Calibration Protocol
Magdalena M Julkowska, Hayley Sussman, Olga Khmelnitsky
Abstract
This is a quick calibration protocol for the Arduino AAWsmo box.
Use this protocol at the beginning of every new experiment and as needed.
This is part of a larger phenotyping project in the Julkowska Lab at the Boyce Thompson Institute in Ithaca NY
Steps
Code and Uploading
Download the calibrate.ino file from GitHub (insert GitHub link here) to a location in your computer that is easy to access with all other Arduino codes that you will be using.
Select the 'Verify' button in the top left of the screen (indicated by a blue circle with a checkmark in it. This will verify your code to check for any errors without having to upload it to the Arduino)
Connect the Arduino to a USB port on your computer
Make sure that the scale is leveled, free from any debris underneath the scale, and empty with nothing on it. (This is because once the USB is connected to the computer the power will be supplied to start up the Arduino)
Change the weight units to those you wish to work with by altering:
Serial.print(" g"); //Change this to your desired units and re-adjust the calibration factor if you like
In this case, the experiment is optimized for 'grams'. Different weight units might have vastly different calibration factors, adjust as necessary.

On the calibrate.ino code, select the 'Upload' button at the top left of the screen, indicated by a right-pointing arrow in a blue circle. Wait for the message at the bottom to read 'Done uploading'.
Calibration
Select two objects with known weights.
Open the 'Serial Monitor" in the upper right-hand corner (indicated by a small magnifying glass in a blue square)
Based on the reading, type in either + or - into the text bar at the top of the window and click 'Send".
When you reach a reading that is true to the actual weight on the scale, note down the calibration factor.
Place the second weight on the scale and observe the deviation from the true weight and adjust the calibration factor to disperse the variance between the upper limit weight and the lower limit weight.
At the end of the calibration note down the date, calibration factor and the achieved accuracy (how much did the weight vary from the true weight)