So I'm a new user, and I find this QUITE daunting, so I'd really like a little bit of advice for where to start, or maybe a good text to be introduced to the programming language - 'for idiots' - if you will.
Initially, I am learning so I can tackle a project that:
1.) heats and maintains a user-specified water temperature, and displays it on a readout. When the target temperature is reached, an alarm will sound
2.) Rotates a motor in two directions for a user-specified period of time, displaying that time as a countdown. At Zero, an alarm will sound.
I am currently using UNO R3 and a seeedstudio motor shield, and have wrapped my head around the rotation.
I intend to use a 1-wire temp sensor, a 110v coffee-cup heater (relay shield?), and an aquarium circulator pump (relay shield?) and some kind of readout(s) that can simultaneously display the time and temperature.
I am hoping to use rotary encoders with pushbutton to:
1.) enter the temperature (encoder) and initiate the heating sequence
2.) enter the time in :15 second intervals and begin the countdown and rotation of the motor.
HELP! I'm new enough that I have a hard time figuring out how to begin compiling the information i'll need to begin coding.
I've gone through the Introduction book (Banzi, O'Reily, 2011) and all the examples that came with the ARDX kit; Right now, I'm struggling with knowing what equipment to source, having enough pins available, for 2 relays, a display, 2 rotary / pushbuttons, a pizeo, a temp sensor, and the motor shield.
Will a 4-wire 16x2 be capable of handling two independent function displays (time / countdown and temperature)?
Can I run the pins I need through the grove connectors on the stacked motor shield (leaving out the wires that are unnecessary?
As for enough pins... Well how many motors do you actually want to control? Do you need a full shield? Seems to me that for 1 motor you could use a single H bridge which takes two pins.
I don't know how many pins the encoder will use. A relay control need only use one pin.
Every journey starts with one step. Don't think of your project as a single huge and complex task. Think of it as several small manageable parts that just happen to belong together. Get each part working on its own before you try to combine them. That is NOT just a beginner's technique - it is how experts would do it.
As Robin2 said, break the project into smaller parts.
the water heater part is interesting. you need a pump, but if it is for human consumption, then the pump needs to be food grade. some pumps might seep oils into the liquid or be made of parts that are not healthy, especially at higher temperatures.
the whole heater thing seems like a great project.
detect the presence of water in the heater
turn on the pump
turn on the heater.
if the water is to recirculate until temperature is reached, then dispelled into a cup, you might need a pair of solenoid valves, or a 3-way valve.
PWM heater until temperature is reached
blink lights, sound horn, etc
if there is certain volume of water, you might want to check the reservoir before the process to verify there is sufficient water to complete the batch process.
Amazon has a few high temp food grade pumps. search for food grade pump. seems they are designed for coffee makers and run up to 100°C which is a good thing.