Hey folks,
Lately, I've been diving into the world of phased array sonar and trying to wrap my head around how it all works. My curiosity was piqued by a captivating video I stumbled upon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4uxC7ISd-c.
As I delved deeper, I stumbled upon some codes by BitLuni, which you can find here: https://github.com/bitluni/SonarScannerV1/blob/main/ArraySweepESP32/ArraySweepESP32.ino.
digitalWrite(enablePin, 1); // Turn on output
unsigned long t = 0;
unsigned long ot = ESP.getCycleCount();
while (true) {
// ... (code details)
}
digitalWrite(enablePin, 0); // Turn off output
Something interesting I noticed in these codes is the use of an "enable pin." This got me thinking about what exactly an enable pin does. I got some insights from ChatGPT, which said, "Use enable pins when you want to turn a whole component, module, or system on or off. It's great for saving power when something's not in use."
I asked for an example and got this code:
const int enablePin = 4; // Pin to enable/disable
const int ledPin = 5; // Pin to control an LED
void setup() {
pinMode(enablePin, OUTPUT); // Set enablePin as output
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); // Set ledPin as output
digitalWrite(enablePin, HIGH); // Start with the component (LED) on
}
void loop() {
// Turn on the component (LED)
digitalWrite(enablePin, HIGH);
// Do stuff here (like reading data)
// Turn off the component (LED)
digitalWrite(enablePin, LOW);
// Wait before repeating
delay(1000);
}
However, I couldn't figure out the connection between the enablePin
and the ledPin
in the code. This made me wonder about the point of an enable pin in hardware programming. Coming from a software background, it seems more like a "nice to have" thing than a must. But since I've seen it used multiple times, I'm here to understand its purpose and when it's really needed.
I'd really appreciate it if you could help me get a better grasp of this. What's the real deal with an enable pin in hardware programming? Is it actually helpful, and when should I use it?
Thanks a bunch for your insights and guidance on this matter!