Briefly introduced: ESP8266 WLAN radio modules with serial port and programmable MCU

Since some time, very cheap WLAN breakout boards with the SoC ESP8266 from China hits the market. Besides the possibility to extend your existing projects with WLAN (WiFi) access (eg. Arduino based ones) you can develop even simple Internet of Things applications without the need of an extra microcontroller.

Kurz vorgestellt: ESP8266 WLAN-Funkmodul mit serieller Schnittstelle, Breakoutboardtyp: ESP-05 - blog.simtronyx.de

Kurz vorgestellt: ESP8266 WLAN-Funkmodul mit serieller Schnittstelle, Breakoutboardtyp: ESP-05 - blog.simtronyx.de

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Temperature measurement with one or more DS18B20 and an Arduino

The DS18B20 is a simple and inexpensive temperature sensor. The sensor operates by an OneWire system, which needs, besides the connections for ground and the supply voltage, only one wire to read the temperature values​​. By this bus system, it is possible to run multiple sensors which is also described in this tutorial.

Temperature measurement with one or more DS18B20 and an Arduino - blog.simtronyx.de

Temperature measurement with one or more DS18B20 and an Arduino

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Arduino RGB LED strip control with MOSFETs and optocouplers – Part 1 – The Hardware

Today we tinker us a driver for RGB LED strips using an Arduino. In addition, we use optocouplers to separtae our Arduino from the control unit with the 3 MOSFETs, which is not absolutely essential, but brings some advantages to the circuit.

Arduino RGB LED strip control with MOSFETs and optocouplers-blog.simtronyx.de

Arduino RGB LED strip control with MOSFETs and optocouplers

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A RGB LED Library for Arduino

To simplify dealing with multiple RGB strips or individual RGB LEDs I have written a small RGB library. This includes functions for direct set colors in RGB or HSV color model, and animation functionality of color transitions. The library is in a beta phase, is constantly evolving, but can already be used with absolutely NO WARRANTY.

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An image slideshow with an Arduino and a tft display with a sd card module

In this tutorial we use our Arduino to show an image slideshow on a 1.8 inch tft module with SD card support (HY-1.8 SPI). We will change the size and the format of the images and copy them to the SD card. After that the Arduino loads them from the card and shows them on the display.

Image slideshow with an Arduino on a 1.8 inch tft display (HY-1.8 SPI)

Image slideshow with an Arduino on a 1.8 inch tft display (HY-1.8 SPI)

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PIC32-Pinguino-Micro – Getting Started: Blinking LED

The PIC32-Pinguino-Micro – as an alternative to the Arduino on Atmel Mega328 basis – has with the Pinguino-IDE not such a big fan base, but it is worth to look more closely. For example, it has a micro-SD slot, a processor with a 32bit architecture, much more Flash- and data-memory.

PIC32-Pinguino-Micro - Getting Started: Flashing the user LED - blog.simtronyx.de

PIC32-Pinguino-Micro – Getting Started: Blinking LED

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Measurement of illuminance with a BH1750FVI Breakout Board (GY-30) and an Arduino Uno

In this simple circuit, we use a small BH1750FVI sensor on a breakout board and an Arduino to measure the illuminance in lux. Besides the application to measure the illumination of objects in the photography, you can – with an extension of this circuit – also easily make an adapted illumination of rooms or gardens. It is also possible to realize an automatic brightness control for displays.

Measurement of illuminance with a BH1750FVI Breakout Board (GY-30) and an Arduino - blog.simtronyx.de.jpg

Measurement of illuminance with a BH1750FVI Breakout Board (GY-30) and an Arduino

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