I will apologize off the bat that I am a straight up newbie in the world of arduino. I have been programming software for several years and wish to get into programming hardware. I've seen all the crazy things do with arduino and it sparked an interest however, I dont have any technical contacts for me to go to for advice so i'm turning to the forums.
I have a project in mind which is what brings me here but it may be out of a newbie's scope. I have a 42inch TV on a wall mount that you can swing by hand left and right. I would love to be able to control it remotely preferably on a android device. I don't even know where to start and if people think it is not a far fetch project to start with, I will include pictures of the wall mount hinge. I dont know what I would need or how to even plan so will take anything people can offer even if its just pointing me in the right direction
How do you intend to get the signal to the arduino? buttons and DC control voltage, Ethernet, wireless, etc.
What piece of hardware do you intend to use that will handle the load of pivoting the television? DC motors, AC motors, (very large) servos, etc.
Once you have these two questions answered i think you are well on your way to putting together a good plan and you might be able to start putting a program together shortly afterward.
How do you intend to get the signal to the arduino? buttons and DC control voltage, Ethernet, wireless, etc.
Or infrared! You can pick two "unused" buttons on your remote to send the signal. If it's a programmable remote, you could program an unused device (e.g. the "VCR" ;)), program it to some protocol that will not conflict with any of your other things (DVD, TV, Satellite, etc.), and then train your Arduino receiver to watch for those signals to move the TV.
Goofballtech:
2. What piece of hardware do you intend to use that will handle the load of pivoting the television? DC motors, AC motors, (very large) servos, etc.
For a recommendation on that it's important to know how much torque must be provided to swing the TV. Give it a little test: put your finger behind the TV about 1" from its pivot point and pull it; about how many pounds of force does it take to move?
You have to admit, this is a huge project to start with. First, you have to know how to send and receive a signal, the android device will send it and you need a wireless module to receive the signal. if you could send/receive the signal then 70% of the work is done..
I don't know if there is a better idea of how to send/receive the signals, but I said what I know anyway
I second the IR approach. Forget about the Android tablet - at least initially - and
connect an IR detector [$2 device] to an Arduino, and figure out how to use
the Arduino to pivot the TV. Can probably be done with an Arduino motor shield
and geared-down motor. You'll have to figure the mechanical attachment yourself.
Then, as mentioned, use the Arduino to pick up signals from unused buttons on
your TV remote, to pivot left-right under manual control. I'd say that building the
mechanical rotator is by far the most difficult task here.
Wow so many replies! First off thanks everyone for their replies. I know that the output can sometimes look easier than the input so while its a simple motion, there are a lot of factors involved with this project but dive into the world of arduino with something id actually use/want. I'd really not try to take this on if its going to be an impossible first project. But by hard, I am not worried about time as if I don't know it, I have the time to learn but if its something that will take me like a year to learn or if there just something you just can learn online then that's hard.
I should also mention that I have an extra unused Raspberry Pi sitting around. Also, I was able to find my TV stand online with a picture (See Below).
I cannot stress enough how new i truly am so I may not know how to answer some of your questions but Ill give it a whirl. I agree with the android as I can always come back to that. I typical use a Verizon FIOS remote but I do have a Logitech Harmony One which I could switch to. I like the idea of using a TV remote as I don't want to have another device to have to find to do something which is why I started with Android but infrared makes sense. As for handling the load, I was hoping for some suggestions. I had tried Chagrin method for finding the force but I don't know how to really judge that but it wasn't easy to move. Isn't it something like the further away from the pivot point the less force you need? My first thought, and please bare with me..., was some cable attached to each end with a spool in the middle that when received the signal, would spin one direction wrapping in the cable on one side and unwrapping on the other side. It seemed easy and sufficient but again, I'm far from qualified to make those assumptions.
For the TV mount, the wing span is 31.5in and height is 8.5in. The TV has 4 hooks, two on top and two on the bottom that just hang onto the parallel bars you see in the picture.
You are correct. Distance from center = leverage. This is really only beneficial for you if the spool you are discussing if really far back from the television though. If the spool is right behind the tv the cable will be pull "in" toward the center more so than "back" toward the wall.
Fear not. Android control is possible once you get the hang of arduino and move over into the sister IDE at processing.org. I made a TV remote control for mine. Come to think of it i will be updating the thread in just a few minutes because i had forgotten to do so.
I had tried Chagrin method for finding the force but I don't know how to really judge that but it wasn't easy to move.
You could use a spring balance, as used for weighing fish, to measure the force.
There will be an initial force to get the thing moving then a lesser force to keep it going.
In theory if the TV were mounted on a good bearing then the weight of the TV is irrelevant as it acts vertically through the bearing. The force you are applying is just to overcome the friction.
I had tried Chagrin method for finding the force but I don't know how to really judge that but it wasn't easy to move.
You could use a spring balance, as used for weighing fish, to measure the force.
There will be an initial force to get the thing moving then a lesser force to keep it going.
There are also some fairly inexpensive digital hook scales, many advertised for weighing luggage. I have this one and found it to be decently accurate (especially for the ~$10.00 price) and probably precise enough for this type of measurement in either the grams or ounces modes (it also has kilograms and pounds modes). However, it's really basic without features beyond the four measurement modes; i.e. no ability to store and recall values, retain the highest value, etc...
