Digital to Analog Converter

Although all Arduinos support the analogWrite() function, in “Controlling Light with PWM” you learned that Arduino simulates an analog voltage by using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). This works fine to control the brightness of LEDs and the speed of motors, but sometimes you might need a true analog voltage. In that case, the ARM-based boards are ideal because they contain a device called a Digital to Analog Converter or DAC. This does exactly what you would expect: You give it a number, and it generates a voltage proportional to that number. This can be invaluable for controlling a variety of devices.

Arduino boards that have a DAC include: Arduino Zero, Arduino Nano IOT, Arduino MKR 1010, Arduino MKR WAN, Arduino MKR NB, Arduino MKR GSM, and Arduino MKR Vidor 4000