Book Image

DIY Microcontroller Projects for Hobbyists

By : Miguel Angel Garcia-Ruiz, Pedro Cesar Santana Mancilla
Book Image

DIY Microcontroller Projects for Hobbyists

By: Miguel Angel Garcia-Ruiz, Pedro Cesar Santana Mancilla

Overview of this book

We live in a world surrounded by electronic devices, and microcontrollers are the brains of these devices. Microcontroller programming is an essential skill in the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), and this book helps you to get up to speed with it by working through projects for designing and developing embedded apps with microcontroller boards. DIY Microcontroller Projects for Hobbyists are filled with microcontroller programming C and C++ language constructs. You'll discover how to use the Blue Pill (containing a type of STM32 microcontroller) and Curiosity Nano (containing a type of PIC microcontroller) boards for executing your projects as PIC is a beginner-level board and STM-32 is an ARM Cortex-based board. Later, you'll explore the fundamentals of digital electronics and microcontroller board programming. The book uses examples such as measuring humidity and temperature in an environment to help you gain hands-on project experience. You'll build on your knowledge as you create IoT projects by applying more complex sensors. Finally, you'll find out how to plan for a microcontroller-based project and troubleshoot it. By the end of this book, you'll have developed a firm foundation in electronics and practical PIC and STM32 microcontroller programming and interfacing, adding valuable skills to your professional portfolio.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)

Putting everything together – think of a protective case for the project!

This section shows how you can place the electronic circuit with the ultrasonic sensor inside a protective case. The section also shows some suggestions on how to fit everything in a plastic or glass container, because if you use the 20-second counter in a bathroom or in a place close to a hand washing sink, you will need to protect the circuit against water spilling and soap stains that can damage the electronic components used in this 20-second counter project. We do not recommend you connect the Blue Pill board to a wall USB adapter for security reasons. It is best to connect the Blue Pill to a USB power bank.

If you can't fit the whole 20-second counter circuit (including its solderless breadboard) in a plastic or glass container, try connecting the Blue Pill on a smaller solderless breadboard such as a half breadboard. Detach the ultrasonic sensor and the LCD from the breadboard and position...