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Arduino looking for problems to solve

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soldar:
45 years ago I was programming 6502 in assembler and I found plenty of applications. I did data logging, a phone dialer, access control, and a few other things. I always found plenty of things to do.

Fast forward 45 years and I am totally out of the microcontroller world and I want to get into it. I started a thread asking and finally decided to get started with Arduino.

I have had it for two or three months now. I have played a little. Did the blinking LED thing but just cannot get myself motivated to keep learning in the abstract.  I need to find a concrete project, a concrete problem to solve and I just cannot think of anything I need to solve with an Arduino.  I am stuck.

I cannot think of any data I want to log or anything I'd like to control.

The closest I can think of is a gate access control with a weatherproof keyboard to input a code but in my experience weatherproof keypads are expensive, unreliable and short lived. Probably not worth it. For a moment I thought it might be fun to have my street gate with a rolling code so I could give a code to the neighbor and it could only be used once.

Or, I have a crate full of IR remote controls.  Maybe use one and decode the signal with the Arduino to then control ... I don't know what. I have nothing that needs a remote control.

Can you think of something practical, useful I could do with the Arduino? Unless I can think of some practical and useful project I am afraid the Arduino will languish in a drawer forever.

xrunner:

--- Quote from: soldar on May 12, 2024, 10:26:48 pm ---Can you think of something practical, useful I could do with the Arduino? Unless I can think of some practical and useful project I am afraid the Arduino will languish in a drawer forever.

--- End quote ---

I think it's been said here several times - everything that can be done with the Arduino has been done now by someone. That doesn't mean what has been done is of any use to you or me in particular. I'd look at the sensors available to you instead of the "Arduino" itself. What can you sense or control with the sensors available that could perhaps be made into a project you would use or enjoy? If you can't think of anything then let it languish until you do.

A couple of the things I played with recently that I wanted to do was sense an animal getting into my garden and spraying it with water, and sensing how far my car was into the garage so I'd know when to stop the car exactly. Turns out neither of them ended up using an Arduino (or shall we just say microcontroller). The animal sensing thing was too finicky outdoors and the car parking solution was easier just to simply aim a red laser at the dash when the car was parked where I wanted it (much less complicated). However I still keep thinking of projects.

For example, the last good project I did with Arduino was sensing the input and output temps from my indoor HVAC unit and displaying the temps and differential on a display on the door. That one was good enough that my neighbor begged me to make him one.

So keep thinking it'll come to you when you least expect it.  :-+

themadhippy:

--- Quote ---. For a moment I thought it might be fun to have my street gate with a rolling code so I could give a code to the neighbor and it could only be used once.

Or, I have a crate full of IR remote controls.  Maybe use one and decode the signal with the Arduino to then control ... I don't know what. I have nothing that needs a remote control.
--- End quote ---

combine the 2,ir remote controlled gate lock


--- Quote ---and the car parking solution was easier just to simply aim a red laser at the dash when the car was parked where I wanted it (much less complicated).
--- End quote ---
a tennis ball hanging down that touches the windscreen when in the perfect position is a  less power hungry solution

xrunner:

--- Quote from: themadhippy on May 13, 2024, 12:19:35 am ---
--- Quote ---and the car parking solution was easier just to simply aim a red laser at the dash when the car was parked where I wanted it (much less complicated).
--- End quote ---

a tennis ball hanging down that touches the windscreen when in the perfect position is a  less power hungry solution

--- End quote ---

That's what I had before, but I lay awake at night thinking of high-tech solutions to things. At least I dropped the Arduino from that project.  :-DD

pcprogrammer:

--- Quote from: soldar on May 12, 2024, 10:26:48 pm ---I have had it for two or three months now. I have played a little. Did the blinking LED thing but just cannot get myself motivated to keep learning in the abstract.  I need to find a concrete project, a concrete problem to solve and I just cannot think of anything I need to solve with an Arduino.  I am stuck.

--- End quote ---

It al depends on what your other interests are. For instance, do you like musical instruments? If so, you can dabble with synthesis. Or if you like mechanical systems, you can create something with motors or servo's.

But I can understand your predicament, I myself also need dedicated things to do, or else it stays on the shelf. I used an Arduino nano to control a central heating mixing valve to lower the water temperature from the storage tanks to what is more appropriate for underfloor heating. I used a bluepill in the same system to double the serial communication channel the main controller, a raspberry pi, had available. Recently I used STM32F103C8T6's for a remote control system. All practical solutions, not just blinking some LED's.

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