Hello all,
I'm new to microcomputers and programming. I am wanting to make a scale that sends data to ThingSpeak.
Currently, I am able to get my Arduino Uno to read weight on my 4 50kg load cells via the HX711 board on the serial monitor. Woohoo. This took hours.
To get the Arduino Uno to send data to ThingSpeak, I connected an ESP8266. I was able to send a randomly generated number from the Arduino Uno > ESP8266 > ThingSpeak. Hurray. This took a few hours of learning as well. I ended up just copying and pasting code from online. I didn't create any of it myself.
Both of these things were done using example sketches or code online and simply plugging in information.
My question is: how do I combine these two sketches? I have tried plugging and chugging for quite some time and the closest I got was getting the serial monitor to show the weight while also showing the random numbers from the example sketch. Then everything stopped working with ThingSpeak.
I have searched this for a while and I can't find anything. It might be my lack of knowledge that prevents me from even searching the correct things. That's why I'm finally asking here.
If anyone can offer any guidance I would really appreciate it.
I'm happy to add any info that will help make things easier.
List of parts:
- Arduino Uno
- 4 50kg load cells
- HX711 board for the load cells
- breadboard
- ESP8266
Here are the two sketches I'm using that I want to combine.
/*
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HX711_ADC
Arduino library for HX711 24-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converter for Weight Scales
Olav Kallhovd sept2017
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*/
/*
This example file shows how to calibrate the load cell and optionally store the calibration
value in EEPROM, and also how to change the value manually.
The result value can then later be included in your project sketch or fetched from EEPROM.
To implement calibration in your project sketch the simplified procedure is as follow:
LoadCell.tare();
//place known mass
LoadCell.refreshDataSet();
float newCalibrationValue = LoadCell.getNewCalibration(known_mass);
*/
#include <HX711_ADC.h>
#if defined(ESP8266)|| defined(ESP32) || defined(AVR)
#include <EEPROM.h>
#endif
//pins:
const int HX711_dout = 4; //mcu > HX711 dout pin
const int HX711_sck = 5; //mcu > HX711 sck pin
//HX711 constructor:
HX711_ADC LoadCell(HX711_dout, HX711_sck);
const int calVal_eepromAdress = 0;
unsigned long t = 0;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600); delay(10);
Serial.println();
Serial.println("Starting...");
LoadCell.begin();
//LoadCell.setReverseOutput(); //uncomment to turn a negative output value to positive
unsigned long stabilizingtime = 2000; // preciscion right after power-up can be improved by adding a few seconds of stabilizing time
boolean _tare = true; //set this to false if you don't want tare to be performed in the next step
LoadCell.start(stabilizingtime, _tare);
if (LoadCell.getTareTimeoutFlag() || LoadCell.getSignalTimeoutFlag()) {
Serial.println("Timeout, check MCU>HX711 wiring and pin designations");
while (1);
}
else {
LoadCell.setCalFactor(1.0); // user set calibration value (float), initial value 1.0 may be used for this sketch
Serial.println("Startup is complete");
}
while (!LoadCell.update());
calibrate(); //start calibration procedure
}
void loop() {
static boolean newDataReady = 0;
const int serialPrintInterval = 0; //increase value to slow down serial print activity
// check for new data/start next conversion:
if (LoadCell.update()) newDataReady = true;
// get smoothed value from the dataset:
if (newDataReady) {
if (millis() > t + serialPrintInterval) {
float i = LoadCell.getData();
Serial.print("Load_cell output val: ");
Serial.println(i);
newDataReady = 0;
t = millis();
}
}
// receive command from serial terminal
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
char inByte = Serial.read();
if (inByte == 't') LoadCell.tareNoDelay(); //tare
else if (inByte == 'r') calibrate(); //calibrate
else if (inByte == 'c') changeSavedCalFactor(); //edit calibration value manually
}
// check if last tare operation is complete
if (LoadCell.getTareStatus() == true) {
Serial.println("Tare complete");
}
}
void calibrate() {
Serial.println("***");
Serial.println("Start calibration:");
Serial.println("Place the load cell an a level stable surface.");
Serial.println("Remove any load applied to the load cell.");
Serial.println("Send 't' from serial monitor to set the tare offset.");
boolean _resume = false;
while (_resume == false) {
LoadCell.update();
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
char inByte = Serial.read();
if (inByte == 't') LoadCell.tareNoDelay();
}
}
if (LoadCell.getTareStatus() == true) {
Serial.println("Tare complete");
_resume = true;
}
}
Serial.println("Now, place your known mass on the loadcell.");
Serial.println("Then send the weight of this mass (i.e. 100.0) from serial monitor.");
float known_mass = 0;
_resume = false;
while (_resume == false) {
LoadCell.update();
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
known_mass = Serial.parseFloat();
if (known_mass != 0) {
Serial.print("Known mass is: ");
Serial.println(known_mass);
_resume = true;
}
}
}
LoadCell.refreshDataSet(); //refresh the dataset to be sure that the known mass is measured correct
float newCalibrationValue = LoadCell.getNewCalibration(known_mass); //get the new calibration value
Serial.print("New calibration value has been set to: ");
Serial.print(newCalibrationValue);
Serial.println(", use this as calibration value (calFactor) in your project sketch.");
Serial.print("Save this value to EEPROM adress ");
Serial.print(calVal_eepromAdress);
Serial.println("? y/n");
_resume = false;
while (_resume == false) {
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
char inByte = Serial.read();
if (inByte == 'y') {
#if defined(ESP8266)|| defined(ESP32)
EEPROM.begin(512);
#endif
EEPROM.put(calVal_eepromAdress, newCalibrationValue);
#if defined(ESP8266)|| defined(ESP32)
EEPROM.commit();
#endif
EEPROM.get(calVal_eepromAdress, newCalibrationValue);
Serial.print("Value ");
Serial.print(newCalibrationValue);
Serial.print(" saved to EEPROM address: ");
Serial.println(calVal_eepromAdress);
_resume = true;
}
else if (inByte == 'n') {
Serial.println("Value not saved to EEPROM");
_resume = true;
}
}
}
Serial.println("End calibration");
Serial.println("***");
Serial.println("To re-calibrate, send 'r' from serial monitor.");
Serial.println("For manual edit of the calibration value, send 'c' from serial monitor.");
Serial.println("***");
}
void changeSavedCalFactor() {
float oldCalibrationValue = LoadCell.getCalFactor();
boolean _resume = false;
Serial.println("***");
Serial.print("Current value is: ");
Serial.println(oldCalibrationValue);
Serial.println("Now, send the new value from serial monitor, i.e. 696.0");
float newCalibrationValue;
while (_resume == false) {
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
newCalibrationValue = Serial.parseFloat();
if (newCalibrationValue != 0) {
Serial.print("New calibration value is: ");
Serial.println(newCalibrationValue);
LoadCell.setCalFactor(newCalibrationValue);
_resume = true;
}
}
}
_resume = false;
Serial.print("Save this value to EEPROM adress ");
Serial.print(calVal_eepromAdress);
Serial.println("? y/n");
while (_resume == false) {
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
char inByte = Serial.read();
if (inByte == 'y') {
#if defined(ESP8266)|| defined(ESP32)
EEPROM.begin(512);
#endif
EEPROM.put(calVal_eepromAdress, newCalibrationValue);
#if defined(ESP8266)|| defined(ESP32)
EEPROM.commit();
#endif
EEPROM.get(calVal_eepromAdress, newCalibrationValue);
Serial.print("Value ");
Serial.print(newCalibrationValue);
Serial.print(" saved to EEPROM address: ");
Serial.println(calVal_eepromAdress);
_resume = true;
}
else if (inByte == 'n') {
Serial.println("Value not saved to EEPROM");
_resume = true;
}
}
}
Serial.println("End change calibration value");
Serial.println("***");
}
#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#define RX 10
#define TX 11
String AP = "XXX"; // CHANGE ME
String PASS = "XXX"; // CHANGE ME
String API = "XXX"; // CHANGE ME
String HOST = "api.thingspeak.com";
String PORT = "80";
String field = "field1";
int countTrueCommand;
int countTimeCommand;
boolean found = false;
int valSensor = 1;
SoftwareSerial esp8266(RX,TX);
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
esp8266.begin(115200);
sendCommand("AT",5,"OK");
sendCommand("AT+CWMODE=1",5,"OK");
sendCommand("AT+CWJAP=\""+ AP +"\",\""+ PASS +"\"",20,"OK");
}
void loop() {
valSensor = getSensorData();
String getData = "GET /update?api_key="+ API +"&"+ field +"="+String(valSensor);
sendCommand("AT+CIPMUX=1",5,"OK");
sendCommand("AT+CIPSTART=0,\"TCP\",\""+ HOST +"\","+ PORT,15,"OK");
sendCommand("AT+CIPSEND=0," +String(getData.length()+4),4,">");
esp8266.println(getData);delay(1500);countTrueCommand++;
sendCommand("AT+CIPCLOSE=0",5,"OK");
}
int getSensorData(){
return random(1000); // Replace with
}
void sendCommand(String command, int maxTime, char readReplay[]) {
Serial.print(countTrueCommand);
Serial.print(". at command => ");
Serial.print(command);
Serial.print(" ");
while(countTimeCommand < (maxTime*1))
{
esp8266.println(command);//at+cipsend
if(esp8266.find(readReplay))//ok
{
found = true;
break;
}
countTimeCommand++;
}
if(found == true)
{
Serial.println("OYI");
countTrueCommand++;
countTimeCommand = 0;
}
if(found == false)
{
Serial.println("Fail");
countTrueCommand = 0;
countTimeCommand = 0;
}
found = false;
}