Analog Read Serial: Hardware Required

This document describes how to read the analog value of a potentiometer connected to an Arduino board. A potentiometer provides a varying resistance when its shaft is turned, which can be read as an analog voltage value. The circuit connects the potentiometer to an analog pin and prints the readings over serial. As the potentiometer is turned, the code reads the resistance value and displays it serially, allowing the user to monitor changes in real-time.

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Analog Read Serial: Hardware Required

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jaluadi

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Analog Read Serial

This example shows you how to read analog input from the physical
world using a potentiometer. A potentiometer is a simple mechanical
device that provides a varying amount of resistance when its shaft
is turned. By passing voltage through a potentiometer and into an
analog input on your board, it is possible to measure the amount of
resistance produced by a potentiometer (or pot for short) as an
analog value. In this example you will monitor the state of your
potentiometer after establishing serial communication between your
Arduino or Genuino and your computer running the Arduino
Software (IDE).

Hardware Required
 Arduino or Genuino Board
 10k ohm Potentiometer

Circuit
Connect the three wires from the potentiometer to your board. The first goes from one
of the outer pins of the potentiometerto ground . The second goes from the other outer
pin of the potentiometer to 5 volts. The third goes from the middle pin of the
potentiometer to the analog pin A0.

click the image to enlarge

image developed using Fritzing. For more circuit examples, see the Fritzing project page

By turning the shaft of the potentiometer, you change the amount of resistance on
either side of the wiper, which is connected to the center pin of the potentiometer.
This changes the voltage at the center pin. When the resistance between the center and
the side connected to 5 volts is close to zero (and the resistance on the other side is
close to 10k ohm), the voltage at the center pin nears 5 volts. When the resistances are
reversed, the voltage at the center pin nears 0 volts, or ground. This voltage is
the analog voltage that you're reading as an input.

The Arduino and Genuino boards have a circuit inside called an analog-to-digital
converter or ADC that reads this changing voltage and converts it to a number
between 0 and 1023. When the shaft is turned all the way in one direction, there are 0
volts going to the pin, and the input value is 0. When the shaft is turned all the way in
the opposite direction, there are 5 volts going to the pin and the input value is 1023. In
between, analogRead() returns a number between 0 and 1023 that is proportional to
the amount of voltage being applied to the pin.

Schematic
click the image to enlarge
Code
In the sketch below, the only thing that you do in the setup function is to begin serial
communications, at 9600 bits of data per second, between your board and your
computer with the command:

Serial.begin(9600);
Next, in the main loop of your code, you need to establish a variable to store the
resistance value (which will be between 0 and 1023, perfect for an int datatype)
coming in from your potentiometer:

int sensorValue = analogRead(A0);

Finally, you need to print this information to your serial monitor window. You can do
this with the command Serial.println() in your last line of code:

Serial.println(sensorValue)

Now, when you open your Serial Monitor in the Arduino Software (IDE) (by clicking
the icon that looks like a lens, on the right, in the green top bar or using the keyboard
shortcut Ctrl+Shift+M), you should see a steady stream of numbers ranging from 0-
1023, correlating to the position of the pot. As you turn your potentiometer, these
numbers will respond almost instantly.

/*
AnalogReadSerial

Reads an analog input on pin 0, prints the result to the Serial

Monitor.
Graphical representation is available using Serial Plotter (Tools >
Serial Plotter menu).
Attach the center pin of a potentiometer to pin A0, and the outside
pins to +5V and ground.

This example code is in the public domain.

http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogReadSerial
*/

// the setup routine runs once when you press reset:

void setup() {
// initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second:
Serial.begin(9600);
}

// the loop routine runs over and over again forever:

void loop() {
  // read the input on analog pin 0:
  int sensorValue = analogRead(A0);
  // print out the value you read:
  Serial.println(sensorValue);
  delay(1);   // delay in between reads for stability
}
[Get Code]

Analog Read Serial: Hardware Required

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Analog Read Serial: Hardware Required

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Analog Read Serial

click the image to enlarge

int sensorValue = analogRead(A0);

Reads an analog input on pin 0, prints the result to the Serial

This example code is in the public domain.

// the setup routine runs once when you press reset:

// the loop routine runs over and over again forever:

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