element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • About Us
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Arduino
  • Products
  • More
Arduino
Arduino Forum I need help fixing an arduino project please
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Arduino to participate - click to join for free!
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • State Verified Answer
  • Replies 8 replies
  • Answers 4 answers
  • Subscribers 393 subscribers
  • Views 952 views
  • Users 0 members are here
  • rr crossing
  • level crossing gates
  • arduino
  • automatic rr crossing
Related

I need help fixing an arduino project please

theshay
theshay over 7 years ago

I have an arduino project for RR crossing gates and lights. reed switch turns it on reed switch 2 turns it off The problem is The bell rings and the lights flash but for some reason I cannot get the gates to raise and lower. Could someone please help me with this?

#include <Servo.h>

//  control_pin1 signal:  ___┌───┐_____________________________________┌───┐___________
//  control_pin2 signal:  ______________________________┌───┐____________________┌───┐_
//                           ^START                     ^STOP          ^START    ^STOP

#define delta   540         // 0.540 seconds on and off
#define bstrobe  60
#define led_pin1    11      // the Crossing LED is attached to pin 11
#define led_pin2    12      // the Crossing LED is attached to pin 12


int control_pin1 = 14;      // Control Pin for first reed sensor is Pin 14 (A0) Low/Ground is OFF
int control_pin2 = 17;      // control pin for second reed sensor
                            // OPEN (Unattachd) Pin is ON
#define bell_pin    15      // D15 == A1  This is the signal for the single Bell

Servo servo1;               // servo object
int servo1_pin = 10;         // servo pin
Servo servo2;               // servo object
int servo2_pin = 9;         // servo pin
int servo_delay = 40;       // this number decides how fast the servos will move. higher number = slower servos
int position_on = 5;       // position of the servo motor when it's running
int position_off = 45;       // position of the servo motor when it's off
bool gates_down = false;

bool should_run = false;    // this will be a true or false value indicating whether the process should be running or not
int control1 = LOW;         // current value of the first reed switch
int prev_control1 = LOW;    // this will keep track of the previous value of the control pin (neccessary for finding the edge condition)
int control2 = LOW;         // current value of the second reed switch
int prev_control2 = LOW;    // previous value of the second reed switch


void setup() {
  // initialize led_pin as digital output pin
  pinMode(led_pin1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(led_pin2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(bell_pin, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(bell_pin, HIGH);
  pinMode(control_pin1,INPUT_PULLUP);
  pinMode(control_pin2,INPUT_PULLUP);
  servo1.attach(servo1_pin);
  servo2.attach(servo2_pin);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {
    
    prev_control1 = control1;
    control1 = digitalRead(control_pin1);
    
    prev_control2 = control2;
    control2 = digitalRead(control_pin2);
    
    if (control1 == HIGH && prev_control1 == LOW)
    {
        // the loop should only run in the case where there was a change and it was a rising edge (see diagram at top)
        should_run = true;
    }
    
    if (control2 == HIGH && prev_control2 == LOW)
    {
        // the loop should stop when there was a rising edge on the second sensor
        should_run = false;
    }

    if (should_run == true) {
    
        lowerGates();                  // calls the function to turn the servos to the "on" position
        digitalWrite(led_pin1, HIGH);  // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
        digitalWrite(led_pin2, LOW);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
        digitalWrite(bell_pin, LOW);
        delay(bstrobe);
        digitalWrite(bell_pin, HIGH);
        delay(delta);              // wait for a second
        digitalWrite(led_pin1, LOW);    // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
        digitalWrite(led_pin2, HIGH);   // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
        digitalWrite(bell_pin, LOW);
        delay(bstrobe);
        digitalWrite(bell_pin, HIGH);
        delay(delta);              // wait for a second
    } else {
        raiseGates();                    // calls function to turn the servos to the "off" position
        digitalWrite(led_pin1, LOW);     // turn the LED off
        digitalWrite(led_pin2, LOW);     // turn the LED off
    }
}
    void lowerGates()
    {
        // moves the servos from position_off to position_on
        if (gates_down == false)
        {
            for (int i=position_off; i <= position_on; i++) 
            {
                servo1.write(i);
                servo2.write(i);
                delay(servo_delay); // This should slow down the servos
            }
            gates_down = true;
        }
        
    }
    
    void raiseGates()
    {
        // moves the servos from position_on to position_off
        if (gates_down == true)
        {
            for (int i=position_on; i > position_off; i--) 
            {
                servo1.write(i);
                servo2.write(i);
                delay(servo_delay); // This should slow down the servos
            }
            gates_down = false;
        }
    }

  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 7 years ago +3 verified
    Perhaps check the initialisation of your variables for 'position_on' and 'position_off' and how you are using them in your lowerGates() and raiseGates() functions. You have: position_on = 5 position_off…
  • dougw
    dougw over 7 years ago +2 suggested
    Can you show what you have so far? There should be a delay between lights flashing and gate closing.
  • theshay
    theshay over 7 years ago in reply to grgilbert-2fc +2
    yes i will be using dave advice it makes perfect sense also I was reading about the issues with delays. gonna try and work that out next then may possibly try and add 2 turn out to the system as well but…
Parents
  • jomoenginer
    0 jomoenginer over 7 years ago

    Is this the same project you posted for previously and was already given code for?

    https://www.element14.com/community/message/238301/l/please-i-need-help-writing-code#238301

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Reject Answer
    • Cancel
Reply
  • jomoenginer
    0 jomoenginer over 7 years ago

    Is this the same project you posted for previously and was already given code for?

    https://www.element14.com/community/message/238301/l/please-i-need-help-writing-code#238301

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Reject Answer
    • Cancel
Children
  • theshay
    0 theshay over 7 years ago in reply to jomoenginer

    no this is a project for a friend I copied most of the code from  Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine and made a few changes but could not get the servos to work. I am slowly learning more and more about coding. The earlier project was a gift for my grandsons birthday.  I was thankful to receive the help from everyone. I figured I would give it another shot and help my friend out, he is worse off than me! I really enjoy playing with the arduino I do every tutorial i come across on the web. but when i hit a brick wall i have no one to ask but here :-))

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Reject Answer
    • Cancel
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2025 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube