slatepipe

i am trying to get distance information from a ping))) sensor and i am a bit stuck mainly due to my lack of knowledge so i thought i had better ask for help from people who probably know more than me.

the sensor is connected to my arduino and numbers show up on the arduino serial monitor, though they all begin with the letter A.(???) they change when i put my hand in front of the sensor so i guess its working ok.

i am trying to get max to read this distance data so that i can play different sounds according to distance. i have tried the simple message system patch (below) but it just seems to give out random numbers. i am now trying the very simple max patch (also below) and i am getting numbers in the max window but they dont seem to bear any relation to distance.

sorry for my lack of knowledge but can anyone give me any advice or help? or point me in the right direction?

i want to ultimately receive distance data from six sensors and playback sounds in max accordingly

quite new user: arduino, ping sensor and max help