I'm trying to make a very simple magnetic field detector. Now I have a very simple circuit (the transmitter/magnetic field generator) with an inductor and a push button. Whenever I press the button 'on/off' really fast, the inductor produces a magnetic field.
I have ATMEGA328 with ADC enabled (the receiver/detector circuit) (voltage reference set to 1.1v). I have a primitive antenna (a 6cm wire floating in the air - plugged directly into ADC input, no op-amp).
If I move the micro-controllers ADC input 'antenna' next to a 220v power socket, I can see a sine wave being formed, so I believe the ADC is picking up the 50/60Hz AC sine wave from the wall, so it's detecting magnetic/electric field.
The problem is when I place my inductor circuit next to the microcontroller and trigger it, the micro-controllers ADC doesn't pick up anything, even when the 'antenna' and inductor is right next to each other. I tested the same inductor in the 'dc to dc boost converter' and it was working very well on 2A 0.3v.
I can't understand why it doesn't detect the magnetic field generated by the inductor, but picks up the field generated from the wall.
Is it because I need to 'convert' the magnetic field/current into voltage (as ADC shows voltage levels) or is the magnetic field produced in the inductor too weak for the simple wire to pick up and I need ether another inductor to pick it up or an op-amp for my 'antenna'? Thanks