Generally making your own test equipment isn't the easiest of any tasks, however like most good projects some research can show what is possible without much hardware at all. One fascinating example of this has been documented by Jonathan Nethercott who shows us how to use an Arduino Uno or compatible as a capacitance meter. The principle is simple - by giving the discharged capacitor under test a 5V pulse and measuring the decay time, it's possible to calculate its value.
The system does require a small amount of calibration with a capacitor of a known value, but for the price it's a fun project that can be useful in a pinch. To find out more including the theory, maths and sketch - check out Jonathan's website. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you're interested in experimenting with Arduino for your own inventions - but not sure how to learn - order one of our Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:
The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit.
