LED project need help!!

Projects Programming
1

Right i have written a vb program which ports a bit-masked integer over to the arduino. i have then coded a program that is meant to read each of the bits from the integer separately and then turn on LEDs. the problem im having is that 1. when i attempt to turn on an LED nothing happens 2. I think it is based around the bitread() but because i don't fully understand arduino i am unsure how to fix it. I have looked at the page on the bitread() function but that hasn't helped.
VB code:

intPortresult = intLightsresult
        'ports variable to arduino
        SerialPort1.Open()
        SerialPort1.Write(intPortresult)
        SerialPort1.Close()

Arduino code:

void setup (){
  Serial.begin(9600); //begins the loop that connects the the pins being used
  for (int thisPin = 2; thisPin < 7; thisPin++)  {
    pinMode(thisPin, OUTPUT);      
  }
}
  
  
using namespace std;
//begins loop that checks the integer ported over from VB
void loop(){
  int bitval;
  
  if (Serial.available()){
    
    delay(10);
    
    while (Serial.available() > 0) {
      
      int Portresult = Serial.read();
  
//begins the loops which chek the bit and turn on/off the LED's
  
  for (int thisPin = 2; thisPin < 8; thisPin++) { 
   for (int counter = 0; counter < 7; counter++){ 
    
     int val = bitRead(Serial.read(),counter);
      
      //checks if the bit is 1 or 0 and turns LED on or off
      if(val=='1') { digitalWrite(thisPin, HIGH) ; }
      else if (val=='0') {digitalWrite(thisPin, LOW);
      }
    }
   }
  }
}
}

if anyone could offer some help it would be appreciated.

2 
     int val = bitRead(Serial.read(),counter);

Is it really your intention to read in a new byte of data for every call to bitRead? How many bytes of data are getting sent to the Arduino?

3

sorry i was trying stuff that line of code should be this

int val = bitRead(Portresult,counter);

4

Will a bit from a byte read using bitRead()

int val = bitRead(Serial.read(),counter);

ever be equal to a char like '1' or '0'

      if(val=='1') { digitalWrite(thisPin, HIGH) ; }
      else if (val=='0') {digitalWrite(thisPin, LOW);

Also, if the bit is not set to 1 then it is certainly set to 0 so the second test (against '0') is redundant.

Anyway,there is no need to read the bit, set a variable to the value found, then set the LED state to the value. Simply set the LED state to the value of the bit.

Also why 2 for loops, one of which tries to output to pins 2 to 7 when only pins 2 to 6 have been defined as OUTPUTs ?
Surely you only need one for loop and the LED corresponding to the bit read to be turned on/off

5

I have altered the things you mentioned, thank you for noticing the pin error i had made iv fixed that now and i have also got rid of a loop, yet it still isn't working so i think it might be due to what you said about a the bitread function might not work with a byte. So i wondered if you knew of a different method of getting a bit from and integer? I have Googled it but the stuff i found wasn't helpful.

6 
using namespace std;

Why?

7

one of my friends who codes in c++ put that in he wasn't sure if it needed it

8

TheSpook:
I have altered the things you mentioned, thank you for noticing the pin error i had made iv fixed that now and i have also got rid of a loop, yet it still isn't working so i think it might be due to what you said about a the bitread function might not work with a byte. So i wondered if you knew of a different method of getting a bit from and integer? I have Googled it but the stuff i found wasn't helpful.

bitRead() works fine with a byte, or an int for that matter.
What I was alluding to was that a bit is either 0 or 1, not '0' or '1'
Hint - change the way that you are testing the value of the bit

9

No one yet has looked at actually what might be happening...

SerialPort1.Open()    <--- Does the Arduino reboot itself at this point?
SerialPort1.Write(intPortresult)
SerialPort1.Close()