Conflict between SD card shield and accelerometer

Question

I'm trying to get the SD card (Adafruit microshield SD card) and an MPU6050 accelerometer to work at the same time. When I connect the SD card to the Arduino (without the accelerometer), it's ok; When I connect the accelerometer to the Arduino (without the SD card), it's also ok. The codes for the accelerometer and SD card work fine separately. But when I connect the shield to the Arduino, and then connect the accelerometer, and try to run a combined code, it's problematic. I've included the code I'm currently working on below. I would really appreciate if you could help me find where the problem lies, and how to solve it.

#include <SPI.h>
#include <SD.h>
#include <Wire.h>
#include "RTClib.h"
#include "I2Cdev.h"
#include "MPU6050_6Axis_MotionApps20.h"
//#if I2CDEV_IMPLEMENTATION == I2CDEV_ARDUINO_WIRE
//    #include "Wire.h"
//#endif


// A simple data logger for the Arduino analog pins

// how many milliseconds between grabbing data and logging it. 1000 ms is once a second
#define LOG_INTERVAL  1000 // mills between entries (reduce to take more/faster data)

// how many milliseconds before writing the logged data permanently to disk
// set it to the LOG_INTERVAL to write each time (safest)
// set it to 10*LOG_INTERVAL to write all data every 10 datareads, you could lose up to 
// the last 10 reads if power is lost but it uses less power and is much faster!
#define SYNC_INTERVAL 1000 // mills between calls to flush() - to write data to the card
uint32_t syncTime = 0; // time of last sync()

#define ECHO_TO_SERIAL   1 // echo data to serial port
#define WAIT_TO_START    0 // Wait for serial input in setup()

// the digital pins that connect to the LEDs
#define redLEDpin 4
#define greenLEDpin 3

// The analog pins that connect to the sensors
//(not sure which pins on the accelerometer are the analog pins that connect to the sensor. Insert here!!)


#define INTERRUPT_PIN 2  // use pin 2 on Arduino Uno & most boards
#define LED_PIN 13 // (Arduino is 13, Teensy is 11, Teensy++ is 6)
bool blinkState = false;
#define OUTPUT_READABLE_YAWPITCHROLL
//#define OUTPUT_READABLE_QUATERNION
//#define OUTPUT_READABLE_EULER
//#define OUTPUT_READABLE_REALACCEL
//#define OUTPUT_READABLE_WORLDACCEL


RTC_DS1307 RTC; // define the Real Time Clock object

// for the data logging shield, we use digital pin 10 for the SD cs line
const int chipSelect = HIGH;

// the logging file
File logfile;

void error(char *str)
{
  Serial.print("error: ");
  Serial.println(str);

  // red LED indicates error
  digitalWrite(redLEDpin, HIGH);

  while(1);
}

void setup(void)
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println();

  // use debugging LEDs
  pinMode(redLEDpin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(greenLEDpin, OUTPUT);

#if WAIT_TO_START
  Serial.println("Type any character to start");
  while (!Serial.available());
#endif //WAIT_TO_START

  // initialize the SD card
  Serial.print("Initializing SD card...");
  // make sure that the default chip select pin is set to
  // output, even if you don't use it:
  pinMode(10, OUTPUT);

  // see if the card is present and can be initialized:
  if (!SD.begin(chipSelect)) {
    error("Card failed, or not present");
  }
  Serial.println("card initialized.");

  // create a new file
  char filename[] = "LOGGER00.CSV";
  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
    filename[6] = i/10 + '0';
    filename[7] = i%10 + '0';
    if (! SD.exists(filename)) {
      // only open a new file if it doesn't exist
      logfile = SD.open(filename, FILE_WRITE); 
      break;  // leave the loop!
    }
  }

  if (! logfile) {
    error("couldnt create file");
  }

  Serial.print("Logging to: ");
  Serial.println(filename);

  // connect to RTC
  Wire.begin();  
  if (!RTC.begin()) {
    logfile.println("RTC failed");
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
    Serial.println("RTC failed");
#endif  //ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  }


  logfile.println("Hello,World,!!!");    
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  Serial.println("Hello,World,!!!");
#endif //ECHO_TO_SERIAL

  // If you want to set the aref to something other than 5v
  analogReference(EXTERNAL);
}


// MPU control/status vars
bool dmpReady = false;  // set true if DMP init was successful
uint8_t mpuIntStatus;   // holds actual interrupt status byte from MPU
uint8_t devStatus;      // return status after each device operation (0 = success, !0 = error)
uint16_t packetSize;    // expected DMP packet size (default is 42 bytes)
uint16_t fifoCount;     // count of all bytes currently in FIFO
uint8_t fifoBuffer[64]; // FIFO storage buffer

// orientation/motion vars
Quaternion q;           // [w, x, y, z]         quaternion container
VectorInt16 aa;         // [x, y, z]            accel sensor measurements
VectorInt16 aaReal;     // [x, y, z]            gravity-free accel sensor measurements
VectorInt16 aaWorld;    // [x, y, z]            world-frame accel sensor measurements
VectorFloat gravity;    // [x, y, z]            gravity vector
float euler[3];         // [psi, theta, phi]    Euler angle container
float ypr[3];           // [yaw, pitch, roll]   yaw/pitch/roll container and gravity vector

volatile bool mpuInterrupt = false;     // indicates whether MPU interrupt pin has gone high
void dmpDataReady() {
    mpuInterrupt = true;
}
 #if I2CDEV_IMPLEMENTATION == I2CDEV_ARDUINO_WIRE
        Wire.begin();
        Wire.setClock(400000); // 400kHz I2C clock. Comment this line if having compilation difficulties
    #elif I2CDEV_IMPLEMENTATION == I2CDEV_BUILTIN_FASTWIRE
        Fastwire::setup(400, true);
    #endif

    Serial.begin(9600);
    while (!Serial); // wait for Leonardo enumeration, others continue immediately
 // initialize device
    Serial.println(F("Initializing I2C devices..."));
    mpu.initialize();
    pinMode(INTERRUPT_PIN, INPUT);

    // verify connection
    Serial.println(F("Testing device connections..."));
    Serial.println(mpu.testConnection() ? F("MPU6050 connection successful") : F("MPU6050 connection failed"));

    // wait for ready
    Serial.println(F("\nSend any character to begin DMP programming and demo: "));
    while (Serial.available() && Serial.read()); // empty buffer
    while (!Serial.available());                 // wait for data
    while (Serial.available() && Serial.read()); // empty buffer again

    // load and configure the DMP
    Serial.println(F("Initializing DMP..."));
    devStatus = mpu.dmpInitialize();

    // supply your own gyro offsets here, scaled for min sensitivity
    mpu.setXGyroOffset(220);
    mpu.setYGyroOffset(76);
    mpu.setZGyroOffset(-85);
    mpu.setZAccelOffset(1788); // 1688 factory default for my test chip

    // make sure it worked (returns 0 if so)
    if (devStatus == 0) {
        // turn on the DMP, now that it's ready
        Serial.println(F("Enabling DMP..."));
        mpu.setDMPEnabled(true);

        // enable Arduino interrupt detection
        Serial.print(F("Enabling interrupt detection (Arduino external interrupt "));
        Serial.print(digitalPinToInterrupt(INTERRUPT_PIN));
        Serial.println(F(")..."));
        attachInterrupt(digitalPinToInterrupt(INTERRUPT_PIN), dmpDataReady, RISING);
        mpuIntStatus = mpu.getIntStatus();

        // set our DMP Ready flag so the main loop() function knows it's okay to use it
        Serial.println(F("DMP ready! Waiting for first interrupt..."));
        dmpReady = true;

        // get expected DMP packet size for later comparison
        packetSize = mpu.dmpGetFIFOPacketSize();
    } else {
        // ERROR!
        // 1 = initial memory load failed
        // 2 = DMP configuration updates failed
        // (if it's going to break, usually the code will be 1)
        Serial.print(F("DMP Initialization failed (code "));
        Serial.print(devStatus);
        Serial.println(F(")"));
    }

    // configure LED for output
    pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT);
}


void loop(void){

 if (!dmpReady) return;

    // wait for MPU interrupt or extra packet(s) available
    while (!mpuInterrupt && fifoCount < packetSize) {
        if (mpuInterrupt && fifoCount < packetSize) {
          // try to get out of the infinite loop 
          fifoCount = mpu.getFIFOCount();
        }  

  DateTime now;

  // delay for the amount of time we want between readings
  delay((LOG_INTERVAL -1) - (millis() % LOG_INTERVAL));

  digitalWrite(greenLEDpin, HIGH);

  // log milliseconds since starting
  uint32_t m = millis();
  logfile.print(m);           // milliseconds since start
  logfile.print(", ");    
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  Serial.print(m);         // milliseconds since start
  Serial.print(", ");  
#endif

  // fetch the time
  now = RTC.now();
  // log time
  logfile.print(now.unixtime()); // seconds since 1/1/1970
  logfile.print(", ");
  logfile.print('"');
  logfile.print(now.year(), DEC);
  logfile.print("/");
  logfile.print(now.month(), DEC);
  logfile.print("/");
  logfile.print(now.day(), DEC);
  logfile.print(" ");
  logfile.print(now.hour(), DEC);
  logfile.print(":");
  logfile.print(now.minute(), DEC);
  logfile.print(":");
  logfile.print(now.second(), DEC);
  logfile.print('"');
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  Serial.print(now.unixtime()); // seconds since 1/1/1970
  Serial.print(", ");
  Serial.print('"');
  Serial.print(now.year(), DEC);
  Serial.print("/");
  Serial.print(now.month(), DEC);
  Serial.print("/");
  Serial.print(now.day(), DEC);
  Serial.print(" ");
  Serial.print(now.hour(), DEC);
  Serial.print(":");
  Serial.print(now.minute(), DEC);
  Serial.print(":");
  Serial.print(now.second(), DEC);
  Serial.print('"');
#endif //ECHO_TO_SERIAL

  analogRead(photocellPin);
  delay(10); 
  int photocellReading = analogRead(photocellPin);  

  analogRead(tempPin); 
  delay(10);
  int tempReading = analogRead(tempPin);    


  logfile.print(", ");    
  logfile.print(photocellReading);
  logfile.print(", ");    
  logfile.print(temperatureF);
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  Serial.print(", ");   
  Serial.print(photocellReading);
  Serial.print(", ");    
  Serial.print(temperatureF);
#endif //ECHO_TO_SERIAL

}


// reset interrupt flag and get INT_STATUS byte
    mpuInterrupt = false;
    mpuIntStatus = mpu.getIntStatus();

    // get current FIFO count
    fifoCount = mpu.getFIFOCount();

    // check for overflow (this should never happen unless our code is too inefficient)
    if ((mpuIntStatus & _BV(MPU6050_INTERRUPT_FIFO_OFLOW_BIT)) || fifoCount >= 1024) {
        // reset so we can continue cleanly
        mpu.resetFIFO();
        fifoCount = mpu.getFIFOCount();
        Serial.println(F("FIFO overflow!"));

    // otherwise, check for DMP data ready interrupt (this should happen frequently)
    } else if (mpuIntStatus & _BV(MPU6050_INTERRUPT_DMP_INT_BIT)) {
        // wait for correct available data length, should be a VERY short wait
        while (fifoCount < packetSize) fifoCount = mpu.getFIFOCount();

        // read a packet from FIFO
        mpu.getFIFOBytes(fifoBuffer, packetSize);

        // track FIFO count here in case there is > 1 packet available
        // (this lets us immediately read more without waiting for an interrupt)
        fifoCount -= packetSize;

        #ifdef OUTPUT_READABLE_QUATERNION
            // display quaternion values in easy matrix form: w x y z
            mpu.dmpGetQuaternion(&q, fifoBuffer);
            Serial.print("quat\t");
            Serial.print(q.w);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(q.x);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(q.y);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.println(q.z);
        #endif

        #ifdef OUTPUT_READABLE_EULER
            // display Euler angles in degrees
            mpu.dmpGetQuaternion(&q, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetEuler(euler, &q);
            Serial.print("euler\t");
            Serial.print(euler[0] * 180/M_PI);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(euler[1] * 180/M_PI);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.println(euler[2] * 180/M_PI);
        #endif

        #ifdef OUTPUT_READABLE_YAWPITCHROLL
            // display Euler angles in degrees
            mpu.dmpGetQuaternion(&q, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetGravity(&gravity, &q);
            mpu.dmpGetYawPitchRoll(ypr, &q, &gravity);
            Serial.print("ypr\t");
            Serial.print(ypr[0] * 180/M_PI);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(ypr[1] * 180/M_PI);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.println(ypr[2] * 180/M_PI);
        #endif

        #ifdef OUTPUT_READABLE_REALACCEL
            // display real acceleration, adjusted to remove gravity
            mpu.dmpGetQuaternion(&q, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetAccel(&aa, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetGravity(&gravity, &q);
            mpu.dmpGetLinearAccel(&aaReal, &aa, &gravity);
            Serial.print("areal\t");
            Serial.print(aaReal.x);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(aaReal.y);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.println(aaReal.z);
        #endif

        #ifdef OUTPUT_READABLE_WORLDACCEL
            // display initial world-frame acceleration, adjusted to remove gravity
            // and rotated based on known orientation from quaternion
            mpu.dmpGetQuaternion(&q, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetAccel(&aa, fifoBuffer);
            mpu.dmpGetGravity(&gravity, &q);
            mpu.dmpGetLinearAccel(&aaReal, &aa, &gravity);
            mpu.dmpGetLinearAccelInWorld(&aaWorld, &aaReal, &q);
            Serial.print("aworld\t");
            Serial.print(aaWorld.x);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.print(aaWorld.y);
            Serial.print("\t");
            Serial.println(aaWorld.z);
        #endif


  logfile.println();
#if ECHO_TO_SERIAL
  Serial.println();
#endif // ECHO_TO_SERIAL

  digitalWrite(greenLEDpin, LOW);

  // Now we write data to disk! Don't sync too often - requires 2048 bytes of I/O to SD card
  // which uses a bunch of power and takes time
  if ((millis() - syncTime) < SYNC_INTERVAL) return;
  syncTime = millis();

  // blink LED to show we are syncing data to the card & updating FAT!
  digitalWrite(redLEDpin, HIGH);
  logfile.flush();
  digitalWrite(redLEDpin, LOW);

}

Answer 1

Based on the information that you've provided, it's quite likely that your problem lies with how your SD card and accelerometer connect via the SPI bus.

The problem is that a lot of Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) devices, particularly the cheaper ones, don't properly put the MISO pin into high-impedance when SS is pulled high. The 'datasheet'/tutorial for the Micro SD Card Breakout Board (which is the device that I assume you mean when you say Adafruit microshield SD card), has the following schematic:

Which doesn't appear to include a tri-state buffer.

I had almost exactly this situation with one of my projects. I eventually resolved it by placing a tri-state buffer (in that case, I used a 74HC125 4-channel tri-state buffer) in the MISO line for each of the SPI devices.

---

This page on Better SPI Bus Design in 3 steps is what finally got me on the right track. I think the explanations are reasonably clear (at least compared with many other sites I found!).