Let's Make It (HD) - Tech-zen.tv

This week we pick up where we left off from last week and remote control a servo wirelessly using Zigbee. We use the digi.com xbee module on 2 arduinos. We even do a little on the fly coding to remote control the servo in small steps.

You will be amazed at how simple it is to do!

This week start the introduction to wireless communication using Zigbee with the Xbee radios from digi.com.

This week on Let's Make It we have an Arduino control a servo like you find in model airplanes and cars. In the process of showing you how to control a servo we also introduce the concept of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and Pulse Position Modulation (PPM).

This week we attach a keypad to an Arduino and show you how you can easily accept input. Then we build a combination door lock with that same keypad. For both projects we also use the serial LCD that we learned in Episode 5.

This week we do step 1 of our on-air light. We make the arduino check the status of the live Ustream channel.

To do this we use an ethernet shield to poll the Ustream API to check the status of our strem. We learn how to setup the ethernet shield and then poll a web server.

We also introduce you to JSON and a new JSON Library in this episode of Let's Make It.

This week on Lets Make It we build a random dice roller. We learn how to use randomization in our Sketches. This project will randomly roll the die between 15 and 25 rolls before landing on the final number.

This week we create a working stoplight with an Arduino. And we go so much further than just blinking lights. We have 2 stop lights and sensors to know when a car is waiting.

Also, in this episode we introduce state tables and a new structure that we have not talked about before, the switch or case statement.

You even get to see me mess up by not saving my examples before the show. But this is good because it demonstrates just easy it is switch the cascading if-then-else to a switch/case structure.

This week we teach the Arduino Morse Code. We send your messages via Morse Code.

This week on Let's Make It we have some sensor fun. We play with 5 different sensors connected to the arduino. And you get to watch as we have a colossal failure with one of the sensors. We did not edit it out so you get to see the problems we had. Funny how things stop working when it is show time.

We show you the Virtuabotix DHT11 Digital Temperature / humidity sensor, The Virtuabotix MMA7361 Three Axis Accelerometer, the HC-SR501 Human Sensor Module (motion detector), The Ultrasonic HC-SR04 Distance Sensor, and our big failure this week, the SainSmart Color Recognition / Discrimination Sensor TCS3200d / TCS230D.

This week we continue the LCD discussion and show you how we got a serial (I2C) interface to an LCD to work. We also show you a graphical display and the start of a new library we are creating for it.

We also, ordered and received since our last show the LCD shield from sainsmart. We show you the simple change you need to make to the sample sketches to get them to work with this shield. Also, how they implemented to buttons to save the number of pins used.