Arduino and Raspberry were on my radar, but not actively involved with them, until I tore my ultrasonic apart to see if I could alter the cycle times, to my surprise it used a programmable microcontroller instead of an old fashioned 555, now several months later my desk looks like a bench, and my living room is piled with bins of cheap electronic components, and now I am on these forums because I might be in a little over my head and need lots of research/ education/ and help.