Energia Reference - Tutorials

Examples > Analog I/O

Fading

Demonstrates the use of analog output (Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)) to fade an LED. PWM is a technique for getting an analog-like behavior from a digital output by switching it off and on very fast.

Hardware Required

MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad
10k ohm resistor
breadboard
hook-up wire
LED (available on-board)

Relevant Groundwork

An LED connected to digital output pin 14 through a 220-ohm resistor. Note that pin 14 is connected to the green LED on the MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad. Also, it is important to note that not all pins on the LaunchPad are capable of generating a PWM signal using the analogWrite() function. To see all of the pins that support analogWrite(), visit the Energia pin-mapping guide.

Circuit

Schematic

image developed using Fritzing. For more circuit examples, see the Fritzing project page

Code Explanation

None. See comments below.

Code

/*
  Fading
 
  This example shows how to fade an LED using the analogWrite() function.
 
  The circuit:
  * LED attached from digital pin 14 to ground.
 
  Created 1 Nov 2008
  By David A. Mellis
  modified 16 Apr 2013
  By Adrian Fernandez
 
 
  This example code is in the public domain.
  
*/


int ledPin = 14;    // LED connected to digital pin 9

void setup()  { 
  // nothing happens in setup 
} 

void loop()  { 
  // fade in from min to max in increments of 5 points:
  for(int fadeValue = 0 ; fadeValue <= 255; fadeValue +=5) { 
    // sets the value (range from 0 to 255):
    analogWrite(ledPin, fadeValue);         
    // wait for 30 milliseconds to see the dimming effect    
    delay(30);                            
  } 

  // fade out from max to min in increments of 5 points:
  for(int fadeValue = 255 ; fadeValue >= 0; fadeValue -=5) { 
    // sets the value (range from 0 to 255):
    analogWrite(ledPin, fadeValue);         
    // wait for 30 milliseconds to see the dimming effect    
    delay(30);                            
  } 
}

Working Video

(Insert Video Here)