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[on:]

Since the digital IO pins can be used for I and O    Can their direction be changed as necessary to accommodate/emulate a tri-state output?

I have a specific need to either ground the pin's output or let if go to a high impedance so that the device I'm controlling can rise to well above 5V.  (I can protect the Arduino pin from unhealthy voltages.)  But I need to know if this is a valid use of the pin input/output setting.

And would I need to address the built-in pull-something resistor?

Thanks!

[Reply #1 on:]

The pinMode function can be used to put pin into a quasi Tri-state mode by setting it to input mode. When mode is set as output then either a high or low can be generated with the digitalWrite function. I believe the best way to ensure that the internal 'soft' pull-up is disabled is to make the output state a low before setting the mode to input.

Lefty

[Reply #2 on:]

digitalWrite( pinNumber, LOW );
pinMode( pinNumber, OUTPUT );  // now we're sourcing current, i.e. GND
pinMode( pinNumber, INPUT ); // now we're tri-stated
pinMode( pinNumber, OUTPUT );  // and back again

[Reply #3 on:]

Cool, so flipping the pinMode back and forth between input and output (very rapidly) is not going to harm anything then?

[Reply #4 on:]

Cool, so flipping the pinMode back and forth between input and output (very rapidly) is not going to harm anything then?

Nothing except maybe your brain during checkout and troubleshooting time  

Lefty