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[on:]

hey there - new to coding and arduino here

I was designing an RGB LED which I can control using values from 0-100 from the serial monitor.

1.Unfortunately it seems to be just throwing up weird values in the serial monitor like 48,52.. and ignoring what i'm inputting.

2. I was hoping on adding a fader to fade from one color to the next color with a delay once its been inputted. - ideas?

3. Is this the most effective way of doing this, any coding help would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time!

Code:

//setup our used ports (where we have the LEDs), put them in the right order!!! Which is RGB!
//            R  G  B
int leds[] = {11,10,9};

//the values for our LEDs, in RGB order
//              R  G  B
int values[] ={255,0,0};

int inByte;

//set here the delay (in milliseconds)
int delaySec = 100;

//setup function, runs only once when the board is initialized
void setup(){
  // initialize serial communication:
  Serial.begin(9600);
  //set our ports for output (so we have power to light up the LEDs)
  for (int i=0;i<3;i++){
    pinMode(leds[i], OUTPUT);
  }
}

void loop(){

  // Check to see if serial connection is open and if it is continue
  if (Serial.available() > 0) {
 
   // Read the serial for an input between 0-100 and change to the appropriate LED colour.
    inByte = Serial.read(); 
   
    if (inByte == 0){
    //White
    values[0] = 255;
    values[1] = 250;
    values[2] = 250;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 0) && (inByte < 11)){
    //Red
    values[0] = 255;
    values[1] = 0;
    values[2] = 0;
    }   
   
    if ((inByte > 10) && (inByte < 21)){
    //Pink
    values[0] = 255;
    values[1] = 192;
    values[2] = 203;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 20) && (inByte < 31)){
    //Orange
    values[0] = 255;
    values[1] = 165;
    values[2] = 0;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 30) && (inByte < 41)){
    //Goldenrod
    values[0] = 218;
    values[1] = 165;
    values[2] = 32;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 40) && (inByte < 51)){
    //Yellow
    values[0] = 250;
    values[1] = 250;
    values[2] = 0;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 50) && (inByte < 61)){
    //Green Yellow
    values[0] = 173;
    values[1] = 255;
    values[2] = 47;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 60) && (inByte < 71)){
    //Green
    values[0] = 0;
    values[1] = 255;
    values[2] = 0;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 70) && (inByte < 81)){
    //Aqua
    values[0] = 127;
    values[1] = 255;
    values[2] = 212;
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 80) && (inByte < 91)){
    //Blue
    values[0] = 0;
    values[1] = 0;
    values[2] = 255; 
    }
   
    if ((inByte > 91) && (inByte < 101)){
    //Violet
    values[0] = 138;
    values[1] = 43;
    values[2] = 226;
    }
 
  Serial.println(inByte); 
 
    //change colors
  for (int i=0;i<3;i++){
    analogWrite(leds[i], values[i]);
    delay(delaySec);
  }
 }
}

   

[Reply #1 on:]

The Serial Monitor sends ASCII text - the Serial.read() method returns the integer value of that ASCII text.  You will need to convert the text into a number for it to set correctly.  Also, you should probably use a while-loop to iterate through all of the data in the serial buffer, not just the first value.

Example (not tested):

Code:

void loop() {
  uint8_t serRead[Serial.available()]; // make an array with a size equal to number of bytes in USART buffer
  uint8_t i = 0; // a pointer variable
  while (Serial.available()) {
    serRead[i] = Serial.read(); // read in the byte
    i++; // increment the pointer
  }

  uint8_t value = atoi(serRead); // atoi converts a char pointer into an int

  // do wtv with the value

}

[Reply #2 on:]

Thanks so much for your fast reply!

I tried using that code which you posted and received this error:

Code:

uint8_t value = atoi(serRead); // atoi converts a char pointer into an int

Invalid conversion from 'uint8_t*' to 'const char*'

any ideas?

[Reply #3 on:]

Oh - right.  Replace

Code:

  uint8_t serRead[Serial.available()];

with this:

Code:

  char serRead[Serial.available()];

They're the same type, technically, but atoi is picky.

[Reply #4 on:]

Try to check this:

http://todbot.com/blog/bionicarduino/   ( the serialRGB link a bit down the page)

And this (not serial)

http://genericnerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/arduino-mood-light-controller.html