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Ask HN: Need to generate a magnetic field with a Pi Zero W

1 points by nblavoie ↗ HN
I'm new to electronic and in need to generate a magnetic field I can read value with a Raspberry Pi Zero W. Where should I start ? The object I need to track is very, very fast moving (near 100 km/h) and have ferrite in it. I would enjoy your feedback on the matter. The object can be close to the detector (near 2-3 cm) or far (20-30 cm).

3 comments

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oblib
You might look into a magnetometer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetometer

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1120

Here's link to a video I made about using one to create an HTML5 animated compass:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YW6HWJg4f4

Here's a link to code I used and some install instructions for the Pi:

http://www.raspberryperl.com/compass/

nblavoie
Thank you for your feedback. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the magnetometer is only for measuring the earth's electromagnetic field, right ? What if I want to detect metal nearby, does the same chip will be OK for the task ?
oblib
No, it will detect a nearby magnetic field. I had to try that just for fun when I had mine hooked up.