The Timer or something in FADE doesn't work

Community Suggestions for the Arduino Project
1

As the topic.

I used the code below. All I need is a signal that goes from 0 to 5v steadily( the first half of a triangle signal)

But the signal only growth from 40mV to 116mV then straightly jumped to 1.04V

and then from 1.14v straight to 3.2v then it increases towards 5v.

i don't understand how could things go wrong with just a single function.
please help.

int brightness = 0;    // how bright the LED is
int fadeAmount = 1;    // how many points to fade the LED by



void setup()  {
  // declare pin 9 to be an output:
  pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
 
}

void loop()  {
  // set the brightness of pin 9:
  analogWrite(9, brightness);    

  // change the brightness for next time through the loop:
  brightness = brightness + fadeAmount;

  // reverse the direction of the fading at the ends of the fade:
  if (brightness == 0 || brightness == 255) {
    brightness = 0;
  }    
  // wait for 30 milliseconds to see the dimming effect    
  delay(100);                            
}
2

Your confusion is with the arduino analogWrite function. It's doesn't output a pure DC voltage but rather a digital PWM signal that is always either +5vdc or ground at any given instant in time. It's the duty cycle (ratio of on to off) that can be manipulated with the analogWrite function in 8 bits of resolution. If you require a true analog 0-5vdc output then you must add an external low pass filter to convert the PWM signal to a true analog output voltage. You also may need to add a op-amp buffer stage if you need to provide any significant current to the device using the signal.

Lefty

3

Thanks a lot for the quick reply.
i'll go check it out. :smiley:

Quentin