JURNAL ARDUINO

Monday, February 2, 2015

New forum

Hi everyone, I am trying something new. I have put a new forum page on this blog to help with project related questions. Sometimes the comments section of a project is not adequate for these queries, so I am trying out a new forum page to see if this helps or not. Let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments. ScottC

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Product review of CT-UNO by Cytron

I received my CT-UNO, an UNO board made by Cytron and I'm doing a short review on this board.

CT-UNO

The first question is, why another UNO board ? The answer would be answered in my short review below.

This CT-UNO was used as part of the starter kit during my Penang Mini Maker Faire Arduino workshop in November.

The main factor I really like about this is the Micro-USB port instead of the gigantic USB B plug used by regular Arduino UNO boards. With so many USB micro cables all around, having a USB micro is a good decision made by Cytron.

Secondly, I always like the FTDI USB Serial chip. I'm still using the FTDI Breakout board on a regular basis to program the Arduino Mini Pro ...

FTDI FT23x

On the subject of FTDI board, there is an Android app called FTDI UART Terminal that can accept a FTDI USB-Serial device so that you can plug in the CT-UNO directly to the Android Smatphone and view the Serial Monitor using this app with an USB OTG cable.

CT-UNO with FTDI connected to Android Smarthphone

As per most of the newer UNO board, this is a SMD version of the atmega328P, so you cannot remove the IC.

ATMEGA328 SMD

Another thing I really like about this board is that you can directly solder wires to the pins below the board for permanent connections. Here are some pictures of the CT-UNO on the sides and below the board.

Sides holes

Sie holes

CT-UNO back

Last but not least, this board is "Made in Malaysia", so please support Malaysian made products.

The only thing I didn't like about this board is the white colour of the PCB silkscreen but this is my personal opinion.

Overall, it is a very usable UNO board and very good to view Serial Monitor on Android Smartphone that support USB OTG cable.

It cost RM56 on Cytron online store and RM62 on retail stores.

A special thanks to Vincent Kok for sending me this CT-UNO for review.

Summary Links :-

Monday, January 12, 2015

E-Paper Barcode 39

E-Paper (or Electronic paper) is a display technology that mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. E-paper displays do not emit light, rather they reflect light, thus making them much more comfortable to read and provide a wider viewing angle than most light emitting displays (source: Wikipedia).

I printed something to an E-paper display, unplugged it, and could still read the message clearly months later. These E-paper displays are great for showing information that is static for long periods. You only need to provide power when the data or information needs updating.

Barcodes are used everywhere, and one of the simplest Barcodes to generate is the Code 39 format (also known as Code 3 of 9). I used an E-paper shield and E-paper module to display a number in this barcode format. I then tested it with a Barcode reader and it worked perfectly.
This tutorial will show you how to send a number to the Arduino from the Serial Monitor, and display the Barcode on the E-paper module.

Note: If you are using an Arduino UNO (or compatible), you will also need to get a micro SDHC card.

The Video

The video will show you how to assemble the shield and the module onto the Arduino, and also how to install the SDHC card.

Parts Required:

Library Download

To use the e-paper shield, you will need to download the Small e-paper Shield library.
This library will allow you to use the following functions on the e-paper shield:

begin : to set up the size of the e-paper panel
setDirection : to set up the display direction
drawChar : to display a Character at a specified position
drawString : to display a String of characters at a specified position
drawNumber and drawFloat : to display a number
drawLine : to draw a line
drawHorizontalLine : to draw a horizontal line
drawVerticalLine : to draw a vertical line
drawCircle : to draw a circle
fillCircle : to draw and fill a circle
drawRectangle : to draw a rectangle
fillRectangle : to draw and fill a rectangle
drawTriangle : to draw a triangle

You can also draw an image to the e-paper shield.

For more information on how to use these functions, please visit the seeedstudio wiki. If you are unfamiliar with installing libraries - then have a look at the following sites:

Barcode 39 Info

Barcode 39 (or Code 3 of 9) is a barcode that consists of black and white vertical lines. These lines can be thick or thin. Each character can be coded using 9 alternating black and white bars. The barcode always starts with a black bar, and ends with a black bar.

If you code using thin lines only, then each character can be coded using a total of 12 bars. A wide black line is essentially two thin black lines next to each other. Same goes for a wide white line. Because there are now only 2 options (black or white), you can create a binary code. I used a 1 for black bars, and 0 for white bars. If there was a thick black bar, then this would be represented with a 11. A thick white bar would be 00.

Each barcode sequence starts and ends with a hidden * character. Therefore if you were to display just the number 1, you would have to provide the code for *1*.

* = 100101101101
1 = 110100101011
* = 100101101101

Notice that each character starts with a 1 and ends with a 1.
Something also to take note of: is that each character is separated by a thin white line (and not represented in the binary code).

All of these 0's and 1's can get a bit confusing, so I decided to represent these binary numbers as decimals. For example, the picture below shows how a 0 and an 8 would be coded (without the *):

The table below provides the binary and decimal codes for each number used in this tutorial. I have also included for your own reference, each letter of the alphabet, however I did not use these in this tutorial.

The binary representation of each character in this table was obtained from this site.
www.barcodeisland.com is a great resource of information about barcodes.

I adapted their binary code into a decimal equivalent, and therefore had to create my own table.

Arduino Sketch


    
/* ===============================================================
      Project: Display Barcodes on an e-Paper Panel
       Author: Scott C
      Created: 6th January 2015
  Arduino IDE: 1.0.5
      Website: http://arduinobasics.blogspot.com/p/arduino-basics-projects-page.html
  Description: This project will allow you to send a number from the Serial 
               Monitor to the Arduino. The number will then be displayed on 
               the e-Paper panel as a Code-39 barcode (and text).
================================================================== */

#include <ePaper.h>
#include <SPI.h>
#include <SD.h>
#include "GT20L16_drive.h"

const int maxBarcodeSize = 10;       // set the maximum barcode size to 10 digits
int barcode[maxBarcodeSize];         // initialise the barcode array to the maximum 10 digits
int barcodeText[maxBarcodeSize];     // initialise the barcodeText array to the maximum 10 digits
int barcodePos;                      // Used to identify each digit within the barcode
int barcodeLength;                   // Used to identify the actual length of the barcode

/*  The following array holds the decimal code for each digit (0-9). 
    Each digit can be converted to binary and then drawn as a barcode.
                         0     1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9         */
int barcodeDecimal[] = {2669, 3371, 2859, 3477, 2667, 3381, 2869, 2651, 3373, 2861};

int astrix = 2413;   // "*" character decimal code used at beginning and end of barcode sequence


/*  When drawBarcode = "no", the program will not draw the barcode on the e-paper panel
    When drawBarcode = "yes", the command to draw the barcode on the e-paper panel will be triggered. */
String drawBarcode = "no";


/*  This variable is the x Position on the e-Paper panel screen */
int xPosition;


void setup(){
    Serial.begin(9600);                // Initialise Serial communication
    EPAPER.begin(EPD_2_0);             // Set the e-Paper panel size to 2 inches 
    EPAPER.setDirection(DIRNORMAL);    // Set the e-Paper panel display direction (to Normal)
    eSD.begin(EPD_2_0);                // Prepares the SD card
    GT20L16.begin();                   // Initialise the GT20L16 font chip on the e-Paper panel
    barcodePos = 0;                    // Set the barcode digit to the first digit in the barcode
    EPAPER.clear_sd();                 // Clear the screen when starting sketch
    
    EPAPER.drawString("http://arduinobasics", 10, 20);  //splash screen text
    EPAPER.drawString(".blogspot.com", 60, 40);
    
    EPAPER.display();                  // Display the splash screen
}


void loop(){
  
    // The Arduino will wait until it receives data from the Serial COM port
    
    while (Serial.available()>0){
      barcodeText[barcodePos] = Serial.read();
        
      if(barcodeText[barcodePos]>47 && barcodeText[barcodePos]<58){   // A number was sent
         barcode[barcodePos] = barcodeText[barcodePos]-48;            // Convert the decimal value from the serial monitor to a Number
      } 
      
      if(barcodeText[barcodePos]==46){                // If a "." is detected, then barcode is complete
        barcodeLength = barcodePos;                   // Set the length of the barcode (used later)
        drawBarcode = "yes";                          // We can now draw the barcode
        
      }
      
      if(barcodePos>(maxBarcodeSize-1)){              // Check if maximum barcode length has been reached
       barcodeLength = barcodePos;                    // Set the length of the barcode (used later)
       drawBarcode = "yes";                           // We can now draw the barcode
      }
     
       barcodePos++;                                  // Move to the next barcode digit 
    }
    
    if(drawBarcode == "yes"){                         // Only draw the barcode when drawBarcode = "yes"
      
      EPAPER.clear_sd();                              // Clear the e-Paper panel in preparation for barcode
      xPosition = 15;                                 // Set the initial white-space on the left
      drawBCode(astrix, ' ');                         // Each barcode starts with an invisible *
      
      for(int digit=0; digit<barcodeLength; digit++){                   // Start drawing the barcode numbers
        drawBCode(barcodeDecimal[barcode[digit]], barcodeText[digit]);  // Call the drawBCode method (see below)
      }
      
      drawBCode(astrix, ' ');                         // Each barcode ends with an invisible *
      EPAPER.display();                               // Show the barcode image and text
      
      drawBarcode = "no";                             // Stop it from drawing again until next barcode sequence sent
      barcodePos=0;                                   // Re-initialise the position back to first digit (in preparation for the next barcode)
    }
}


//The drawBCode method is the key method for drawing the barcode on the e-paper panel
void drawBCode(int bCode, char bCodeText){
  xPosition++;                                        // There is a white space between each digit
  for (int barPos = 11; barPos > -1; barPos--){       // Cycle through the binary code for each digit. Each digit is made up of 11 bars
    xPosition++;                                      // Advance the xPosition to draw the next bar (white or black)
    if(bitRead(bCode, barPos)==1){                    // If the binary digit at this position is a 1, then draw a black line
      EPAPER.drawVerticalLine(xPosition, 10, 60);     // This draws the individual Bar (black - only)
    }                                                 // If the binary digit is a 0, then it is left blank (or white).
  }
  EPAPER.drawChar(bCodeText, xPosition-9, 75);        // Draw the human readable (text) portion of the barcode
}

There is something weird about the E-paper shield library which tends to display the word "temperature:" in the Serial monitor when opened, and with each serial transmission. Don't worry about this. Just ignore it.'

This tutorial shows you how to create your own renewable barcodes. While this only handles numbers at this stage, it could just as easily be upgraded to handle text as well. If you liked this tutorial, please give it a google+ thumbs up, share it with your friends, or just write a comment. Thankyou for visiting my blog.

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