be more reliable and less hands-on.

 

I went with the £200 option myself and don't regret it. Since I bought mine, things have moved on a lot, and many of the upgrades & improvements I put on mine are now standard and come with even the cheapest machines very often.

 

I'd happily recommend a Creality Ender 3 V2 as an example of a £200 class machine that's worth considering.  https://www.creality3dofficial.com/products/ender-3-v2-3d-printer

 

Personally, I think the best upgrade I added was the BLTouch bed level sensor as it makes general use so much easier. Not essential, but very worthwhile imo.  Silent stepper drivers are I think pretty much universal now, so probably not a concern.

 

Many others out there, lots & lots of YT reviews too.

[Richard (OldStager)]

Thanks Chris, I will do some research, as as you say its inevitable that one will be needed at some stage, other long time mate told me to get one years ago as he has done loads of bespoke widgets since. Kind of getting a bit of a tech overload, but I will learn the new stuff I am sure. I will let you know what I go with 👍