The DS18B20 is a one-wire temperature sensor. The original DS18B20 is manufactured by Analog Devices, Maxim or Dallas Semi. Other companies manufacture functionally similar pin-compatible temperature sensors. Each of these chips has its own price point, merits and inconveniences.
When you buy a DS18B20 it is not always clear who the manufacturer is. CheckDS18B20 is an arduino library that attempts to answer the following questions:
- Is the DS18B20 in my arduino project a genuine Maxim DS18B20?
- Who is the manufacturer of the DS18B20 in my project?
The library provides three methods: discover_fake_ds18b20(), ds18b20_family() and ds18b20_name().
The method discover_fake_ds18b20() classifies a DS18B20 into three classes: genuine, fake, and "don't know". The method discover_fake_ds18b20() uses documented function codes.
The method ds18b20_family() classifies a DS18B20 into a dozen different families. The characteristics of each of these families can be looked up at Chris Petrich's git counterfeit DS18B20.
The method ds18b20_name() returns a string, making printing diagnostics easy.
The methods ds18b20_family() and ds18b20_name() use undocumented function codes.
There are arguments in favor and against using this library.
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Having a DS18B20 temperature sensor in your project, but not knowing whether the measured temperature can be trusted is a problem.
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Using this library may give you more confidence in sensor output. But as this library sends undocumented function codes to components of uncertain origin, the result can not be guaranteed. If sensor calibration data are overwritten, the sensor may become useless.
Use at your own risk. No guarantees given or implied.
This library is based upon counterfeit_DS18B20 by Chris Petrich.
This software is licensed under the Apache license.