Arduino: Temperature Sensor Circuit
Weekly Updates
Week 1-3: During these weeks, I began brainstorming and planning out what type of sensor I should use in order to effectively manage my time and know exactly what to do when the second week of initiative began. I began to look at some videos as inspiration and reference, based on the materials I currently had, as well as materials I would probably need later on in the future. In one video, I saw where this guy utilized something as basic as a LED to produce a "light sensor" that basically allowed for the passage of current, using the LED's own voltage, to emit the LED whenever a person's hand or object would surmount around it.
Week 4-6: During this second week, I had already decided to go with the IR temperature sensor that I bought in Fry's Electronics {as seen in the evidence section of this page}, and I decided to look up some videos as to how I could make a temperature sensor circuit. Throughout my research, I had found out that the reason my temperature was special was actually because of the fact that it was infrared (IR). This means that the lens on the IR temperature sensor enabled all the energy to go on to a detector, which converts the energy into an electrical signal that can be transmitted into units of temperature. If an object were to be surrounded by an electromagnetic field (EM), the sensor would still work despite being interrupted by this contained object (EM) or any other applications that may require fast-paced reactions.
Week 7-9: Upon some more investigating I began drawing a schematic of more or less how the Arduino should look like, using the software Multi-Sim to CAD my Arduino circuit's schematic so that it would be much more efficient to display to the class, rather than have a scribbly drawing ascertain others doubts of the actuality of what needs to happen in my circuit. I'd say that so far during this week I feel greatly confident in being able to denote more information as to how my sensor and Arduino both operate in sync, as well as the criteria involved in being able to make the transmitted signals possible.
Week 10-12: During this week, I just began reflecting on what we had learned in class, which were the videos on how to use an Arduino and Arduino shields to better improvise the functionality of each and every one of our circuits. I began getting curious as to how I would achieve what I wanted to create, and this led me to the idea of wanting to create something that operated on the temperature sensor, which would act as some sort of switch to activate an elevation in a liquid of some kind. Although I knew I wouldn't be able to create this due to my lack of motivation, I decided I would be better off just sticking to something that I know I wouldn't be too stressed out about, especially since I had other things to focus on and had to manage my time effectively, rather than pondering about what I could and could not do.
Week 13-15: During this week, I had already gotten a sufficient amount of information on how I wanted my Arduino circuit to operate using the materials I already owned, and what I could manage to buy using my leftover currency from last year. I remembered that I had a working microwave that was already old wasn't put into use for quite a while. I made sure to get the appropriate screwdriver that would fit the node of the rusty screws in order to unscrew the back portion of the microwave. After I did that, I ended up finding a huge coil of copper, which to my guess would probably what the microwave used to conduct all the heat trapped within its square-shaped container. I then began to unscrew two screws that were located on the left side of the microwave to obtain the circuit board for the Digital Display Board.
Week 16-18: During this recession of time, I had put together my Arduino circuit using
Problem
The defined problem is being able to create an Arduino system with a CAD visual of your project, schematic of the functioning circuit, ideas and sketches of the Arduino circuit, research proposals that you came up with in order to implement it into the required circuit, and citations in which the student can base where this knowledge/information came from. With respects to these terms, a student can but is not limited to, choosing any designated sensor for the project, electrical components necessary to aid in the development of the inquired project, and any assets that will provide beneficial information to the sole purpose of the project (what this project is supposed to do?).
Solution
One problem I encountered during the build of my Arduino CIrcuit was being able to have enough concrete information to know exactly how I wanted my sensor to operate, and its limitations/expectations that should arise under certain circumstances. I decided to watch some youtube videos and research the sensor on the internet. In this case, since I was using an Infrared (IR) sensor, I really didn't have to worry too much about an invisible force interfering with the wave signals of my circuit since all the energy was concentrated on the lens, which enabled that conversion of electrical energy into electrical signals, not electronic. I found out that once removing the white soccer-ball-shaped cap that enticed around the perimeter of the sensor, you needed to be very vigilant as to the mini Digital Display Board (DDB) that appeared in the center of the sensor. This is because that area of the sensor is extremely vulnerable to the smudge of a fingerprint or even dust, which is why they have that cap that entices around the perimeter to ensure the area is both secured and accurate. Should the sensitive area of the sensor be dirtied or smudged in some way, the potentiometer on the sensor itself is temporarily impaired with the electrical signals it would transmit to the computer, which is displayed in temperature units, and then it would cause an inaccurate account of the information it's receiving since the bits of dust or smudge would increase the temperature of the sensor itself exponentially, leaving it prone to giving higher temperatures than it should.
Another problem I encountered within my Arduino project was the inaccessibility to desoldering braid, which is essentially copper and lead fused with a bit of flex. The main reason not having this was a problem was because the flux would enable me to conduct all the heat of the soldering iron onto the copper, heating the soldered lead on the printed circuit board (PCB) of the microwave to easily absorb the remaining lead that stayed stuck onto the board more quickly. As a result, I actually ended up burning electrical components that could've been used for future projects/use on the PCB of the microwave I opened. This also could've prevented me lots of time in trying to properly figure out where exactly I needed to apply the heat from the soldering iron. I resolved this with patience and hard-effort by simply trying again and again until I felt the legs of the electrical components either loosen or completely fall of the board.
Evidence
Videos
Sources