Electronics Design Workshop

Chapter 3 Electronic circuit building

blocks including common sensors

Satya P. Singh
Electronics Design Workshop

3.1 Introduction

Electronic circuit building blocks include various components such as resistors,

capacitors, transistors, diodes, and integrated circuits.

Fig. 3.1. Different types of

Sensors.

The Figure is copied from

https://circuitdigest.com/tutorial
/different-types-of-sensors-and-
their-working

Common sensors used in electronic circuits include:

• Temperature sensors: These measure the temperature of a system and can be
used in a variety of applications such as HVAC systems and refrigeration.
• Light sensors: These measure the intensity of light and can be used in
applications such as automatic lighting control and camera exposure control.
• Proximity sensors: These detect the presence of objects and can be used in
applications such as automatic door openers and mobile phone touchless
gesture control.
• Motion sensors: These detect movement and can be used in applications such
as security systems and fitness trackers.
• Sound sensors: These measure the intensity of sound and can be used in
applications such as noise level monitoring and speech recognition.
• Pressure sensors: These measure the force exerted by a gas or liquid and can
be used in applications such as tire pressure monitoring systems and blood
pressure monitoring.
• Humidity sensors: These measure the amount of moisture in the air and can
be used in applications such as weather monitoring and indoor air quality
control.

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Electronics Design Workshop

• Accelerometer sensors: These measure the acceleration or tilt of an object and

can be used in applications such as mobile phones, gaming devices, and
vibration monitoring systems.

3.2 Arduino programming and use

Arduino is an open-source electronics platform that includes both hardware and

software. It is intended for anyone interested in creating interactive objects or
environments. The Arduino platform includes a wide range of boards, each with its
own set of features and capabilities, as well as a variety of software libraries that make
it easy to interact with sensors, actuators, and other devices.
Arduino boards are widely used in various fields like engineering, robotics, IoT and
many more. It is considered as a beginner-friendly platform for learning electronics
and programming.
Arduino programming is done using the Arduino Software (IDE) which is available for
free to download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It is a simple Integrated
Development Environment (IDE) that allows you to write, upload, and run code on an
Arduino board. The Arduino IDE uses a simplified version of C++, making it easy for
beginners to learn.
The environment includes a text editor for writing code, a message area for feedback
and error messages, and a toolbar with buttons for uploading code and controlling
the board.
Some popular projects that can be built using Arduino include:
• Blinking an LED
• Reading a temperature sensor
• Controlling a servo motor
• Building a remote control car
• Building a line following robot
• Building a weather station

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Electronics Design Workshop

3.3 Getting acquainted with the Arduino IDE and Basic Sketch
structure

The basic structure of an Arduino program is called a sketch. A sketch is composed of

two main functions: setup() and loop(). The setup() function is executed once when
the board is powered on or reset, and is used to configure the board's input and output
pins, and initialize variables. The loop() function is executed repeatedly and is used to
read input from sensors, control output to actuators, and perform other tasks.
Here is an example of a simple Arduino sketch that blinks an LED:

1 void setup() {
2 pinMode(13, OUTPUT); // configure pin 13 as an output
3 }
4
5 void loop() {
6 digitalWrite(13, HIGH); // turn on the LED
7 delay(1000); // wait for 1 second
8 digitalWrite(13, LOW); // turn off the LED
9 delay(1000); // wait for 1 second
10 }

This sketch configures the board's pin 13 as an output in the setup() function, and then
repeatedly turns the LED on and off with a 1-second delay in the loop() function.
Arduino programming also allows you to use a variety of libraries that provide pre-
written code for common tasks such as reading sensors, controlling motors, and
communicating over networks. These libraries can save a lot of time and make it easy
to add advanced functionality to your projects.

3.4 Digital Input and output

Digital Input and Output (I/O) in Arduino refers to the process of reading or writing a
digital signal, which can only have two states: HIGH or LOW (1 or 0). In Arduino, digital
I/O is accomplished using digital pins on the board.
Digital Output: To write a digital value to a pin, you can use the digitalWrite()
function. This function takes two parameters: the pin number and the value you want
to write (HIGH or LOW). For example, to set pin 13 to HIGH:
1 digitalWrite(13, HIGH);

Digital Input: To read a digital value from a pin, you can use the digitalRead()
function. This function takes one parameter: the pin number. It returns the value of the
pin (HIGH or LOW). For example, to read the value of pin 2:
1 int buttonState = digitalRead(2);

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Electronics Design Workshop

It is important to note that before using a pin as input, you must set its mode using
the pinMode() function. For example, to set pin 2 as an input:
1 pinMode(2, INPUT);

Additionally, you can also use the pull-up or pull-down resistors to set the default state
of the input pin, when it is not connected to anything. For example, to enable the
internal pull-up resistor on pin 2:
1 pinMode(2, INPUT_PULLUP);

In summary, to use a pin as a digital input or output in Arduino, you should set the pin
mode using pinMode(), read the digital value using digitalRead() or write the digital
value using digitalWrite().

3.5 Measuring time and events

In Arduino, you can measure time and events using a variety of built-in functions and
libraries. Here are a few common examples:
1. delay(): This function causes the program to pause for a specified number of
milliseconds. For example, the following code will turn on an LED for one
second:
1 digitalWrite(13, HIGH);
2 delay(1000);
3 digitalWrite(13, LOW);

2. millis(): This function returns the number of milliseconds that have passed
since the Arduino board began running the current sketch. This can be useful
for measuring how much time has passed since a certain event occurred. For
example, the following code will blink an LED once per second:

1 unsigned long previousMillis = 0;

2 const long interval = 1000;
3
4 void loop() {
5 unsigned long currentMillis = millis();
6 if (currentMillis - previousMillis >= interval) {
7 previousMillis = currentMillis;
8 digitalWrite(13, !digitalRead(13));
9 }
10 }

3. micros(): This function is similar to millis(), but it returns the number of

microseconds that have passed since the Arduino board began running the
current sketch.
4. Timer/Counter: Arduino boards have built-in timer/counters that can be used
to generate timed events or measure the frequency of input signals. For

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Electronics Design Workshop

example, you can use the Timer library to create a timer that calls a function
after a specified interval.
5. Interrupts: Arduino boards also support external interrupts, which allow you to
detect specific events and respond to them immediately, rather than waiting for
the loop() function to check for them. For example, you can use the
attachInterrupt() function to call a function when a button is pressed.

In summary, measuring time and events using Arduino can be done using built-in
functions like delay(), millis() and micros(). You can also use libraries and timer/counter
or interrupts to achieve this.

3.6 Pulse Width Modulation

PWM, or Pulse Width Modulation, is a technique used to control the amount of

power delivered to a device by rapidly turning the power on and off. On the Arduino
platform, this can be achieved by using the analogWrite() function. This function
takes two arguments: the first is the pin number to which the PWM signal will be sent,
and the second is the duty cycle of the PWM signal, represented as a number between
0 and 255. For example, to send a PWM signal with a duty cycle of 128 (50% power)
to pin 9, you would use the following code:
1 analogWrite(9, 128);

In addition to the analogWrite() function, you can use the tone() function to generate
PWM signals to drive speakers or other devices.
Here is an example of Arduino code that uses PWM to control the brightness of an
LED connected to pin 9:

1 void setup() {
2 // Set pin 9 as an output
3 pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
4 }
5
6 void loop() {
7 // Gradually increase the brightness of the LED
8 for (int i = 0; i < 255; i++) {
9 analogWrite(9, i);
10 delay(10);
11 }
12
13 // Gradually decrease the brightness of the LED
14 for (int i = 255; i > 0; i--) {
15 analogWrite(9, i);
16 delay(10);
17 }
18 }

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Electronics Design Workshop

3.7 Serial communication in arduino

Serial communication is a method of transmitting data one bit at a time, over a

communication channel. In the case of Arduino, the Serial library provides an easy
way to send and receive data over the serial port.
Here is an example of Arduino code that uses the Serial library to send data from the
Arduino board to a computer:

1 void setup() {
2 // Set the baud rate for serial communication
3 Serial.begin(9600);
4 }
5
6 void loop() {
7 // Send a message over the serial port
8 Serial.println("Hello, world!");
9 delay(1000);
10 }

In this code snippet, the setup() function calls the Serial.begin() function, which sets
the baud rate for serial communication. The loop() function uses the Serial.println()
function to send the string "Hello, world!" over the serial port and the delay(1000)
function is used to create a delay of 1 second between each iteration of the loop.
On the other hand, here is an example of Arduino code that uses the Serial library to
receive data from a computer and control an LED:

1 const int ledPin = 13;

2
3 void setup() {
4 // Set the baud rate for serial communication
5 Serial.begin(9600);
6 pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
7 }
8
9 void loop() {
10 if (Serial.available() > 0) {
11 int data = Serial.read();
12 if (data == '1') {
13 digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
14 } else if (data == '0') {
15 digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
16 }
17 }
18 }

In this code snippet, the setup() function calls the Serial.begin() function and sets the
baud rate for serial communication and also sets the led pin as output. The loop()
function uses the Serial.available() function to check if there is data available in the
serial buffer, and if so, it reads the data using the Serial.read() function and check if

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Electronics Design Workshop

it's 1 or 0, if it is 1 it turn on the led using the digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH) function, if

it's 0 it turn off the led using the digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW) function.
It's important to note that the baud rate must match the baud rate set in the serial
monitor or other serial communication software that you are using to communicate
with the Arduino.

3.8 Analog input in arduino

Analog input in Arduino refers to the process of reading an analog voltage value and
converting it into a digital value that can be processed by the microcontroller. The
Arduino board has a built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) that can be used to
read analog input.
Here is an example of Arduino code that uses the analogRead() function to read the
voltage on an analog pin and convert it to a digital value:

1 const int analogPin = A0;

2
3 void setup() {
4 // Initialize the serial communication
5 Serial.begin(9600);
6 }
7
8 void loop() {
9 // Read the analog value on pin A0
10 int sensorValue = analogRead(analogPin);
11
12 // Print the value over the serial port
13 Serial.println(sensorValue);
14
15 delay(1000);
16 }

In this code snippet, the setup() function calls the Serial.begin() function to initialize
the serial communication at 9600 baud rate. The loop() function uses the
analogRead(analogPin) function to read the voltage on pin A0 and store the value in
the sensorValue variable. The Serial.println(sensorValue) function is then used to
send the value over the serial port, where it can be read using a serial monitor or other
serial communication software. The delay(1000) function is used to create a delay of
1 second between each iteration of the loop.
It's important to note that the analogRead() function returns a value between 0 and
1023, where 0 corresponds to 0V and 1023 corresponds to the voltage of the reference
voltage (5V for most boards).
Also, it's important to mention that the number of the analog input pin varies
depending on the type of the board, for example, in Arduino Uno board A0 is the first
analog pin, in Arduino Mega board A0 is the first analog pin and so on.

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Electronics Design Workshop

3.9 Interrupts programming

Interrupts in Arduino are a feature that allows the microcontroller to stop executing
the main program and execute a special function called an interrupt service routine
(ISR) when a certain event occurs, such as a button press or a sensor reading. Interrupts
are useful for handling events that need immediate attention and prevent the
microcontroller from wasting time polling for the event to occur.
Here is an example of Arduino code that uses an interrupt to handle a button press:

const int buttonPin = 2;

1
const int ledPin = 13;
2
3
void setup() {
4
pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP);
5
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
6
7
// Attach the ISR to the interrupt
8
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(buttonPin), handleButton,
9
FALLING);
10
}
11
12
void loop() {
13
// Do something else here
14
}
15
16
// ISR function
17
void handleButton() {
18
digitalWrite(ledPin, !digitalRead(ledPin));
19
}

In this code snippet, the setup() function sets the button pin as an input with a pull-
up resistor enabled, and sets the led pin as an output. The
attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(buttonPin), handleButton, FALLING)
function is used to attach the ISR handleButton() to the interrupt of the button pin,
and the FALLING edge of the input is selected as the trigger, this means that the
interrupt will be triggered when the button is pressed and the input goes low. The
loop() function can be used to do something else in the meantime.
The handleButton() function is the ISR and it will be executed when the interrupt is
triggered, in this case it toggles the state of the led pin.
It's also possible to specify different triggers of the interrupt, such as RISING or
CHANGE, and also specify different priorities for the interrupt with the priority
parameter.
It's important to note that the ISR function should be as short as possible and should
not contain any blocking or long-running code, as this can cause the microcontroller
to miss other interrupts or cause the system to become unresponsive.

Satya P. Singh
Electronics Design Workshop

Exercise:
1. What are electronic circuit building blocks, and how are they used to design
complex electronic systems? Explain with the help of suitable examples.
2. Discuss the basics of Arduino programming and its use in electronic projects.
Explain the significance of the Arduino IDE and Basic Sketch structure.
3. How can digital input and output be used in electronic circuits? Provide
examples of applications where digital input and output are used extensively.
4. What are PWM signals, and how are they used to control electronic devices?
Explain with suitable examples.
5. Discuss the importance of serial communication in electronic systems. What are
the different types of serial communication, and how are they used?
6. What is analog input, and how is it used in electronic circuits? Provide examples
of analog input applications.
7. Explain the concept of interrupts programming and its significance in electronic
systems. Provide examples of applications where interrupts are commonly used.

Satya P. Singh