The code for our senior STEM Skyprobe Project.
This repository contains all of the relevant files needed to install and run the project, and includes:
- Separate Arduino Sketches for both launching and testing the probe
- 2 complete Fritzing sketches with all the necessary wiring laid out in the correct colors for both testing on a breadboard and launch.
- A custom Sensor Calibration library that makes calibration of the sensors easy with all the values located in one file
There are youtube tutorials that are on the way, as well as a full text guide on this document to assist with installation.
To download the repository, either click on the "Clone or Download" button and click "Download ZIP" to download a zip of the repository or type into a terminal with git installed:
git clone https://github.com/LukasVannStruth/STEM-Skyprobe.git
There are 5 individual Arduino libraries that need to be installed before the script can be compiled to an arduino. Additionally, the SensorCalibration library which contains the values that must be calibrated for accurate results from the sensors must be moved to your Arduino libraries folder.
The libraries that need to be installed are:
- Adafruit Unified Sensor
- Adafruit ADXL345
- Adafruit BMP085 Unified
- Sleep_n0m1
- SdFat
You can install all of these libraries by going into your arduino IDE and clicking Sketch/Include Library/Manage Libraries.
This will open up a window that will let you search and download all the needed libraries.
In order for the sketch to upload correctly, the SensorCalibration library's containing must be moved from it's location in STEM-Skyprobe/SensorCalibration to the the location of your Arduino Libraries
Windows:
(Your user directory)/Arduino/libraries
Linux:
/home/users/(Your username)/Arduino/libraries
Information on how to wire the skyprobe for both testing and launch are available in the two fritzing sketches included in the repository.
In order to test the probe, first complete all the previous steps. Then, connect the arduino to your computer and from the arduino IDE run these included sketches for testing each of the external components of the Arduino.
- ADXL345(Accelerometer): File/Examples/Adafruit ADXL345/sensortest
- BMP180(Barometer + Thermometer): File/Examples/Adafruit BMP085 Unified/sensorapi
- MicroSD Card Reader: File/Examples/SdFat/SdInfo
After verifying that each component works correctly on its own with them all connected, then run the skyprobetest.ino file from the arduino IDE.
If the SdInfo sketch outputs an error and says the Sd card needs to be formatted, download and run the formatter from this website: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/ and run it with the Sd card inserted in your computer.
The most common problem that I've encountered has been the accelerometer randomly failing, and stopping collecting data. The solution to this problem for me has been running the accelerometer test sketch, which you can find in the Arduino IDE in File/Examples/Adafruit ADXL345/sensortest.
Uploading and running the sketch should output actual values from the accelerometer and fix it from both the test/launch sketch and the accelerometer sketch.