Arduino For Dummies

Chapter 14

Sensing More Inputs and Controlling More Outputs

In This Chapter

Sending lots of signals using a Mega 2560 board

Using a shift register

Learning how to count in binary

An individual input and output is great, and sometimes that’s all that is necessary for your project. Often, however, you want to sense or control with a lot of inputs and outputs all at one time. Many of the most well-known digital art and installations are actually very simple at heart; the real complexity is in instructing those simple actions to occur hundreds, and maybe even thousands, of times.

In this chapter, you find out how to perform lots of activities simultaneously with your Arduino. You might accomplish this by using a bigger board, such as the Arduino Mega 2560, or by using additional hardware to allow your regular Arduino Uno to do more than it can on its own. You learn about the pros and cons of each of these methods to equip you with the right knowledge to help you build a monster of an Arduino project.

Controlling Multiple LEDs

One of the simplest ways to extend your Arduino project is by using a bigger board: the Arduino Mega 2560. This monster of a board, shown in Figure 14-1, gives ...