2. Using Plot.ly with Adafruit Data Logging Shield

    I have played with a few IOT type services for showing off data collected and or sent from Arduino (and other micro controller devices) and have settled on Plot.ly for now.

    I have used ThingSpeak and Xively as well but found Plotly worked better for importing from the data logger disk than the others. Xively appear to be more "live update" oriented and not as well geared for file upload of large data sets.

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  3. Arduino Barometer, Light and Temperature Data Logger

    New soldering station "Sparkfun 937b"..a cheap RadioShack board to practice my old soldering skills..an Adafruit datalogger and BMP pressure sensor...tah dah.

    Adafruit:


    Local MicroCenter had the Spackfun 937B so I grabbed it from there. Works really well, agree with most reviews on the holder (it sucks) but had not problem soldering the headers for the Data Logging shield and the BMP180.

    Next steps...use plotly to show results from the logger.

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  7. Dumpster Aluminum Breadboard Base

    Made the aluminum base mate to the one I did for the Uno for the breadboard.  Makes for a much more stable breadboard.


    Finished base after using fly cutter to do the final finish passes and a few quick runs on the disk sander.


    This side as way off as I messed up the cut in the hacksaw. Ran a roughing mill to get it close and now ready for the fly cutter.


    Roughing mill pass.


    Initial cut on hacksaw got away from me - fixed later with roughing mill.


    Fly cutter - pre cut. Actually our of sequence but used this tool later to finish of the block.


    Power Hack Saw! Love this machine.


    Aluminum block from the scrap pile. Came off a big discarded injection mold.

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  9. ThingSpeak - pretty cool

    After messing around with node.js implementation I found some other services that help collect sensor data from devices. They make it pretty easy to embed charts as well:

    This is a simple light meeter in my living room - connected to ThingSpeak channel. Still getting used to the Charts on ThingSpeak but pretty cool so far. Also will look into there are apps soon enough.

    https://thingspeak.com/channels/10735#

    ThingSpeak makes it easy: create and account on ThingSpeak and a simple sketch later you have a collector!

    Sketch:

    [code language="cpp"]
    /*

    Arduino --> ThingSpeak Channel via Ethernet

    The ThingSpeak Client sketch is designed for the Arduino and Ethernet.
    This sketch updates a channel feed with an analog input reading via the
    ThingSpeak API (http://community.thingspeak.com/documentation/)
    using HTTP POST. The Arduino uses DHCP and DNS for a simpler network setup.
    The sketch also includes a Watchdog / Reset function to make sure the
    Arduino stays connected and/or regains connectivity after a network outage.
    Use the Serial Monitor on the Arduino IDE to see verbose network feedback
    and ThingSpeak connectivity status.

    Getting Started with ThingSpeak:

    * Sign Up for New User Account - https://www.thingspeak.com/users/new
    * Register your Arduino by selecting Devices, Add New Device
    * Once the Arduino is registered, click Generate Unique MAC Address
    * Enter the new MAC Address in this sketch under "Local Network Settings"
    * Create a new Channel by selecting Channels and then Create New Channel
    * Enter the Write API Key in this sketch under "ThingSpeak Settings"

    Arduino Requirements:

    * Arduino with Ethernet Shield or Arduino Ethernet
    * Arduino 1.0 IDE

    Network Requirements:

    * Ethernet port on Router
    * DHCP enabled on Router
    * Unique MAC Address for Arduino

    Created: October 17, 2011 by Hans Scharler (http://www.iamshadowlord.com)

    Additional Credits:
    Example sketches from Arduino team, Ethernet by Adrian McEwen

    */

    #include <SPI.h>
    #include <Ethernet.h>

    // Local Network Settings
    byte mac[] = { 0xD4, 0x28, 0xB2, 0xFF, 0xA0, 0xA1 }; // Must be unique on local network

    // ThingSpeak Settings
    char thingSpeakAddress[] = "api.thingspeak.com";
    String writeAPIKey = "YOURWRITEAPIKEYHERE"; // YOUR writeAPIKey here
    const int updateThingSpeakInterval = 16 * 1000; // Time interval in milliseconds to update ThingSpeak (number of seconds * 1000 = interval)

    // Variable Setup
    long lastConnectionTime = 0;
    boolean lastConnected = false;
    int failedCounter = 0;

    // Initialize Arduino Ethernet Client
    EthernetClient client;

    void setup()
    {
    // Start Serial for debugging on the Serial Monitor
    Serial.begin(9600);

    // Start Ethernet on Arduino
    startEthernet();
    }

    void loop()
    {
    // Read value from Analog Input Pin 0
    String analogPin0 = String(analogRead(A4), DEC);

    // Print Update Response to Serial Monitor
    if (client.available())
    {
    char c = client.read();
    Serial.print(c);
    }

    // Disconnect from ThingSpeak
    if (!client.connected() && lastConnected)
    {
    Serial.println("...disconnected");
    Serial.println();

    client.stop();
    }

    // Update ThingSpeak
    if(!client.connected() && (millis() - lastConnectionTime > updateThingSpeakInterval))
    {
    updateThingSpeak("field1="+analogPin0);
    }

    // Check if Arduino Ethernet needs to be restarted
    if (failedCounter > 3 ) {startEthernet();}

    lastConnected = client.connected();
    }

    void updateThingSpeak(String tsData)
    {
    if (client.connect(thingSpeakAddress, 80))
    {
    client.print("POST /update HTTP/1.1\n");
    client.print("Host: api.thingspeak.com\n");
    client.print("Connection: close\n");
    client.print("X-THINGSPEAKAPIKEY: "+writeAPIKey+"\n");
    client.print("Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded\n");
    client.print("Content-Length: ");
    client.print(tsData.length());
    client.print("\n\n");

    client.print(tsData);

    lastConnectionTime = millis();

    if (client.connected())
    {
    Serial.println("Connecting to ThingSpeak...");
    Serial.println();

    failedCounter = 0;
    }
    else
    {
    failedCounter++;

    Serial.println("Connection to ThingSpeak failed ("+String(failedCounter, DEC)+")");
    Serial.println();
    }

    }
    else
    {
    failedCounter++;

    Serial.println("Connection to ThingSpeak Failed ("+String(failedCounter, DEC)+")");
    Serial.println();

    lastConnectionTime = millis();
    }
    }

    void startEthernet()
    {

    client.stop();

    Serial.println("Connecting Arduino to network...");
    Serial.println();

    delay(1000);

    // Connect to network amd obtain an IP address using DHCP
    if (Ethernet.begin(mac) == 0)
    {
    Serial.println("DHCP Failed, reset Arduino to try again");
    Serial.println();
    }
    else
    {
    Serial.println("Arduino connected to network using DHCP");
    Serial.println();
    }

    delay(1000);
    }
    [/code]

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