Ping1D strange behaviour on Arduino

Blue Robotics Products Ping Sonar Devices
1

I am trying to run this code


#include <SoftwareSerial.h>
#include "RoboClaw.h"
#include <stdlib.h>
#include "ping1d.h"
 
SoftwareSerial serial(2,3);  
RoboClaw roboclaw(&serial, 10000);
#define address 0x80
 
long desiredRPM = 0;
bool skip_zero = false;
 
static const uint8_t arduinoRxPin = 8;
static const uint8_t arduinoTxPin = 7;
SoftwareSerial pingSerial = SoftwareSerial(arduinoRxPin, arduinoTxPin);
static Ping1D ping { pingSerial };
 
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  roboclaw.begin(9600);
  pingSerial.begin(9600);
}
 
void loop() {
  uint8_t status1, status2;
  bool valid1, valid2;
 
  int32_t enc1 = roboclaw.ReadEncM1(address, &status1, &valid1);
  int32_t speed1 = roboclaw.ReadSpeedM1(address, &status2, &valid2);
 
  if (Serial.available() > 0) {
    desiredRPM = Serial.parseInt(SKIP_ALL);
    Serial.print("<R,HP,");
    Serial.print(desiredRPM);
    Serial.println(">");
    Serial.flush();
    // skip_zero is only for parseInt, it returns 0 after every number entered
    if (desiredRPM == 0 && skip_zero) {
      skip_zero = false;
    } else {
      skip_zero = true;
      if (desiredRPM < 3200) {
        desiredRPM = desiredRPM * 120;
        roboclaw.SpeedM1(address, desiredRPM);
      } else {
        Serial.println("!!!! DANGER! setting values more than 1000 RPM !!!!");
      }  
    }
  }
 
  // Listen for data from ping sensor
  pingSerial.listen();
  if (ping.update()) {

    Serial.print("<P1D,");
    Serial.print(ping.distance());
    Serial.print(",");
    Serial.print(ping.confidence());
    Serial.println(">");
  }
  else
  {
    Serial.println("<E,P1D>");
  }
 
  // Switch back to listening for data from Roboclaw
  roboclaw.listen();
 
  if (valid2) {
    Serial.print("<HP,");
    Serial.print(float(speed1) / 120.0f);
    Serial.println(">");
  }
 
  delay(100);
}

But sometimes when i unplug and replug arduino Ping1D stops sending values and goes into the error packet.

When i upload this code, the ping1-D simple in such a situation (no wiring changed)||


/**
 *  This example is targeted toward the arduino platform
 *
 *  This example demonstrates the most simple usage of the Blue Robotics
 *  Ping1D c++ API in order to obtain distance and confidence reports from
 *  the device.
 *
 *  This API exposes the full functionality of the Ping1D Echosounder
 *
 *  Communication is performed with a Blue Robotics Ping1D Echosounder
 */

#include "ping1d.h"

#include "SoftwareSerial.h"

// This serial port is used to communicate with the Ping device
// If you are using and Arduino UNO or Nano, this must be software serial, and you must use
// 9600 baud communication
// Here, we use pin 9 as arduino rx (Ping tx, white), 10 as arduino tx (Ping rx, green)
static const uint8_t arduinoRxPin = 9;
static const uint8_t arduinoTxPin = 10;
SoftwareSerial pingSerial = SoftwareSerial(8, arduin7oTxPin);
static Ping1D ping { pingSerial };

static const uint8_t ledPin = 13;

void setup()
{
    pingSerial.begin(9600);
    Serial.begin(115200);
    pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
    Serial.println("Blue Robotics ping1d-simple.ino");
    while (!ping.initialize()) {
        Serial.println("\nPing device failed to initialize!");
        Serial.println("Are the Ping rx/tx wired correctly?");
        Serial.print("Ping rx is the green wire, and should be connected to Arduino pin ");
        Serial.print(arduinoTxPin);
        Serial.println(" (Arduino tx)");
        Serial.print("Ping tx is the white wire, and should be connected to Arduino pin ");
        Serial.print(arduinoRxPin);
        Serial.println(" (Arduino rx)");
        delay(2000);
    }
}

void loop()
{
    if (ping.update()) {
        Serial.print("Distance: ");
        Serial.print(ping.distance());
        Serial.print("\tConfidence: ");
        Serial.println(ping.confidence());
    } else {
        Serial.println("No update received!");
    }

    // Toggle the LED to show that the program is running
    digitalWrite(ledPin, !digitalRead(ledPin));
}

it runs again! and then when i upload my previous code, it runs fine too!

Any help to understand this behaviour would be appreciated!

2

Hi @axppxsky -
I would recommend adding a delay to your main loop, to give the ping more time to respond.
delay(50);
Will allow 50 milliseconds for serial data to have gone to be exchanged. I hope that helps!

3

I do have a delay, are you saying i should add one more?

4

You may need to experiment with lowering the delay or changing the way you control your loops execution rate