How to Get Ambient Temp from Arduino Lilypad Temperature Sensor

Question

I am connecting a LilyPad Temperature sensor to a LilyPad Arduino 328 Main Board with the goal of reading fairly accurate ambient temperature readings. The sensor is receiving power and giving a responses I'm able to read over serial.

The problem I am confronted with is that reading from the sensor is giving me very unusual - although consistent numbers. I'm reading the analog sensor input and converting to volts like this...

loop(){
    float therm;   
    therm = analogRead(2); // Read from sensor through Analog 2
    therm *= (5.0/1024.0); // 5 volts / 1024 units of analog resolution
    delay(100);
}

This yields a consistent reading of about 1.1 Volts which the sensor documentation indicates would be a ambient temp of about 60 degrees Celsius when the true ambient temp is about 23 degrees. The sensor is not close in proximity to any other electronics so I can't foresee that being the problem.

Is my code for reading the sensor incorrect? Could my sensor be faulty?

Answer 1

Isn't the lilypad a 3.3V arduino, so that means it should be (3.3/1024.0), which would be 0.726V, or 22.6 C?

Answer 2

Try this. I had exactly the same problem.read more here: http://www.ladyada.net/learn/sensors/tmp36.html

//TMP36 Pin Variables
int sensorPin = 0; //the analog pin the TMP36's Vout (sense) pin is connected to
                        //the resolution is 10 mV / degree centigrade with a
                        //500 mV offset to allow for negative temperatures

#define BANDGAPREF 14   // special indicator that we want to measure the bandgap

/*
 * setup() - this function runs once when you turn your Arduino on
 * We initialize the serial connection with the computer
 */
void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);  //Start the serial connection with the computer
                       //to view the result open the serial monitor 
  delay(500);
}

void loop()                     // run over and over again
{
  // get voltage reading from the secret internal 1.05V reference
  int refReading = analogRead(BANDGAPREF);  
  Serial.println(refReading);

  // now calculate our power supply voltage from the known 1.05 volt reading
  float supplyvoltage = (1.05 * 1024) / refReading;
  Serial.print(supplyvoltage); Serial.println("V power supply");

  //getting the voltage reading from the temperature sensor
  int reading = analogRead(sensorPin);  

  // converting that reading to voltage
  float voltage = reading * supplyvoltage / 1024; 

  // print out the voltage
  Serial.print(voltage); Serial.println(" volts");

  // now print out the temperature
  float temperatureC = (voltage - 0.5) * 100 ;   //converting from 10 mv per degree wit 500 mV offset
                                               //to degrees ((volatge - 500mV) times 100)
  Serial.print(temperatureC); Serial.println(" degress C");

  // now convert to Fahrenheight
  float temperatureF = (temperatureC * 9 / 5) + 32;
  Serial.print(temperatureF); Serial.println(" degress F");

  delay(1000);                                     //waiting a second
}

Answer 3

According to this documentation, analogRead returns an integer. Have you tried casting it to a float like so:

therm = (float)analogRead(2);

What does the sensor voltage read on a voltmeter? Does the reading change when you change the temperature of the sensor? (Holding your hand on it should be enough to change the reading.)