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Arduino + Misc.


Background

I have been working with microcontrollers, single-board computers, mobile phones, PLCs, and Arduino boards since early in my college career.

Sadly, I do not have a full and comprehensive portfolio of all the work I’ve done in this area. Some of it is lost with time, and much of it is hand written within notebooks in my closet. Luckily, however, I retained images and videos from a few of my favorite projects I completed.

Arduino monophonic synth


The Arduino monophonic synthesizer is my favorite project I’ve worked on in my spare time. It uses an Arduino Mega, momentary push buttons, and potentiometers to create a fully functional musical instrument. It is the combination of my passion for music and my passion for engineering. While not overly complex, it still provides pitch shifting, volume control, speaker output, and more!

Code (main)
#include "pitches.h"
//buttons (keys)
int c1 = 53;
int cS = 50;
int d = 49;
int dS = 46;
int e = 45;
int f = 42;
int fS = 41;
int g = 38;
int gS = 37;
int a = 34;
int aS = 33;
int b = 30;
int c2 = 29;
int duration = 25;
//pot (pitch change)
int pot1 = A0;
int pot2 = A1;
int pot3 = A5 ;
int pot4 = A7;
int pot5 = A3;
int pot_val=0;
//Other
int speaker = 22;

void setup() {
  pinMode(c1, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(cS, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(d, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(dS, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(e, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(f, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(fS, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(g, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(gS, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(a, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(aS, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(b, INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(c2, INPUT_PULLUP);

  Serial.begin(9600);

}
void loop() {
  pot_val = analogRead(pot1);
  pot_val = pot_val/25;
  Serial.println(pot_val);  

  while(digitalRead(c1) == LOW) {
    int c1note = NOTE_C3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, c1note);
    }
  while (digitalRead(cS) == LOW) {    
    int cSnote = NOTE_CS3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, cSnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(d) == LOW) {
    int dnote = NOTE_D3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, dnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(dS) == LOW) {    
    int dSnote = NOTE_DS3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, dSnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(e) == LOW) {    
    int enote = NOTE_E3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, enote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(f) == LOW) {
    int fnote = NOTE_F3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, fnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(fS) == LOW) { // need to finish up
    int fSnote = NOTE_FS3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, fSnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(g) == LOW) {
    int gnote = NOTE_G3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, gnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(gS) == LOW) {
    int gSnote = NOTE_GS3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, gSnote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(a) == LOW) {
    int anote = NOTE_A3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, anote );
    }
  while (digitalRead(aS) == LOW) {
     int aSnote = NOTE_AS3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, aSnote );
    }
 while (digitalRead(b) == LOW) {
    int bnote = NOTE_B3 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, bnote );
    }
 while (digitalRead(c2) == LOW) {
   int c2note = NOTE_C4 + pot_val;
    tone(speaker, c2note );
    }
    
  noTone(speaker);
}
Code (pitches.h)
#define NOTE_B0  31
#define NOTE_C1  33
#define NOTE_CS1 35
#define NOTE_D1  37
#define NOTE_DS1 39
#define NOTE_E1  41
#define NOTE_F1  44
#define NOTE_FS1 46
#define NOTE_G1  49
#define NOTE_GS1 52
#define NOTE_A1  55
#define NOTE_AS1 58
#define NOTE_B1  62
#define NOTE_C2  65
#define NOTE_CS2 69
#define NOTE_D2  73
#define NOTE_DS2 78
#define NOTE_E2  82
#define NOTE_F2  87
#define NOTE_FS2 93
#define NOTE_G2  98
#define NOTE_GS2 104
#define NOTE_A2  110
#define NOTE_AS2 117
#define NOTE_B2  123
#define NOTE_C3  131
#define NOTE_CS3 139
#define NOTE_D3  147
#define NOTE_DS3 156
#define NOTE_E3  165
#define NOTE_F3  175
#define NOTE_FS3 185
#define NOTE_G3  196
#define NOTE_GS3 208
#define NOTE_A3  220
#define NOTE_AS3 233
#define NOTE_B3  247
#define NOTE_C4  262
#define NOTE_CS4 277
#define NOTE_D4  294
#define NOTE_DS4 311
#define NOTE_E4  330
#define NOTE_F4  349
#define NOTE_FS4 370
#define NOTE_G4  392
#define NOTE_GS4 415
#define NOTE_A4  440
#define NOTE_AS4 466
#define NOTE_B4  494
#define NOTE_C5  523
#define NOTE_CS5 554
#define NOTE_D5  587
#define NOTE_DS5 622
#define NOTE_E5  659
#define NOTE_F5  698
#define NOTE_FS5 740
#define NOTE_G5  784
#define NOTE_GS5 831
#define NOTE_A5  880
#define NOTE_AS5 932
#define NOTE_B5  988
#define NOTE_C6  1047
#define NOTE_CS6 1109
#define NOTE_D6  1175
#define NOTE_DS6 1245
#define NOTE_E6  1319
#define NOTE_F6  1397
#define NOTE_FS6 1480
#define NOTE_G6  1568
#define NOTE_GS6 1661
#define NOTE_A6  1760
#define NOTE_AS6 1865
#define NOTE_B6  1976
#define NOTE_C7  2093
#define NOTE_CS7 2217
#define NOTE_D7  2349
#define NOTE_DS7 2489
#define NOTE_E7  2637
#define NOTE_F7  2794
#define NOTE_FS7 2960
#define NOTE_G7  3136
#define NOTE_GS7 3322
#define NOTE_A7  3520
#define NOTE_AS7 3729
#define NOTE_B7  3951
#define NOTE_C8  4186
#define NOTE_CS8 4435
#define NOTE_D8  4699
#define NOTE_DS8 4978

Room for improvement


If I were to make a second iteration of this project, there are several things that could be improved and expanded upon.

First, I would focus on polyphony using multiple CPU threads. The processor on the Arduino Mega is powerful enough to support multi-tasking, which could be used to send multiple notes to a speaker at once.

In addition, I would modularize my code. While this code functions well and feels good while playing the synth, it is a pain to edit and improve. By creating and implementing one or two functions, I could reduce the size and receptiveness of my code drastically.

Lastly, I would program an expansion board. When I was finishing this project up, I attached a board of about eight potentiometers to do different tests with. Combining the analog input of the potentiometers with hardware interrupts, I could achieve more fluid pitch shifting. I could also add other modulation effects, such as tremolo, vibrato, delay, and distortion.

Fuzz circuit


About

I’ve been obsessed with guitar pedals for a long time so one day I decided to look into how to make one. Finding out that a fuzz circuit is the easiest to make, I set to work in my garage. Above is a video of me playing the circuit in my garage, and below is the schematic I used to create the effect.


VendMe

About

VendMe was a group project I completed at Stark State. This project was a semester long group project that I became the leader for. I was elected the CEO, came up with the project idea, programmed the prototype using the Android development environment, and created the database for.

The application itself was designed to allow consumers to find and purchase items from nearby vending machines without having to wait in line or have to fumble with physical payment methods like cash or debit card. Using VendMe, a user would locate nearby vending machines on a map, check its inventory, and be able to make a decision from the comfort of their phone.

VendMe would reduce the amount of time a user needs to spend at a vending machine. This would then lead to reduced queue times in places like theme parks, where vending machine lines can often take 10 or more minutes.

Download the full project [HERE]
or
Download the project write up [HERE]



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