Arduino and basic electronics

Complete the challenge

Open a new Arduino window with a blank sketch in it.

Save your Arduino sketch. Name it C6-level1.

Copy the sketch below into your Arduino window. Remember to delete the blank sketch first.

int ledPin = 10;                 // define the pin the LED is on
int buttonPin = 6;              // define the pin for the button
int buttonState = 0;            // create a variable for what the button is doing

void setup() {
    pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);           // set up the ledPin as an OUTPUT
    pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP);  // set up the buttonPin as an INPUT_PULLUP
}

void loop() {
    buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);  // read the state of the pushbutton value
    if (buttonState == HIGH) {            // check if the pushbutton is pressed.
        analogWrite(ledPin, 60);           // turn the LED partly on if the buttonState is HIGH
    } else {
        analogWrite(ledPin, 255);          // turn LED full on if the buttonState is LOW
    }
}

Upload this sketch to your Arduino with a ThinkerShield attached. Check that it works.

The light should be brighter when you press button D6.

The analogue outputs can have values from 0 to 255. Try out some different numbers in the analogWrite() function.

What are those numbers, sir?

Digital data is just “on” or “off”, HIGH or LOW, etc.

Analogue data is a number. There’s a minimum and a maximum possible value for that number.

In an Ardiuno, the minimum number is 0 and the maximum is 255.

To complete this activity, change the program so that the LED is on with a value of 190 when the button is not pressed, and is on with a value of 50 when the button is pressed.

Claim your achievement

I did it!

That’s fantastic!

Now claim your achievement.

Copy the saved sketch to your Year 8 Digital Tech folder on Google Drive.
Complete a claim slip. The code is C6 and the level is 1.

C6 — Analogue outputs

Level 1 — Change the brightness of an LED

Complete the challenge

Claim your achievement