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Author Topic: Arduino Tinkering?  (Read 7556 times)

SineHacker

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Arduino Tinkering?
« on: May 02, 2009, 03:01:56 AM »

Hey all, does anyone fiddle with arduino? I have a little dilema, I hope this isn't too off topic...

Next week is my final show for my last year of uni, I have been working on a arduino project that basically is an interface for a max/msp patch. The problem I'm having is with the hardware, I'm using a number of buttons, leds and pots, including some sliders I got from rapidonline.com - I'm panicking a little with my time constraint, I'm also a technician in my department and have lost a lot of time helping other students perfect their work at the cost of my own :(

everything works as it is supposed to individually, and it is all low level stuff for arduino, simply using basic components to give a digital measurement - everything else is being handled inside max/msp. However as I was constructing the interface today, I found that when I installed a second slider the power to the arduino was killed. At first I thought that I had overloaded the board with components and it couldn't cope with the power soak, but I shortly therafter discovered that when one slider was connected it would become very hot very quickly :/

The sliders are 10k, but i'm also using 10k rotary pots, that function normally without heating up. the sliders have confused me a little as they have four tips rather than 3, so I suspect I may have got my wiring wrong. The tip are marked 1, 2, 2 and 3 - I tested with a multimeter initially and concluded that the tips marked 2 could be connected to 5v and GND whilst either 1 or 3 could be sent to an analogue pin on the arduino (I can't remember why I came to this conclusion though). Check them out (the pdf manual doesn't provide much of an obvious clue)

http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/Resistors-Potentiometer/Control-Potentiometers/Slide-potentiometers/65234

sorry to compose such an essay, I wanted to make the situation clear in case I have done something dumb (usually the case)

regards.

aid
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Gordonjcp

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Re: Arduino Tinkering?
« Reply #1 on: May 02, 2009, 11:29:00 AM »

The two pins marked 2 are the wiper.  By wiring that across the supply you're shorting it out.

Wire all your variable resistors up as voltage dividers, not series resistors.  Have a look at the circuit diagrams for some more modern synths to see how things like the pitch benders are wired to the controller.

If you need "real-time" help then come and bug me in #circuitbenders on irc.freenode.net - the channel is pretty quiet, but I usually idle in it ;-)
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SineHacker

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Re: Arduino Tinkering?
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2009, 01:08:52 PM »

The two pins marked 2 are the wiper.  By wiring that across the supply you're shorting it out.

ah, so should I be using 1 and 3 for 5v and GND and I can use the 2 pin at either end for my reading. I will try this now

aid
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SineHacker

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Re: Arduino Tinkering?
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2009, 01:21:16 PM »

The two pins marked 2 are the wiper.  By wiring that across the supply you're shorting it out.

Wire all your variable resistors up as voltage dividers, not series resistors.  Have a look at the circuit diagrams for some more modern synths to see how things like the pitch benders are wired to the controller.

If you need "real-time" help then come and bug me in #circuitbenders on irc.freenode.net - the channel is pretty quiet, but I usually idle in it ;-)

thanks, this sorted it, i'm using pins 1 and 3 for 5v and GND now and 2 for my reading, nice 1!!
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