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ArduinoUNODataloggerforCompleteBeginners(ie:nosoldering)|Arduinobasedunderwatersensors

Arduinobasedunderwatersensors
forhydrologicalresearchinflooded
cavesystems

ArduinoUNODataloggerforCompleteBeginners(ie:nosoldering)
PostedonDecember22,2015

SincepostingthestepbystepguideinNovember,Ivehadenquiriesfrompeoplesayingthattheequipment&
timerequiredforthatbuildstillpresentedasignificantbarrierintheclassroom.AfewaskedifIcouldcomeup
withaplanbasedontheUno/Breadboardcombinationthathasbecomeastandardstartingpointformany
people.Sohereisasimplifieddataloggerforthosehighschoolteacherswhowanttoaddenvironmental
monitoringprojectstothecurriculum:(&referencelinksatthebottomofthepost)

AnUnobasedbasicdatalogger,withnosolderingrequired.Astheinstructor,youcanassemblethislogger
veryquicklywithpremadejumpersbutwefoundtheconnectionsweretooeasilyknockedloosebyclumsy
students,soitsworthtakingthetimewiththemtoputstiffsolidcorewiresinplace.Note:IusedanolderUNO
R1Ihadlyingaroundforthephotosonthispage,andthecurrentR3hasafewmorerisersaboveAREF,so
followthepinlabelsratherthanthephysicalpositionstoaccommodatedifferentboardpinouts.

Thereisnothingonthispagethatcantbefoundinmanyotherplaces
ontheweb(includingprebuiltloggercombinations),butIthoughtI
wouldaddittomyotherDIYloggertutorialsforthosewhoGoogledto
thissite,butneedsomethingforpeopletacklingtheirveryfirstArduino
project.Ifyouwentwithnonameclones,thisapproachmightalso
qualifyasthecheapestpossibleoption(ifyouarefundingthe
everythingoutofyourownpocketlikesomescienceteachersIknow).
Thekeydifferencebetweenusingan(unmodified)UNO,andthesmaller
proministyleloggersdescribedinmyearliertutorials,isthatUnos
operateat5v,whilesmallerformfactorboardsaregenerallyregulatedto
3.3v.Thislimitsthesensorsyoucanconnectdirectlytothosecapableof
operatingwith5vlogiclevels,butmostimportantlyitaffectstheSD

SPImicroSDcardadapterslikethiscanbehadforless
than$1oneBay,andthesecanbeconnecteddirectly
totheArduinoUnopins.(note:theSPIpinlabelsare
ontheback).

cards,astheycanonlyhandle3.3v.Soyouwouldneedtousearaw
adapterboardwithalevelshiftertoaccommodatethedifferentvoltages.
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Fortunately,SDmodulesthatalreadyhavetheregulator&levelshifteronthebreakoutboardarevery
inexpensive,sothisissuedoesnotaddcomplexitytothebasicconnectionplan.Ofcoursethesecheap
regulatorsarenotoriouspowerwasters,butmostpeopleoperateUnobasedprojectsonaUSBtetherforliveserial
output,orviaawallwartadapter.

Partsyouwillneed:
ArduinoUno($24.95)
(Afewstudentsusedlessexpensiveclonesfortheirpersonalprojects(~$4.00)andtheyworkedOK,thoughthe
solderinglookedabitdodgy,andacoupleoftheeBayonesusednonstandardUARTchipssowehadtogo
huntingfordrivers.IoftenusethecheapstuffwhenIamnoodlingaroundontheworkbenchtryingtoget
somethingworking,andthendeploymoreexpensivehardwareinthefield)
DS3231&AT24C32RTCmodule($1.00)
Mini400ContactSolderlessBreadboard($1.50)
CR2032coincellbatteryfortheRTC($0.50)
SanDiskmicroSDcard:256MBto1GB($2.004.00)
(Stickwithcardssmallerthan2GbandformatthemwithSDformaterutility(notwindows!)tofat16andtest
withH2testw.Igenerallybuy1GbMUVEmusiccardsfromeBaybecausetheyareusuallygenuinedrawing
lowersleepcurrents.WRTFilenames:use8.3formatanddontusespacesorspecialcharacters.)
SPImicroSDbreakout($1.00)
CommonCathodeRGBLED5mm(<$0.50)
+Varioustoolsincludingneedlenosepliers,wirecutters,strippers,solderingirons,etc.
Totalpartscost:$15to$35dependingonwhichboardyouuse

Optionalparts:
USBcableAB($1.00)
Jumperwirekit($2.00)
(Iusuallygowiththicker22AWG,but24workstoo)
Resistorkit($2.00)
(thelimitresistorfortheLEDcanrangefrom:1,000,to30,000)
6xAAbatteryholder($2.00)or8xAAbatteryholder($6.95)with52.1mmpowerjack
(forlongerlifea9vDcellpackshouldgetyououttoacoupleofweeksofoperation)
ScotchOutdoorfoamMountingTape,5Lb($4.00)
Plastruct#91105.060WhiteStyreneSheets3Pack($10.00)
(wetapedtheUNOs&thebreadbordstocutrectanglesofstyrenetomakestableplatformsthatthestudents
couldjustpopintotheirprojectboxeswhenclasswasover)

Arduinosoftware&libraries:
Beforeyoutackletheassembly,thereareafewlibrariesyoushoulddownloadandinstallsothattheyareavailable
totheArduinoIDE:
a)AlibrarytocontroltheRTC:
https://github.com/MrAlvin/RTClib
(Note:therearemanyothergoodlibrariesouttherethatyoucoulduse,butthisonecomeswithhandyutilities
andallowsyoutosetsubminutealarmsifyouneedto)
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b)AnI2Cbusscanningutility
http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/I2cScanner
(tomakesureyourI2Cdevicesareconnected&working)
c)AlibrarythatputstheArduinoprocessortosleep:
https://github.com/rocketscream/LowPower
(youcantputtheUARTtosleeponanUNO,buteverylittlebitstillhelpssavepower)

Puttingittogether:
1)PreparetheRTCboard
IhavebeenusingthesecheapDS3231RTCboardsforawhilenow.They
haveproventobeveryrobust,althoughtheyhaveoneelementthatis
slightlyannoying:theycomewithachargingcircuitthatassumesyou
havearechargeableLIR2032backupcoincellinstalled.Sinceyouare
notallowedtoshiptheselithiumbatteriesinthepost,youalmostalways
receivetheseRTCboardswithnobattery,andsoyouendupusinga
localsupplierfornonrechargeableCR2032coincells.2032sworksok

Removingtheresistorhighlightedinreddisablesthe
batterychargingcircuit.Thereisalsoapowerwasting

asabackuppowersourcefortheclockprovidedyoudisablethe

LEDontheRTCboardthatyoucanremoveaswell,
butthatsonlyworthdoingifyouwanttorunthelogger

chargingcircuitthatcomesonthebreakoutboardbyremovingasimple
resistor.Youcancutthatresistoroffwithaknife,butIfinditeasierto

onbatteries.FormoredetailsabouttheseDS3231
breakoutboards,youcandigintothisRTCPost.

flickitofftheboardwithahotiron(IknowIpromisedthatthiswasa
solderlessbuildbutIdidntsayanythingaboutdesoldering
)TheninsertafreshCR2032coincellintothebackupbatteryholderontheotherside.Ifyouforgettoputinthe
batterytheloggerwillstillrun,buttheRTCwillforgetthedate/timeeverytimeyoushutyourloggerdown,sothe
timestampswillnotbecorrectunlessyouresetthemeverytimeyoustartthelogger.
2)Powerthebreadboardrails

Bringthegroundand5vlinesovertothepowerrailsonthebreadboard
withsomesolidcore22gaugewire.Iusuallydothisattheendofthe
boardthatisfarthestfromtherestofthewiresIampatchingover.Its
worthtuckingtheminasneatlyaspossiblesothattheydontget
bumpedaroundlater.Makesureyouhavestrippedenoughinsulation
fromthenendsthatthebarewirepenetratesintotheriserholesenough
foragoodconnection.
3)JumpertheRTCmodule

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ConnectingtheDS3231RTCtoanUno:ThisispossiblebecausetheDS3231hasawidevoltagerangefrom
3.3vto5v.ManyotherI2Cdeviceswouldrequirea3.35vlevelshifterbeforetheycouldbeconnectedtothe
5vUNOpins.Note:Thelongred&blackwiresatthebottomaresimplypatchingpowerovertotherailsonthe
othersideoftheminibreadboard.

TheRTCboardhasclearlywrittensilkscreenedlabelsforeachpin:
ConnectVCC&Groundtotheappropriaterailsonyourbreadboard.
SincetheRTCisanI2Cdevice,itusestheA4pinontheArduinoastheSDAdataline(white)andtheA5pinas
theSCLclocksignalline(yellow).TherearemanyeasytouseI2Csensors(thathaveprewrittenlibraries)that
youmayusewithyourlogger,andtheywillbeconnectedtotheselinesinparallelwiththeRTC.(ifthose
sensorscantolerate5vlogiclevelslikethisRTC)ToenableI2Ccommunications,thisRTCbreakoutboard
Follow

alreadyhas4.7Kpullupresistorsinstalledonthosetwolines,soanyothersensorsyouwishtoconnecttotheSDA

andSCLcommunicationlineswillprobablynotneedpullupresistorstofunction.Manysensorbreakoutboards
Follow Arduino
alsohavepullupsonthem,whichyoucanusuallyleaveinplace,providedthatthecombinedresistanceofyour
based underwater
parallelpullupresistorsdoesnotfallbelow2.2kohms.

sensors
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JumpertheSQWline(blue)fromtheRTCboardtoArduinopinD2.Thiswirewillcarrythewakupalarm
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signalfromtheRTCtotheINT0line.(note:theangleonthediagramabovemakesitlooklikethewireisinD3,

butitisD2)
4)SetthetimeontheRTCmodule

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BeforeconnectinganyothercomponentstotheArduinoyoushouldmakesureyouhavetheRTCworking.

DownloadthelibraryZIPfile,extractthepackage,andmovethelibraryintoyourArduinoLibrariesfolder.The
movedfoldermustberenamedRTClibforthecompilertofindthelibraryandsometimesunzippingadds
extrafolderlayersthatyouhavetoremovetogettothelibraryyouwant.
ThislibraryincludestwousefulutilitiescalledsetTime&getTimethatcanbefoundviatheIDEpulldownmenus
afterthelibraryisinstalledat:
File/Examples/RTClib/settime&File/Examples/RTClib/gettime
Openthesettimesketch,verifyit,andthenuploadittoyourArduinoviaaUSBcableconnection.Thistakesthe
timesignaturefromthecompiledcodeitselfandsetstheRTCclockwiththattime.Donotopentheserialwindow
whilesettimeisrunningortheprogramrestartssettingthetimeagainincorrectly.Immediatelyafterthe
settimehasbeenrun,LOADthegettimesketchintheIDEanduploadittotheUno.Nowopentheserialwidow,
settheIDEserialwindowspeedtomatchthescript,andyoushouldseethedate&timebeingreadfromtheRTC:
Technicallyspeaking,ifyourRTCisshowingthecorrectdateandtimeintheserialwindow,youcanmoveonto
thenextassemblystage.However,IusuallyrunotherprogramstomakesurethatboththeRTCandtheAT25C32
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eepromonthebreakoutboardareworkingproperly.RobTillaartwrote
abusscanningutilitywhichisquiteusefulforthis:
http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/I2cScanner.
IfyourunthisutilityyouwillusuallyfindthattheRTCisonthebusat
address0x68andthe4Kchipisonthebusataddress:0x57although
theeepromcanmovearoundfromoneboardtothenext.Infactthe
memoryaddresscanbechangedtoavoidconflictswithotherdevicesby
connectingthesolderpadsprovidedonthebreakoutboard.
Onthatarduino.ccpageyouwillalsofindalinktoaMultispeedI2C
ScannerwhichIlikebecauseitscanstheI2Cbuswithdifferentspeeds.
Thisisusefulasitidentifieswhenyourwireshavebecomesolongthat

Note:IsetmyloggerstoUTCtoavoidproblemswith
localdaylightsavingstimevariations.Todothissimply
changethetimezoneonyourcomputerbefore

capacitanceisstartingtointerferewiththeserialcommunication

uploadingthesettimesketch.

signalsandcausethedevicestoactflakyand/ordropoffthebus,but
thebasicscannerworksjustfineformostcases,especiallywhenyou
areaddingnewsensorstoyourloggerandyoudontknowtheirbusaddress.
Note:Ifyouseejunkcharactersscrollingacrossthescreenwhenyourunanyoftheselittleutilityprograms,you
probablyneedtocheckthatyourserialwindowissettothesamespeedspecifiedintheserial.begin
commandinsidetheprogram:

*IhavealsofoundthatwithsomeofthecheapUARTboardsthatareneededforProministyleArduinos,Iend
uphavingtosettheserialwindowto1/2thespeedlistedinthearduinocodetomakethemwork.Butthisshould
notaffecttheUnobasedbuilds.
5)ConnecttheindicatorLED
ConnectathreecolorcommoncathodeLEDtoRed=D4,Grn=D5,
Blue=D6.AKEYESKY009SMD5050breakoutboardispictured
here,butanycommoncathodeLEDwouldworkfine.Useatleasta1k
resistortoconnectthecommongroundlinetothegroundrailonyour
breadboard,tolimitthecurrentflowingthroughyourLED.Asthelimit
resistorgetsbiggertheLEDwillbecomedimmer,butmostarestill
visiblewithlimitresistorsupinthe2030krangesothevalueisnot
critical.YoudonotneedathreecolorindicatorLED,butIfindithelpful
toputdifferentcolorledflashesinthecodesothatIcankeeptrackof
whattheArduinoisdoingwhenIdonthaveitconnectedtotheserial
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Ifindthatitseasiertokeepthewirestidybyconnecting
oneendofthewiretotheArduino,andthenbend/fold
itintoplacebeforetrimmingtheotherend.

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window.SoIturnonredforSDwriting,blueforeeprombuffering,
greenforsensorreading,etc.

TwoextraI2Cjumpers(whiteandyellow)shownheresimplypatchthoselinestotheothersideofthe
breadboard.Thesearenotnecessary,buttheymakeiteasiertoaddsensorstoyourloggerlaterwithout
disturbingyourRTCconnections.The220limitresistorpicturedhereshouldbebumpeduptoatleast1K.

6)ConnecttheSDcardAdapter
PlacetheSDcardholderonthebreadboardandjumperthefollowingSPIlinesfromtheadapterboard(check
andmatchthelabelsprintedonyourparticularSDboard):
D12=MISO,D11=MOSI,D13=SCK,D10=CS
ThenpatchtheGroundandVCClinestotherailsonyourbreadboard.
BeforeconnectingyourArduinototesttheseconnections,youneedto
insertamicroSDcardintheadapter.Checkanewcardonyourcomputer
first,anddeleteanyfilesthatalreadyexistonthecard,thensaveanew
blanktextformatfilenameddatalog.txtontothecard(note:namein
lowercaseletters).Ejectthesdcardwiththeblanktextfileonitfromyour
computer,andinsertitintotheSDcardadapteronyourbreadboard.It
shouldslideintothesocket.Itshouldregisterwithaniceclickwhenitisin
place.IoftenbuyusedMUVEmusic13GBmicrosdcardsbecausetheyare
genuineSandiskcardssotheysleepatlowcurrent,andtheyarecheap
becauseoftheDRMonthemthatonlyletsyousee1gbofspacewhichis
farmorethanyouneedformostdataloggerapplications.(Atypicallogger
recordingDate/timeandafewsensorreadingsevery15minutesmightgenerateabout5mboftextdataafter
runningforayear)
7)TESTtheSDcardwithCardInfo
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Thishandyutilitycanbedownloadedat:https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/CardInfo
FromthereCOPY&PASTEtheCardinfocodeintoanewwindowintheIDEandmakethefollowing
changestothedefaultCARDinfoscript:
(a)CHANGEthechipselectfrompin4,topin10with:constintchipSelect=10atthebeginningofthe
script.Wehavealreadyusedpin4todriveourindicatorLEDsredchannel.
(b)ADD#include<SPI.h>tothebeginningofthescriptifitisnottherealready.
VERIFY&SAVEthisfileonyourcomputerwiththenameCardInfo.(youwillendupusingthisutilitymany
timesagaininthefuture!)ThenpluginyourArduinoanduploadthecode,andopenaserialwindow.Youshould
seesomethinglikethefollowing:

Ifyoudonotseeamessagelikethisone,itispossiblethat
>TheSPIlinejumperwiresarenotinthecorrectplaceoryouhavealoosewiresomewhere.Thereissome
variationinthedifferentboardpinlocationssoreviewtheseonyourboardfirsttomakesureyouhaveeverything
connectedproperly.NotethatyourparticularSDcardadapterboardpinoutsmaynotmatchmydiagramshere,
soyouwillhavetoadjustforthat.
>YourSDcardisnotformatedasfat16orthecardisnotinsertedproperly.Iusuallyusesmaller12gbcards,as
someofthenewlargerHDSCcardsdontformatasfat16.
>Youhaveabadsdcardadapterboard.Ihavehadplentyofcrummysdcardadapterswithbadspringcontacts,
sotrytohave23oftheseonhandincaseyougetabadonetoo.
Atthispointyourjumperedconnectionsshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

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andyourprettymuchreadytostartusingyourdatalogger.
8)Uploadabasicdataloggerscript
ThecodeforyourloggercannowbedownloadedfromgithubviathisLINK
StartingwithTomIgoesexcellentexampleatArduino.cc,(whichwouldalsoworkfinewiththisbuildifyoumake
suretochangeCStopin10,butthatcodewouldnotmakeuseoftheRTC,etc)Iaddedsome
functionalitytocreateatimestampandreadthetemperatureregisterfromtheDS3231,andthenwritethat
informationtoafileontheSDcard.HereisgraphoftypicaltemperatureoutputfromthatRTC:(@15min
interval)

TheRTCrecordonlyresolves0.25C,butIhavefoundthesechipstobefarmoreaccuratethanthe3Clistedin
thedatasheetoftenlessthanhalfadegreeawayfromsensorsliketheMCP9808

ThecodealsoputstheUNOscputosleepbetweenreadings,anditwakesupagaintotakeasensorreadingwhen
theRTCalarmgoesoff.Theserialprintoutputisalloptional,soyoucancommentoutthosestatementswhenthe
loggerisrunninginstandalonemode.Whenyoustartmakingchangestothecode,commentingoutthelinesyou
dontneedisgenerallymuchsaferthandeletingthem.
Thisscriptisonlymeanttoprovideyouwithabasicstartingpoint,anditshouldbeeasytoaddotherI2Csensors,
orsimpleanalogsensorreadingsfollowingtheexamplefromArduino.cc.Beforeyouaddsomenewsensorto
yourlogger,spendtimesearchingthroughtheforumatArduino.cc,assomeonehasprobablyalreadyanswered
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anyquestionyoumighthaveaboutgettingittowork.Whenyouarejuststartingout,choosesensorsthatalready
havegoodlibrarieswrittenforthem.
Itsworthnotingherethatthiscodewouldalsorunfineonmyprominibasedloggerbuilds.Allyouwouldhaveto
addisafewlinestoreadanalogA0totracksthemainbatteryvoltageviathatresistordividerwhichisnot
includedinthisUNObuild.ThemainArduinopagehasalotoffreebooksandresourcesaswellasexplanations
forallofthebuiltincodeexamples.TherearealsoplentyofgoodArduinoprogrammingreferencesoutthereif
yougooglearound,whichshouldhelpyoucustomizethescript.

Runningthelogger:
AlwaysdoUSBtetheredtestrunswiththesensoroutputechoedtothe
serialporttomakesureyoucodeisdoingwhatyouwantittodobefore
youtrytoruntheloggerinstandalonemode.InfactIassumethatis
thewaypeoplewouldalwaysusethisloggerintheclassroom,butits
stillagoodideatomakesuredataisbeingsavedtotheSDcards
anyway.Thismakesiteasytographthedatalaterifthestudentshave
troublecuttingandpastingfromtheserialwindow,orifthey
accidentallyshuttheserialwindowdownbypressingthewrong
button.(NOTE:tocopydatafromtheserialwindowandpasteitright
intoexcelyouneedcommasprintedbetweenyournumbers,and
cartridgereturnsattheendofeachlinefromprintln)Oneoftheweird
behaviorstoknowaboutwithArduinosisthateverytimeyouopenthe
serialwindowfromtheIDE,theprogramthatisrunningonthe
Arduinowillrestart,soifyouarewritingheaderdatatothedatalog.txt
inthesetupsection,youwillseeanewcopyofthatheaderinthefile
eachtimetheserialwindowisopened.
OnceyouarecomfortablewiththeIDEandprogrammingtheArduino,
youcanlookintographingthedatainrealtimewiththenewSerial
PlottertoolinIDE1.66,orbyusinganotherprogramcalledProcessing.
Butbesureyoutesteverythingbeforeyourclasses,asIvehadsome
challengesgettingprocessingtoworkondifferentwindows
systems(withthedataontheSDcardsavingthedayonce

SixinseriesAAbatterypackslikethisarefairly
common,andshouldpowerthisbasicUnologgerfora
fewdaysofstandaloneoperationespeciallyifyou
useLithiumAAswhichhaveaflatdischargecurve..
8xAApacksareavailable,butyouhavetobecareful
thatovervoltageonnewbatteriesdoesnotpushthe
totaloutputabovetheUNOs12vmaximum.The
optimalsolutionmightbetouse7batteriesinan8
seriesbatterypack,withasimplewiresolderedacross
thelastholder.18650sinserieswouldbeanother
option.Ifyouneedsomethingthatrunslonger,rare
earthmagnets(solderedtotheendsofjumperwires)
makeiteasytoconnectanumberofCorDcell
batteriesintoacustompowersupplyheldtogetherwith
painterstape.Iwouldnottrytopowerthisloggerfroma
9Vbattery,asIdontthinkitcandeliverenoughcurrent
forsafeSDcardwriting.RechargeableLiPoshields
arealsoavailableifyourpocketsaredeepenough.

again)ThereisalsoanExcelmacrocalledPLXDAQthatcanbeused
tomonitoranyserialportanddisplaythedatasentthroughit.Like
Processing,thisrequiresafewspecificlinesofcodetobeembeddedintheArduinosketchtodirectthedatato
specificcells.Plot.lymightalsobeworthlookingintoasawaytosharesensordataonlineinawaythatlooksvery
professional.Andifyouarereallygetthebug,youcouldtakeitallthewaytotheInternetofThingslevelifyou
addashieldortwo.
Note:
WiththealwaysonUART,itshardtogetanUNOtorunforlongonbatteries,butyoushouldstillbeabletoget
fewgooddaysoutofasetofAAswiththisplan.Ifyouwantasmallerfootprint,youcouldbendthepins90
andconnecttheRTC&SDboardswithalowerprofiletooneofthemanystackontopprotoshieldsavailable.
ProbablythebestofthelotistheDeadBugPrototypeshieldforanArduinoUNO(~$24.00),asthisshieldalso
letsyourunanUNOforaverylongtimeonbatteries,thoughyouwouldhavetowranglewithhiscodeabitto
makethingswork.ThatshieldhastheRTC,&SDcarrieralreadybuiltin,somyadviceisbuildajumperedUNO
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loggerasperthistutorial,thenwhenyougetallyourcode&sensorsworkingproperlyintetheredmode,
transposewhatyouhavelearnedtocreateastandaloneunitusingtheDeadBugshield.Movingonfromthere
anotheroptionthatreallyhelpedmeatthebeginningofthisproject(whenIwasstilllearningtosolder)isthe
compactTinyDuinoplatform,whichiscodecompatiblewithallofthelargerArduinoboardssoyoucanusually
transposeyourexistingworkdirectly.
Withyourdeploymentbuildready,youcangohuntingforawaterproofenclosureforyoucombination,oryou
couldtrybuildingsomethingmorecreativewithpvcplumbing.Legoblocksarenotwaterproof,buttheyaremade
fromstandardABS,soalittledabofsolventaroundtheedgesletsyouquicklybuildveryrobustinternalscaffolds
foryourprototypes.

Projectideas:
Ifyouarelookingforprojectideas,itwouldnothurttobrowsethroughafewcommercialdataloggerwebsites
sitestoseehowpeopleusethem,thensearchthroughtheArduinosensorsforumandseeifsomeonehavealready
postedhelpfulinformationabouttheapplicationyoufindinteresting.AlthoughtheCavePearlProjectis
focusedonenvironmentalmonitoring,dontoverlookalltheothercoolthingsthatpeopledowithArduinosfor
infoonhowtointegratenewsensors.Anumberofartistscreateinteractivepiecesbyaddingmotion,sensing,
leds&sound.OtherscreatesimplerobotswiththeirArduino.Therearelotsofgreatmakerresourcestosearch
throughifcanappreciatetheirsenseofhumor(thoughyoumightwanttoavoidclockprojects)Really,theskyis
thelimit

Addendum20160105:
ItsalsoworthnotingthatthisUNOloggerwasfieldtested
duringTrishsInstrumentationcourse.Iamhappytoreport
thatwiththeArduino&breadboardattachedtocutsheets
ofpolystyrene,andthesolidcorewiresfirmlyinplace,the
studentswereabletoreassembletheloggersquicklyatthe
beginningofeachclassbysimplypoppingtheRTC,LED&
SDadapterbackintoplace.Thissavedagreatdealoftime,
andthestudentsusedtheUNOsasacodedevelopment
platformwhiletheybuiltstandaloneloggersfortheirfinal
projects.

AfterUNObasedlabs,thestudentsmovedontopromini
basedbuildswithmanydifferentsensorcombinations.

Howevertherewereafewbumpsalongthewaythat
Iwouldliketosharewithotherinstructors:
1)NomatterhowmanytimesyoutellyourstudentstounplugtheArduinofromthecomputerbeforechanging
wiresaroundonthebreadboard,theywillforget,andstartchangingwiresaroundwhilethewholesystem
islive.(makingplentyofmistakesintheprocess)WhileourArduinossurvived,theportstheywereconnectedto
sometimesdidnot.Iwouldstronglyrecommendthatyouusea(sacrificial)poweredusbhubbetweenthe
computerandtheUnotoprotectthecomputerusbportsfromthisabuse.
2)ThesinglemostcommonmistakethatthestudentsmadewasforgettingtoputthelimitresistorontheLED,
andafewdigitalportswerelostfromresultinghighcurrentsifstudentfailedtonoticethetheledwas
unusuallybright.(Again,Iamamazedthemcussurvivedtheseeventswithoutneedingsurgery)Isuggestthat
youpresoldera10klimitresistordirectlytothecommongroundlineoftheLEDsbeforeyouhandouttheparts
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sothatthereisnowayforyoungerstudentstomakethismistake.Theywillstillhookthethingupwrong,and
threecolorledswilllightupwithunusualcolorcombinationsifyougroundanyofthe4lines,butIdontthink
welostanydigitallinesthatway.

Addendum:MoreArduinoResourcesforTeachers:
(IwilladdmoreusefullinkshereasIfindthem)
ArduinoinaNutshellisafreeebookresourceworthlookinginto.
TheudemyblogsfreeLearntheBasicsArduinoTutorialisagoodplacetostart,andtherearemanyGetting
startedvideosavailableifthatisyourpreferredformat.BesuretocheckoutJeremyBlumsArduino
TutorialswhichareessentiallyacompletecourseontheArduino.
Sparkfunisalsoagreatplacetolookforteacherresources.
Itsallottowadethrough,buttheAdafruittutorialsarealsooneofthebestresourcesoutthereforeducators.
TronixstuffhasalargenumberofspecifichardwaretutorialswhenyouarereadytogofurtherwithyourArduino
projects,andthereareahostofcoolArduinoprojectstodigthroughatinstructablessite.Ireallybelievethatyou
canimproveengagementandunderstandingbyprovidinghandsonexperiencewithrealdata,butthereare
plentyofotherpracticalthingsyoucandowiththesamebasicsetup.
CreativeTechnologiesintheClassroom(CTC)isacollaborativelearningcurriculumdesignedforschoolsthat
wishtoincorporateemergingtechnologiesintotheirexistingtechnologyclasses.
IfyouwanttoabstractawaytheentireIDEinterfaceforyoungerstudents,thereareafewvisualprogramming
toolsouttherefortheArduinolikeVisuino,orMITsScratch.

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2ResponsestoArduinoUNODataloggerforCompleteBeginners(ie:nosoldering)
Bensays:
January12,2016at7:52am

HiEdward,
FirstofallIdliketosayhowmuchIhaveenjoyedyourprojectsoverthepastfewmonths.Asanoceanographerwith
https://edwardmallon.wordpress.com/2015/12/22/arduinounobaseddataloggerwithnosoldering/

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29.2.2016.

ArduinoUNODataloggerforCompleteBeginners(ie:nosoldering)|Arduinobasedunderwatersensors

minimalknowledgeinelectronics,yourcleartutorialshaveinspiredmetoembarkonmyowndataloggerproject.Thank
you.
WoulditbepossibletouploadthecorrectlyformattedversionoftheexamplecodeontoGit?Iamhavingtroublegettingthe
codetoverifyandImsureitsjustdowntoformattingissues.
Keepupthegoodwork,
Regards,
Ben
Reply

edmallonsays:
January12,2016at9:48am

HiBen.
HereisalinktothecodeonGithub.
Itriedrecopyingthecodebackoutofwordpressmyselfanditwashorribleeventhequoteswerechangedto
somethingnonfunctional.Pleaseacceptmyapologiestoyou,andanyoneelseIsubjectedtothat.
Reply

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