NewTone Library - Plug-in replacement for Tone library - Better, smaller, faster

Brilliant! Solves the < 31 Hz problem of the original.

My application: use with a micro-stepping motor driver that has step and direction inputs. This makes variable speed control very easy.

Hi,

Does this library works together with addressable LED strips (NeoPixel library)?
Because to get the tight timing needed by the LED strips interrupts are disabled while sending the data.
So the original Tone() library doesnt work for me. Wondering if newTone Library works?

Any plans for supporting ATtiny85 (Adafruit Trinket)?

mcmahonrw:
Any plans for supporting ATtiny85 (Adafruit Trinket)?

Not sure if it would be possible do to the use of timers. But, I do know that my TimerFreeTone library is compatible with the ATtiny 85 (and just about any other platform as it doesn't use timers).

Tim

Hi!

I'm very new to Arduino and electronics. I'm building a capacitive touch morse keyer and I need to generate a 800 to 1200 Hz tone. I still don't know for sure if a sine wave is needed or a square wave is good enough to TX with a simple LPF.

Does the NewTone() make a square wave output like tone()?

I have found that NewTone(pin, freq) makes a little noise when it's ended with noNewTone(), but if I set a duration, the tone ends clean.

I would like to code something like this example, but with a fixed duration. Do you have other library that I could use?

Thanks in advance.

SineWave.ino (1.82 KB)

HoracioDos:
Hi!

I'm very new to Arduino and electronics. I'm building a capacitive touch morse keyer and I need to generate a 800 to 1200 Hz tone. I still don't know for sure if a sine wave is needed or a square wave is good enough to TX with a simple LPF.

Does the NewTone() make a square wave output like tone()?

I have found that NewTone(pin, freq) makes a little noise when it's ended with noNewTone(), but if I set a duration, the tone ends clean.

I would like to code something like this example, but with a fixed duration. Do you have other library that I could use?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, NewTone creates a square wave. The Arduino can't output a sine wave. If you need a sine wave, I would suggest using a Teensy 3.2

If you end a tone early it may stop in the middle of the high state. If it ends on it's own, it always finishes the high state before ending.

I don't understand your last question. You want to code something like what example? NewTone does do a fixed duration so I'm confused.

Tim

Hello Tim!

Thanks for your quick answer.

I have attached in the previous post an example from make magazine that creates a sine wave that never ends. I'm trying to merge your library and this example to generate a sine wave with a fixed duration. As I dont want to abuse of your time ¿Do you know or have something already made that I can use?

For example teensy 3.2 could be an option.

Again Thanks!
H

HoracioDos:
Hello Tim!

Thanks for your quick answer.

I have attached in the previous post an example from make magazine that creates a sine wave that never ends. I'm trying to merge your library and this example to generate a sine wave with a fixed duration. As I dont want to abuse of your time ¿Do you know or have something already made that I can use?

For example teensy 3.2 could be an option.

Again Thanks!
H

Just so you know, this doesn't generate a sine wave. It creates a simulated sine wave. You could create a sketch that would modify this SineWave sketch and create a function that would play a simulated sine wave at a preset frequency. But, it will still be a simulated sine wave, not an actual sine wave.

Keep in mind that a digital pin can only be on or off. So, no matter the code, that's all it can output. This SineWave sketch doesn't actually produce anything close to an actual sine wave. In other words, if you really need a sine wave, this SineWave sketch isn't going to do it for you.

Tim

Thank you Tim for explaining me so clearly. You have helped a lot and made think about other options.

Certainly not the author's fault, but FYI I attempted to use this as a drop-in replacement for tone in my application and caused a small fire... (I'm driving an inductor/oscillator pretty hard). Not sure if the duty cycle was higher, or it just kept the pin high for too long for some other reason.
The only other library i'm using in this sketch is debounce, I don't think there are any timer conflicts there

outlookhazy:
Certainly not the author's fault, but FYI I attempted to use this as a drop-in replacement for tone in my application and caused a small fire... (I'm driving an inductor/oscillator pretty hard). Not sure if the duty cycle was higher, or it just kept the pin high for too long for some other reason.
The only other library i'm using in this sketch is debounce, I don't think there are any timer conflicts there

A timer conflict wouldn't cause it and even if the pin was kept high for a long time it wouldn't cause a fire at 5 volts. Something else is wrong, it's not the software.

Tim

You may be intersted in a problem I have encountered when using TimerFreeTone on a DUE;

http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=442298.msg3044752#msg3044752

I dont think the problem is with TimerFreeTone, but something unique to the DUE, whereby the timing (TimerFreeTone or bitbanging) gets messed up depending on where the code ends up in memory.

srnet:
You may be intersted in a problem I have encountered when using TimerFreeTone on a DUE;

Odd Problems with Audio Tone Generation on DUE - Arduino Due - Arduino Forum

I dont think the problem is with TimerFreeTone, but something unique to the DUE, whereby the timing (TimerFreeTone or bitbanging) gets messed up depending on where the code ends up in memory.

All TimerFreeTone is does is set a pin high, delay, set pin low, delay, repeat until duration is met. This would also be the same with the code you wrote on your own. Therefore, there must be something happening with the delayMicroseconds() function on the Due.

While TimerFreeTone doesn't use a timer interrupt, other code could be which could cause problems with the delayMicroseconds() function. For example, Serial.write() uses interrupts which could throw off the delayMicroseconds() function, which in turn would mess up TimerFreeTone.

I believe you've answered your own question. Serial.write() effects the timer functions on the DUE for a few ms as it writes data to the serial port. So, if you must use a Serial.write(), add a delay after so it doesn't mess with the frequency you're trying to generate with TimerFreeTone.

The other solution is to use one of the timers on the DUE to replace TimerFreeTone. While TimerFreeTone will work on the DUE, there's far better and more accurate ways of doing it on the DUE.

Tim

PLAYBACK of RAW wave data

Im playing around with your Newtone lib, and I want to playback a raw sound file (1 second) loaded in the flash mem of the nano.

My problem is in what format do I have to provide the sound data that it plays correctly

(The origin is a wav file which I converted to raw 8 bit data with the correct sample rate 2 kHz).

In your comments of the toneAC thread I read, that it is easy to playback raw sound data.

I would be glad if you or some else could give me a hint how to do it.

(I can not use a media player because I want to modify the frequency during runtime)

2knuckels:
PLAYBACK of RAW wave data

Im playing around with your Newtone lib, and I want to playback a raw sound file (1 second) loaded in the flash mem of the nano.

My problem is in what format do I have to provide the sound data that it plays correctly

(The origin is a wav file which I converted to raw 8 bit data with the correct sample rate 2 kHz).

In your comments of the toneAC thread I read, that it is easy to playback raw sound data.

I would be glad if you or some else could give me a hint how to do it.

(I can not use a media player because I want to modify the frequency during runtime)

The sample NewTone library sketch (https://bitbucket.org/teckel12/arduino-new-tone/wiki/Home#!example) plays back a song. You would use a similar process to convert your raw sample to frequencies and build an array would you would then loop through.

Tim

Thank you for the quick reply.
So I am on the right way, ->
I only have to find the right delays, because the main frequencies I got with an FFT.
(15 Hz, 38 Hz, 79 Hz peak 2, 92 Hz peak 1, 115 Hz, 184 Hz, 267 Hz peak 3)
In case someone has already found the "melody" for the lightsaber "hum" it would be kind to post it.

Hello, I know it's an old topic, but I use the NewTone library a lot, the audio quality is flawless, I'm using it in a project with arduino nano, it's a variometer for flying, but I'm having a problem locking with it, I have only 1 pin available to turn on the speaker, so I did not use the toneAC, with the tone library works however the sound has a poor quality it gets distorted, I believe the problem is with TIMER 1, I would like to know if you have a way to modify the NewTone library to use TIMER 2, I believe this could solve the problem, is it possible?

teckel:
Why another tone library?
I'd already written a highly optimized toneAC library because I needed higher volume, volume control, higher frequency, and better quality. However, toneAC uses fixed timer 1 PWM pins so it's not as flexible. Making toneAC work like tone was simple and there would be several advantages over the tone library, so I spent an hour and made NewTone from the toneAC library.

What does it do better/differently?

  • About 1,200 bytes smaller code size than the Tone library.
  • Faster execution time.
  • Exclusive use of port registers for fastest and smallest code.
  • Higher quality sound output than tone library.
  • Uses timer 1 which may free up conflicts with the tone library.

How do I use it?
It's a plug-in replacement for the standard tone library. Add the include, use NewTone() instead of tone() and noNewTone() instead of noTone() to enjoy the benefits. If you're running out of program space or have a timer conflict with the tone library, this is the library for you. See the sketch below for an example.

Download: NewTone v1.0

If you're looking to save even more space and more features like almost twice as loud output and volume control, check out my toneAC library as well.

Example sketch

#include <NewTone.h>

#define TONE_PIN 2 // Pin you have speaker/piezo connected to (be sure to include a 100 ohm resistor).

// Melody (liberated from the toneMelody Arduino example sketch by Tom Igoe).
int melody[] = { 262, 196, 196, 220, 196, 0, 247, 262 };
int noteDurations[] = { 4, 8, 8, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 };

void setup() {} // Nothing to setup, just start playing!

void loop() {
  for (unsigned long freq = 125; freq <= 15000; freq += 10) { 
    NewTone(TONE_PIN, freq); // Play the frequency (125 Hz to 15 kHz sweep in 10 Hz steps).
    delay(1); // Wait 1 ms so you can hear it.
  }
  noNewTone(TONE_PIN); // Turn off the tone.

delay(1000); // Wait a second.

for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < 8; thisNote++) { // Loop through the notes in the array.
    int noteDuration = 1000/noteDurations[thisNote];
    NewTone(TONE_PIN, melody[thisNote], noteDuration); // Play thisNote for noteDuration.
    delay(noteDuration * 4 / 3); // Wait while the tone plays in the background, plus another 33% delay between notes.
  }

while(1); // Stop (so it doesn't repeat forever driving you crazy--you're welcome).
}




Tim

Vantuil:
Hello, I know it's an old topic, but I use the NewTone library a lot, the audio quality is flawless, I'm using it in a project with arduino nano, it's a variometer for flying, but I'm having a problem locking with it, I have only 1 pin available to turn on the speaker, so I did not use the toneAC, with the tone library works however the sound has a poor quality it gets distorted, I believe the problem is with TIMER 1, I would like to know if you have a way to modify the NewTone library to use TIMER 2, I believe this could solve the problem, is it possible?

I also have a tone library that doesn't use any timers at all (TimerFreeTone), for just such a situation.

Tim

Dear Tim,
In advance, English is not my native language :slightly_frowning_face:

First, thanks for sharing the NewTone-code.
One question you might be the perferct person for and you might be able an willing to help:

Do you know how to get a frequency in decimals? For instance 78,5Hz or 7,85Hz
As far as I see with NewTone I can use integer only.

Thanks,
Ed

iliaka:
Dear Tim,
In advance, English is not my native language :slightly_frowning_face:

First, thanks for sharing the NewTone-code.
One question you might be the perferct person for and you might be able an willing to help:

Do you know how to get a frequency in decimals? For instance 78,5Hz or 7,85Hz
As far as I see with NewTone I can use integer only.

Thanks,
Ed

Simple answer, you can't, as it's integer-based only.

Tim