Hello,
I am new in arduino, just bought a starter kit a few days ago and played a little with it, so I am sorry for any possibly stupid question that I may make.
I want to make a tachometer that turns on/off leds depending on the measured values. The maximum range would be 10m (I don’t know if this is possible or changes somehow the used components). Basically it would be something like if the rpm value is 0, a red led would turn on, if it is 0<rpm<10 it would be yellow, if rpm>10 it would turn green.
In therms of code I think it would be relatively easy to write it, but before starting I would like to know the best components that I could use for that. I saw some basic IR sensors with maximum range of 80 cm, which is fairly enough, but my main question is about the wireless communication, if it is possible, how to make it and what will I need.
If anyone could help it would be very good! Thank you
coimduino:
If anyone could help it would be very good!
It would be very good. A miracle, in fact, given how little you have told us about the project! What are you measuring the speed of? Where it is? What is it doing? 10m? Somewhere between easy and impossible. 10m of direct line of sight through air, or 10m of solid metal? Ok, obviously it's not going to be 10m of metal, but you get the point. Even 0.1 millimeter of metal will block even strong signals. The point is, you need to give us much more information if we are to help you.
How are you going to measure the speed? Mechanically, optically, magnetically? Its ok to say you don't know, that's what we are here to help with. But tell us whatever you can about the situation. Photos might be helpful.
Thanks for answering!
Well basically a few disks with some tape or similar to make the IR sensor detects it. I’ve seen some videos n YouTube of people using these sensors with arduino and measuring the rpm and using lcd screen to project it, but I want to have a place where I can “check” the rpm at that distance of 5 to 10m. What I thought, to keep it simple was just using 2 leds for each disk (1 red 1 green) and if rpm=0 red is on otherwise rpm >0 green is on. I don’t even need the lcds for each disk, my idea was just to have one sensor per disk and with the output of the sensor control wirelessly the leds
Ok, so you plan to measure rpm with an ir sensor detecting a strip of tape on a disk. Apart from that, you didn't answer any of the questions I asked, you just repeated things you said before. Perhaps your next post will be more revealing.
Well, it is just an idea, I don’t even start to build anything, because I am trying to understand what I will need first. The leds should stay at a direct line of sight through air as you mentioned. The disk will be in a proper support that will allow it to rotate. My plan is to first make a manual prototype and later improve that movement with a motor and potentiometer, but that is for later. I don’t know if these infos help or if you need to know more things, but for now all I have is basically this idea. If you think it is hard to make or have other suggestions that will possibly work better, please let me know!
This is like pulling teeth. What will make the disc rotate if there is no motor? Why does the disc need to rotate? Why do you need to measure the rotation? Why are you so reluctant to reveal the purpose of the rotating disc? Its it something illegal?
It is nothing illegal, this is just an idea that I had to build something that I can “check the status” without being right there watching it. And after thinking about it I came with this idea, because I already had these two ideas, one of making the rpm measurer and the other of making something that can work wirelessly, and I just thought of joining them. After searching online didn’t find much about it... the disk will rotate manually first, but after making this work I will add a motor to make it rotate with the speed I input,via potentiometer or something equal
Ok. The first thing to do is get the tachometer working. Then figure out how to monitor it wirelessly later. These are really two separate problems, and the solution you make for measuring the rpm won't affect how you solve the remote monitoring part, as far as I can see.
There are various ways to approach the tachometer problem. You can measure the length of a pulse as the tape passes the sensor. You can measure the period between two pulses, or you can count the number of pulses over a known time period. I can't advise which would be best for your project without knowing more about it than you are willing to tell me.
Ok, I will try to do that first. Probably after making that I will be able to explain in better words what I am trying to make! I will give some news as soon as I make it