Important Miscellaneous Coding Information for the Software:
| Serial Port which the Arduino is attached | COM4 | |||
| Value at which the gate is vertical (10-170) | 70 | |||
| The first LED to turn on (left or right) | Left | |||
|
Unobstructed Sensor values |
Forward |
83 |
83 |
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| Is there a pattern to these values? Briefly describe the pattern | The first reading gives forward, so it should be reading fo the approach of the train in forward motion. The is a static output when the sensor has nothing to read. | ||||||
| Obstructed Sensor value |
411
|
410
|
82
|
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| Is there a pattern to these values? Briefly describe the pattern | The values are only closely related if the obstructinon is removed then re-implemented. Otherwise the values show a marked difference. The readings seem to hover around 410 and 83. | ||||||
| Are the values always consistent? Why might this be important when it comes to writing a program? | The values are prone to minor fluctuations. Sensors that read off values, used in loops, could miss or over-record the times a condition is met, producing erronous data. The fluctuations need to be corrected for in the conditional statements. |
Table representing the relationship between motorSpeed, Train Speed and Time to complete 1/2 circuit:
| motorSpeed (0-255) | Time for 1/2 circuit (sec) | Train Speed (mph) | ||||||
| 255 | 3.3441 | 0.6272 | ||||||
| 230 | 3.6681 | 0.5718 | ||||||
| 200 | 4.5595 | 0.46 | ||||||
| 190 | 5.049 | 0.4154 | ||||||
| 170 | 6.3974 | 0.3279 |