Strain Gauge to Measure Tension

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm working on a side project with my dad to measure the tension force being applied to the cables supporting a swing in our backyard.

I received the Arduino developer's kit for my birthday and thought this would be a cool little project that can apply to a "real world" situation.

I plan on attaching the strain gauge to the cable supporting the string, soldering longer wires to the strain gauge, and connecting it to an Arduino Uno.

I've done some research about strain gauges, but the only helpful information involves when they are part of a load cell.

Basically, I'm wondering if it is feasible to use the strain gauge in the application I intend it for, and how I would go about preparing the circuit to make it work. I have some experience coding in Matlab, so I have an idea of how I might prepare the code, but I'm not sure how to set up the circuit to provide an accurate readout.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

2

Basically, I'm wondering if it is feasible to use the strain gauge in the application I intend it for

Yes, it is.

and how I would go about preparing the circuit to make it work.

Has Mr. Google really completely let you down? I doubt that. I google strain gauge Arduino and get 76000+ hits.

3

You need to translate the minute resistive change that occurs in the strain gauge into something the Uno understands. The easiest way to do that is with the HX711 interface chip.

There is full tutorial on the Sparkfun site.