I want to use my Arduino Uno to control a stepper motor for a barn door tracker. I know the Arduino will be able to handle the stepper motor with a stepper motor driver but is the Arduino Uno powerful enough and have enough inputs for adding a LCD screen to it and some buttons for changing input values?
Yes that is well within the capabilities of an arduino.
google arduino tft shield
Nice build thread, with some valuable lessons learned, but he seems to have never finished: Building a barn door mount, part 1: arduino stepper motor control | f/138 - Daniel Berrangé
jremington:
Nice build thread, with some valuable lessons learned, but he seems to have never finished: Building a barn door mount, part 1: arduino stepper motor control | f/138 - Daniel Berrangé
I did read through that actually before, pretty much exactly what I want to do.Will these components work together with the Arduino Uno? Or any recommended alternatives suggested?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G4XR60/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AEHQPHLFTD7TE
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R9U7QY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AFBMYHRQ9KU5H
Which LCD would be better? I like having the 4 rows compared to the 2 rows, but is one better to use than the other?
Look for an LCD with serial interface unless you like lots of extra wires and code.
Do neither of the one's i linked have serial interface?
Hi,
Tons of reference of Google, barndoor tracker arduino
Tom..... 
Do neither of the one's i linked have serial interface?
No. They each use up at least 7 pins on an Arduino. With one like this, you need only 1 pin for data, using either hardware or software serial.
One of the LCD's I posted in the description says serial:
Or is the serial referring to something else? Sorry, new to this.
Also, for the one you posted, some of the screens i've seen have buttons for menu navigation. How would i do menu navigation with a screen like this without the buttons? Are there any screen's that have more than 2 rows like 4 rows of text, and have buttons for menu navigation, and are serial?
Thanks,
SainSmart IIC/I2C/TWI interfaces to IIC, I2C and TWI buses that other devices can hang on as well.
Yes there are 4 line x 20 char with serial and menues, Liudr sells them, they use a board on the back, the 'backback' programmed to do special things.
Anyone?
Hi,
Hi, what is your electronics, programming, arduino, hardware experience?
Have you viewed the data, have you Google the items to look at the supplier sites, not amazon?
Amazon are over priced shipping agents.
LCD. http://www.sainsmart.com/sainsmart-iic-i2c-twi-serial-2004-20x4-lcd-module-shield-for-arduino-uno-mega-r3.html
Serial in this case means I2C, read up about it. It is suitable.
Motor Driver, EasyDriver - Stepper Motor Driver - ROB-12779 - SparkFun Electronics
It has microstepping, good for your application.
Stepper Motor
Motor used in , Building a barn door mount, part 1: arduino stepper motor control | f/138 - Daniel Berrangé
is
http://www.tobeca.fr/uploads/datasheets/LDO-42STH47-1684A.pdf
The one you are looking at
http://www.fasttobuy.com/42hs4013a4-sumtor-twophase-stepper-motor-42byg-new_p24104.html
Check the parameters and see.
Tom.....
My coding experience is coding in C++ at university. So when i look at example codes for what I want to do I can follow what they are coding.
My electronics background is none besides basic circuit type stuff with electrical wiring but I know what I'm generally doing with this project I'm wanting to do.
Do you at least know Ohm's Law?
Physics should have given you basic electricity. It comes in handy when understanding sensors.
I know Ohm's law. Done circuits in Physics and actually have done some basic circuits in a physics class with resistors and other things. I just ordered Motor LCDDriver and going to add a rotary encoder later for some basic menu setup after I have the LCD and motor working.
This is an Electronic Training Channels on Youtube run by a member here that I find very helpful.
I'll have to watch again before I connect FETs.
Eurotrax:
So will the following components all work together?
Yes, but you need to sort out a power supply which will give you enough current and volts. A battery pack of AAs is probably too small to run all night but should be OK for testing.
Did you solve the question of adding buttons? Some small buttons are called "tactile" (I don't know why) and they can easily be put onto a perfboard prototype board in whatever arrangement you need.
I was either thinking tactile buttons or I'll use a rotary encoder. Guess depends on which one will be easier to implement but would probably prefer the rotary encoder.
When testing the LCD and Motor and Arduino on the computer I'm guessing it won't be able to run off the computer USB power and will need an external wall adapter while connected to the computer for extra power since the motor is rated at 12V max? Sincethe motor draws 0.3A im guessing maybe the 12V 0.5A will be sufficient, or am i wrong?Wall adapter
And when I'm outside what kind of batteries should I be using to power everything?