Quick Tip: A Comprehensive List of Helpful Arduino Learning Links

By Gabriel Staples Written: 9 May 2015
Last Updated: 9 May 2015

Related Articles:

• Website Table of Contents page - do a "ctrl+f" to search for "arduino" on this page for many more articles
• The Power of Arduino
• Quick Tip: 4 Ways to Power an Arduino
• Arduino Power, Current, and Voltage Limitations
• Using the Arduino Uno’s built-in 10-bit to 21-bit ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)
• Arduino micros() function with 0.5us precision - using my Timer2_Counter Library

Over the past couple years I have been compiling the Arduino learning links, reference pages, and resources, that I have found the most useful for my learning. I keep this list updated, and regularly add to it. The list is found at the bottom of my article titled "The Power of Arduino." Go there, scroll to the bottom, and you'll find the list.

It currently contains the following sections:

eRCaGuy_ButtonReader Library for Arduino - Debounce and read the current button state, & most recent action ("just pressed" or "just released") easily!

By Gabriel Staples
Written: 31 May 2014
Last Updated: 25 July 2015
Article History (newest on top)
-added button image & updated download links - 25 July 2015

Other Articles to Check Out:

• The Power of Arduino <-- be sure to check out the various really useful Arduino-related links at the bottom of this post!  They have helped me a ton.
• The Goal of a Lifetime
• Arduino micros() function with 0.5us precision - using my Timer2_Counter "Library"
• Arduino Power, Current, and Voltage Limitations
• Quick Tip: 4 Ways to Power an Arduino
• Parallel Charging Your LiPo Batteries
• Beginner RC Airplane Setup
• Thunder AC680/AC6 Charger & Computer Data-Logging Software
• All articles on my blog with the label "Arduino" - http://electricrcaircraftguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Arduino

This Article:

Library History (newest on top):

20141031: major bug fix; added multi-button support with a new 5-button-reader example!
20140531: first release.

Misc. push buttons which can greatly
benefit from digital debouncing. 
(Image source here).

Summary:

I wanted a simple and universal, yet very powerful & reliable library to read a button or switch in such a way that I can easily implement toggled actions and momentary actions, know the true, debounced state of a button or switch at any given time, and specify whether I want an action to take place when the button is *pressed* or *released.* This library makes implementing all of these things easy for me, and I now use it on all of my projects that require reading a button or switch, so I wanted to share it with others. Hopefully you find it useful too. Check out the included examples.  

This code is an elaboration of, and library form of, the main Arduino-sponsored "Debounce" example found here.  Thanks to David A. Mellis, Limor Fried (LadyAda), and Mike Walters for writing that excellent and well-thought-out example code.

Download:

Download eRCaGuy_ButtonReader

(Optionally) donate, & download via the link just above, or by clicking here then choosing the appropriate download.  Install the library into the Arduino IDE (using Sketch --> Include Library --> Add .ZIP Library), then run the examples to see how to use the library.

Using the Arduino Uno’s built-in 10-bit to 16+-bit ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)

By Gabriel Staples Written: 13 May 2014
Last Updated: 16 Sept. 2015

History (newest on top):
-16 Sept 2015 - changed title from "10-bit to 21-bit ADC..." to "10-bit to 16+-bit ADC..."
-25 July 2015 - added a brief update below, updated download links
-17 Feb. 2015 - changed latest link to new release: V2.1 alpha, in yellow below
-24 Jan. 2015 - added link to Version 2.0 alpha below...allows sampling rates of ~50+ kHz, and fixed bug to allow >16-bit samples to not have computation errors

A Few Other Articles to Check Out:

• eRCaGuy_ButtonReader Library for Arduino [JUST UPDATED] - Debounce and read the current button or switch state, & most recent action ("just pressed" or "just released") easily!
• The Power of Arduino <-- be sure to check out the various really useful Arduino-related links at the bottom of this post!  They have helped me a ton.
• The Goal of a Lifetime
• Arduino micros() function with 0.5us precision - using my Timer2_Counter "Library"
• Arduino Power, Current, and Voltage Limitations
• Quick Tip: 4 Ways to Power an Arduino
• Parallel Charging Your LiPo Batteries
• Beginner RC Airplane Setup
• Thunder AC680/AC6 Charger & Computer Data-Logging Software
• All articles on my blog with the label "Arduino" - http://electricrcaircraftguy.blogspot.com/search/label/Arduino

This Article:

Using the Arduino Uno’s built-in 10-bit to 16+-bit ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)???
--Wait, what did you say!? I thought that Arduinos only had a 10-bit ADC!  How can you get, for example, 16-bit resolution out of a 10-bit ADC?  Well, the answer is oversampling.  Atmel has written a really good article about it called "AVR121 Enhancing ADC resolution by oversampling."

Before I continue, I'd like to give a special thanks to user "fat16lib," on the Adafruit Forums, who first made this technique known unto me by his post right here, thereby inspiring me to write this, my first ever, library.

Now on to the library:

Arduino micros() function with 0.5us precision - using my Timer2_Counter Library

...merging the world of Arduino and Radio Control, one tool at a time...
...CODE FOR A PRECISE MICROS() FUNCTION IS POSTED BELOW...

"I wrote a libary to get 0.5us precision on a "micros()" replacement function, so that I can get repeatable results reading a PWM or PPM signal, to within 1us.  I searched all around the internet and could not find something comparable (or that was easy to use, and maintained the Arduino's ability to write PWM signals via the Servo Libary), so I think this is my first real contribution to the world of Arduino and Radio Control."  

(font above is type "standard," from here)

Download this library:

Download eRCaGuy_Timer2_Counter

• Click the above link, optionally donate (just set the price you want to pay to $0 if you like), & download the library. You may also click here, then choose the appropriate download. 
• For the email address field, you may enter none@gmail.com if you like. Or, enter your real email if you want to receive an email with the download link, and if you don't mind if I send you an occasional email with something I'm working on (perhaps a few times a year or so).
• Install the library into the Arduino IDE (using Sketch --> Include Library --> Add .ZIP Library), then run the examples to see how to use the library.
• GitHub: https://github.com/ElectricRCAircraftGuy/eRCaGuy_TimerCounter