MAXBOTIX MaxSonar User manual
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
This
is
provided
to
serve
as
an
easy
to
use
set
-
up
guide
for
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ
family
of
ultrasonic
sensors
.
This
sensor
uses
sound
to
measure
the
distance
to
nearby
objects
,
and
then
reports
the
information
through
one
of
the
three
sensor
outputs
.
MaxBotix
Inc
.,
is
excited
to
provide
this
guide
which
is
designed
to
assist
you
in
using
your
MaxSonar
sensor
for
the
first
time
!
This
quick
start
guide
was
created
using
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ1
MB1010
sensor
.
List of Commonly Used Equipment:
1
.
Power
Supply
2
.
Multimeter
3
.
Wires
4
.
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
(
or
one
of
the
other
MaxSonar
products
)
5
.
Large
flat
target
–
such
as
a
box
MaxSonar Quick-Start Guide
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
1
)
High Performance Ultrasonic Range Finders
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
2
)
Determine the Power and Ground Inputs & Outputs
The
following
chart
is
provided
as
an
easy
reference
guide
for
connecting
our
MaxSonar
products
.
Supply Power to the Sensor
1
.
Disconnect
the
power
supply
from
any
equipment
.
2
.
Turn
ON
the
power
supply
;
set
the
voltage
to
5
.
0V
DC
(
Volts
Direct
Current
).
3
.
Turn
OFF
the
power
supply
.
4
.
Connect
the
ground
from
your
power
supply
to
the
GND
pin
on
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
.
5
.
Connect
your
power
supply
to
+
5
pin
on
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
.
6
.
Turn
ON
the
power
supply
;
verify
that
the
voltage
is
between
+
2
.
5V
and
+
5
.
5V
.
The
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
input
power
should
be
+
5V
DC
.
This
system
can
operate
from
+
2
.
5V
to
+
5
.
5V
.
The
current
input
should
read
~
3mA
for
+
5V
DC
and
~
2mA
for
+
3
.
3V
DC
.
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
3
)
Connect to the AN Output
Connect
the
AN
pin
(
Analog
Voltage
)
to
a
multimeter
by
doing
the
following
:
1
.
Switch
the
multimeter
to
read
DC
voltage
.
2a
.
Connect
the
ground
lead
of
the
multimeter
to
the
ground
on
your
power
supply
.
or
2b
.
Connect
the
ground
lead
of
the
multimeter
to
the
GND
pin
of
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
. (
To
do
this
we
used
a
paperclip
attached
to
the
ground
of
our
power
supply
).
3
.
Connect
the
power
lead
of
the
multimeter
to
the
pin
labeled
AN
on
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
. (
To
do
this
we
used
the
yellow
banana
clips
to
run
from
the
AN
pin
to
the
multimeter
probe
).
4
.
The
display
should
read
the
voltage
output
of
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
.
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
4
)
A Picture of Our Setup
Read the AN Output Using a Multimeter
A
Brief
Description
of
the
AN
pin
.
The
analog
voltage
pin
outputs
a
voltage
which
corresponds
to
the
distance
.
The
further
away
an
object
is
from
the
sensor
the
higher
the
output
voltage
becomes
which
in
turn
will
be
measured
by
the
multimeter
.
The
sensor
is
designed
to
report
the
range
to
the
closest
detectable
object
.
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
5
)
Calculating the Voltage Scaling
Because
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ1
output
is
scaled
to
the
input
power
that
is
provided
to
the
sensor
,
it
is
important
to
know
the
voltage
scaling
before
calculating
the
range
.
The
formula
for
the
voltage
scaling
on
an
LV
‑
MaxSonar
‑
EZ1
is
:
[(
Vcc
/
512
) =
Vi
]
Vcc
=
Supplied
Voltage
Vi
=
Volts
per
inch
(
Scaling
)
Example
1
:
Say
you
have
an
input
voltage
of
+
5
.
0V
the
formula
would
read
:
[(
5
.
0V
/
512
) =
0
.
009766V
per
inch
=
9
.
766mV
per
inch
]
Calculating the Range
Once
you
know
the
voltage
scaling
it
is
easy
to
properly
calculate
the
range
.
The
range
formula
is
:
[(
Vm
/
Vi
) =
Ri
]
Vm
=
Measured
Voltage
Vi
=
Volts
per
Inch
(
Scaling
)
Ri
=
Range
in
inches
Example
2
:
To
get
comfortable
with
this
equation
use
a
known
distance
by
using
a
ruler
.
Say
the
multimeter
shows
292
.
98mV
then
you
use
the
calculations
as
follows
:
[(
292
.
98mV
/
9
.
766mV
) =
30
inches
]
Example
3
:
To
work
backward
and
verify
your
calculation
is
correct
use
the
inverse
formula
:
[(
Ri
x
Vi
) =
Vm
] [(
30
x
9
.
766
) =
292
.
98
]
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
6
)
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
7
)
Additional Considerations
Please
note
that
if
you
are
using
a
sensor
from
the
HR
-
MaxSonar
,
XL
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
,
XL
-
MaxSonar
-
AE
,
XL
‑
MaxSonar
‑
WR
,
or
XL
‑
MaxSonar
‑
WRC
series
the
voltage
scaling
will
not
match
that
of
the
LV
‑
MaxSonar
sensors
.
To
find
the
voltage
scaling
of
your
sensor
reference
the
product
datasheet
.
Analog
Voltage
scaling
for
all
of
our
product
lines
can
be
seen
in
our
Using
Analog
Voltage
(
Pin
3
)
tutorial
.
This
tutorial
also
includes
examples
for
using
the
Analog
Voltage
output
,
as
well
as
integrating
with
a
10
‑
bit
Analog
Digital
Converter
.
Please
note
the
sensor
resolution
,
for
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ1
the
resolution
is
one
inch
.
The
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
will
,
in
general
,
range
objects
from
0
to
6
inches
as
6
inches
.
Which
corresponds
to
58
.
6mV
when
powered
at
+
5V
DC
.
The
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
provides
range
for
objects
up
to
254
inches
away
.
Sensor
will
report
the
closest
detectable
reflection
from
an
object
as
defined
by
the
sensor
beam
pattern
.
You
may
view
the
beam
pattern
for
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
here
.
(
218
)
454
-
0766
MAXBOTIX
info
@
maxbotix
.
com
(
8
)
Connect the LV-MaxSonar-EZ to a Microcontroller
1
.
It
is
recommended
that
you
first
connect
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
to
either
an
oscilloscope
or
a
multimeter
before
you
connect
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
to
a
microcontroller
for
the
first
time
.
2
.
Connect
the
microcontroller
input
pin
to
the
desired
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
sensor
output
pin
.
3
.
For
the
AN
pin
,
the
following
code
example
is
provided
for
reference
:
BasicX
Code
Example
Read the AN pin (Analog Voltage) with a Microcontroller
1
.
Ensure
proper
microcontroller
voltage
scaling
.
2
.
Ensure
proper
voltage
scaling
of
the
LV
-
MaxSonar
-
EZ
.
3
.
Use
the
proper
formula
for
calculating
the
distance
from
the
voltage
that
is
read
.
Reference
the
sensor
datasheet
.
Please
note
:
If
you
are
using
a
microcontroller
to
read
the
AN
output
there
is
a
strong
possibility
that
the
microcontroller
has
internal
voltage
scaling
.
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