I am sure someone has though of this question before, I'm just not sure how to phrase it in a search and after looking a bit I don't see anything on it.
That's cool and all. But what my question is.
Can you get a Digital Potentiometer chip or Microcontroller chip and program it with an arduino?
To run with the arduino or even better, Alone?
Yes I know you can program Micro-controllers and people do it all the time all over the world.
But can it run with an arduino?
For example you program the arduino and external Micro-controller thus making more digital/analog in/outputs?
I ask this question because I noticed that for some projects I find that I run out or come close to running out of digital/analog pins.
EDIT: Another quick question can you use Digital pins 0,1 as regular digital pins if you are not using rx/tx?
Well, Arduino IS a microcontroller and/or a microprocessor (maybe someone here can differentiate those two terms). But you still can extend its features with other circuitry of any kind, really. You could use multiple Arduinos, or add IO with other logic chips. You could interface with any (most) of the other micros available too.
In the case of a digital pot, you actually would read the output of that with your Arduino and do something with the data. A number of folks on the forum have done projects with music and may be able to shed some light on that subject for you.
Yes, you can use digital pins 0 and 1, but you should make sure whatever is connected to them can tolerate the chatter of the serial data when the Arduino is being programmed. For this reason, it's recommended that you don't use them unless you have to. Once your sketch starts to run, the pins are controlled by your code.
That part I knew and thank you for your input.
I know that it is a micro-controller and you can use anything with it.
But I also know that they have to be programed. But with the use of the arduino software you can program in C/C++ and have it compiled to the micro-controller. Is this possible to do with any micro-controller or just the arduino?
Well that is a odd question.. I know the answer when I thought about it.
Ok let me try again.. HOW do you attach other micro-controllers to the arduino and program it with the arduino?
There we go, much better question.
So basically you can use them just be careful, for example just unplug those pins when programming.
HOW do you attach other micro-controllers to the arduino and program it with the arduino?
Ah, gotcha. I'm not sure you could actually program another micro with an Arduino. I suppose you might be able to - that would be xtr33m l33t, I think.
HOW do you attach other micro-controllers to the arduino and program it with the arduino?
Most likely not possible or at least not practicable. It kind of depends on your definition of 'program'. If you mean being able to take a source file in some programming language, compile it and then send it to the micro-controller for execution, I don't think the Arduino boards have the memory space to perfom such a function.
Even an Arduino can't do all that for another Arduino. It relies on the PC based Arduino IDE program to do all the heavy lifting of editing source, compiling, linking and uploading. Without the availability and power of our PC computers the Arduino concept just would not work. Programming the early microprocessors in the late 70s was a very slow and tedious process.
You can 'sort of' add more pins by using external logic chips such as shift registers and other drivers that the Arduino can talk to over a small number of pins and/or a protocol like one-wire or I2C. Or you can buy the Mega, which has a LOT more IO pins on it than the Duemilanove.
