Failure on read digital output state

Projects Programming
1

Hi folks,

So, I'm using the Arduino Nano to develop a board. On this board I have a relay who it's switched by the Nano.

But during the execution of the code, I need to know the state of the output to make something. The usual fuction just to read the output last state would be the digitalRead(). But if I read the digital pin D9 (who it's connected to the relay driver) the fuction allways return 0 (false, off). If I read another digital pin, that fuction work normaly.

To get around the problem, I'm reading directly the PORT register. That isn't a problem, but I just whould like to know if someone has found this problem too.

Thanks....

2

It's your code that sets the output state. Therefore, it should always know what it is. Why would you have to "read" it?

3

digitalRead can be used but it is slow and unnecessary.
The code should control the relay, not the other way round as it's not an input device.
Here's one way to look at it:

byte relay_pin = 2;
bool relay_state = false;

// Turn on the relay
relay_state = true;
digitalWrite(relay_pin, relay_state ? HIGH : LOW);

// Turn off the relay
relay_state = false;
digitalWrite(relay_pin, relay_state ? HIGH : LOW);

if (relay_state) {
  ;// do something because you know the relay is on
} else {
  ;// or because you know it's off
}
4

As the previous responses demonstrate, it shouldn’t be necessary to read the output to know what it currently is.

I am curious, however, why this doesn’t work. I should say doesn’t work for the OP in this circumstance; I am as certain as I can be that I have used digitalRead on an output port w/o any problem.

Never mind why. :expressionless:

a7

5 
#define pin 13

    digitalWrite (pin, ! digitalRead (pin));

works

6

It works reading an LED state. I never thought to do it before so I just checked.

@vedahans can you provide a schematic please? There might be another issue.

7

@vedahans And the code. A small working demonstration at least if you can’t post the real code.

a7

8

Thanks everyone for the answers.

I know I shoud use a firmware flag to have the state of an output.

My code it's for a test Jig and have more than 2000 lines of code. A several things run during the tests and in the last task i just wanna to double check the state output to apply a little delay.
It's quite of common to check the state of an output in programing just for redundancy, not for execute som important stufs.

My olny question was if somebody has faced the same isue with the digitalRead() fuction.

9

No. I suspect what you're seeing is just a symptom of a bug somewhere else.

10

Which is why we asking all the pesky questions.

Understand the short cut taking, it’s probably why I did the same thing some time ago, never mind precisely how long.

Can you write a small program that does prove this problem is where you think it is, and where we all think it is not?

Just the digitalRead of the relay pin with some digitalWrite of the pin high and low?

The safe bet is that it will work just fine, if it does not we’d sure like to see for ourselves.

a7

11

I don't understand what checking the output state has to do with "applying a little delay".

12

This topic was automatically closed 120 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.