Hi,
Im quite new to Arduinos, just wanted to know if anyone can point me in the right direction.
I want to convert a fluctuating voltage from a solar cell into digital numbers. I then want the numbers to go into my computer, and eventually into a number box in Max/Msp.
The ultimate goal is to use a solar cell to control max/msp/jitter patches.
Can I do this?
How difficult would this be?
and how would I approach this?
hope someone can help me!
Measuring the voltage reliably will require extra circuitry if the voltage can exceed 5V.
If the voltage is significantly less than 5V, you may need an amp to increase the voltage to the 0 to 5V range that the Arduino can measure.
Once the voltage is in the right range, the analog-to-digital converter in the Arduino will convert the voltage to a value in the range from 0 to 1023 for you.
Sending that to the serial port is trivial.
Reading it in Max/Msp/Jitter seems to be problematic, from all the "How do I do this?" requests posted in the forum.
Basically you load the arduino with some code called Firmata.
This is code that communicates with an external program and allows you to read and write to the input / output pins.
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Interfacing/Firmata
There is Arduino2Max you can use instead of Firmata and it is perhaps easer to use.
Then at the max end you have the code that interfaces with this:-
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Interfacing/MaxMSP
Thanks a heap,
I only have one more question though. Is the arduino ADC only capable of one input? Say I wanted to process several voltage inputs separately and respectively wanted to output those numbers individually. Can the arduino process multiple signals through the converter? If so, with what limitations? If not, what would be a more efficient alternative?
thanks
You can connect as many analog devices as you have analog input pins (6 on the Duemilanove), without needing to resort ro multiplexing.