Working Sensor

After a lot of delay I have finally managed to get an output reading for my capacitive sensor working. For some reason I was not able to get any kind of output  from the way I had previously built the prototype. I dont know if it was due to how I had laid the pins out or what I had given the Arduino, but for some reason or other It just wouldnt work.

I am now very glad to say however that I have now got numerical output from my Arduino, and the readings are coming in the form of numbers from the sensor pin. These numerical values are printed in the Arduino's serial monitor and as I move my hand closer and further away the numbers increase of decrease accordingly.

The readings output to the Arduino's serial monitor, which increase or decrease depending on the distance from the plate. Currently the readings spike at around 300 when the plate is touched, but still increase and decrease without touch. The values may be low but at least I'm getting values. To increase the distance the sensor picks up the user can be increased by using a higher value resistor. I'm thinking about using a 440K resistor since it will give me a higher reading without overloading the serial port.