Analog Sensors without Analog Inputs on the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi does not have any analog inputs, but that does not mean that you can't use some types of analog sensors. Using a couple of resistors and a capacitor, you can use a "step response" method to measure resistance. Which is just great if you are using a pot, photoresistor or thermistor.

The Recipe that follows is taken from my new book "The Raspberry Pi Cookbook". This way of using sensors was inspired by this work from Adafruit.

To make this recipe, you will need:

• Breadboard and jumper wires 

• 10kΩ trimpot 

• Two 1kΩ resistors 

• 220 nF capacitor 

Open an editor (nano or IDLE) and paste in the following code. As with all the program

examples in this book, you can also download the program from the Code section of

the Raspberry Pi Cookbook website, where it is called pot_step.py.

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO

import time

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BCM)

a_pin = 18

b_pin = 23

def discharge():

  GPIO.setup(a_pin, GPIO.IN)

  GPIO.setup(b_pin, GPIO.OUT)

  GPIO.output(b_pin, False)

  time.sleep(0.005)

def charge_time():

  GPIO.setup(b_pin, GPIO.IN)

  GPIO.setup(a_pin, GPIO.OUT)

  count = 0

  GPIO.output(a_pin, True)

  while not GPIO.input(b_pin):

  count = count + 1

  return count

def analog_read():

  discharge()

  return charge_time()

  while True:

    print(analog_read())

    time.sleep(1)

When you run the program, you should see some output like this:

$ sudo python pot_step.py

10

12

10

10

16

23

43

53

67

72

86

105

123

143

170

The reading will vary between about 10 and about 170 as you rotate the knob of the

trimpot.

Discussion

To explain how this program works, I first need to explain how the step response technique

can be used to measure the resistance of the variable resistor.

This way of doing things is called step response because it works by seeing how the circuit

responds from the step change when an output is switched from low to high.

You can think of a capacitor as a tank of electricity, and as it fills with charge, the voltage

across it increases. You can’t measure that voltage directly, because the Raspberry Pi

doesn’t have an ADC converter. However, you can time how long it takes for the capacitor

to fill with charge to the extent that it gets above the 1.65V or so that constitutes

a high digital input. The speed at which the capacitor fills with charge depends on the

value of the variable resistor (Rt). The lower the resistance, the faster the capacitor fills

with charge and the voltage rises.

To be able to get a good reading, you must also be able to empty the capacitor each time

before you take a reading. Connection A is used to charge the capacitor through Rc and Rt, and connection B is used to discharge (empty) the capacitor through

Rd. The resistors Rc and Rd are used to make sure that there is no way too much current

can flow as the capacitor is charged and discharged.

The steps involved in taking a reading are first to discharge the capacitor through Rd

and then to let it charge through Rc and Rt.

To discharge it, connection A (GPIO 18) is set to be an input, effectively disconnecting

Rc and Rt from the circuit. Connection B (GPIO 23) is then set to be an output and low.

This is held there for 5 milliseconds to empty the capacitor.

Now that the capacitor is empty, you can start to allow charge to flow into it by setting

connection B to be an input (effectively disconnecting it) and then enabling connection

A to be a high output at 3.3V. Capacitor C will now begin to charge through Rc and Rt.

The while loop will then simply count as fast as possible until the voltage at connection

B switches from being low to high at about 1.65V. At that point, the counting stops and the count value is returned.

The figure below shows how a resistor and capacitor in this kind of arrangement charge and

discharge as the voltage is toggled between high and low.

You can see that the voltage at the capacitor increases rapidly at first but then tails off

as the capacitor becomes full. Fortunately, you are interested in the area of the curve up

until the capacitor reaches about 1.65V, which is a fairly straight line, meaning that the

time taken for the voltage across the capacitor to rise to this point is roughly proportional

to the resistance of Rt and hence the position of the knob.

This approach is not hugely accurate, but it is very low cost and easy to use.

About the Author
These are my books. Click on the image below to find out more about them.