Microcontroller

  Wichit Sirichote has built a solar recorder that stores data to a compact flash memory card, there are full details including code and schematics available so that you can make your own. Even if you don’t need a solar recorder you can see how to store data to compact flash from a PIC microcontroller. "The EMF [...]

  These microcontroller based fireflies are cool. At first I thought they simply started to flash when the lights turned off but they actually are able to detect the flashes of their neighbors and sync themselves! "What can be observed is that the fireflies start with random blinking. But as time goes by, they are able to [...]

  This Basic Stamp Microcontroller Based Garage Parking Assistant may be overkill for the application but that is what makes it fun. What fun would it be to hang a tennis ball from the ceiling when you can use technology to give you a traffic light that represents your optimal parking distance. "The Garage Parking Assistant [...]

This is simple led blinking routine using my development board. The compiler I used was WINARM. I like this compiler because its free and adaptation is easy while the same functionality is in WINAVR. This simple test just blinks pin 16 of port 0. This I used when I first got to know ARM microcontroller.Her

C compilers are getting more and more advanced, but there is always a trade off made between speed and code size. Compiled code can be faster or smaller but not both. So you have to choose which part is more important speed or code size.The Increase of microcontroller code efficiency can be done in many

Reducing microcontroller code size isn’t ease task, but what if you want resulting code to fit your available memory…Minimizing microcontroller code size can be done in two ways:Firs is using compilers optimization feature by code size. This optimization is very dangerous. Your optimized code may not work as supposed to because compiler may eliminate some

All you know that microcontrollers have limited amount RAM and EEPROM. For instance ATMega128 has 4-Kbytes of RAM, 4-Kbyte of EEPROM. This may seem quite enough for some applications, but more complicated routines require more of RAM. And there is no compiler that can do better optimization on usage of ram than programmer.

Old cellphones are great for scavenging µC project parts like small LCDs, motors, etc.Here is a rundown on how to repurpose an old USB cellphone data cable for rs232 communication.Bob writes: About three years ago,I bought a USB data cable to use with T610 mobile phone.I can’t remember what is model just know it is made [...]

 If you are interested in seeing what is going on with your garden this Garden Monitor Project is something you should take a look at. It is using a Picaxe microcontroller and has an interesting home brew communication process. All of the schematics and source code are also provided. "One day we had a good hard [...]

New to PIC ?? Let us see the dynamic features of PIC which has made it a better choice than other microcontrollersFeatures of PIC microcontroller1.code efficiency - The PIC 8 bit microcontroller is based on Harvard architecture, which means there are separate internal buses for memory and data. The throughput rate is therefore increased due to simultaneous access to both data and program memory. I

The problem of handling materials in an industry must be done in an efficient way. Present system for handling materials in industry uses conveyor belts to displace the object from one place to another. The conveyor belt system occupies large amount of space even when there is no load to be transported and can accept load from a particular source and deliver it to a particular destination

In this website you will see several examples how to simulate PIC microcontroller circuit using PROTEUS VSM such as interfacing c,7-segment,switchs etc.Link Related PostsMIDIATORBasic Stamp PIC Microcontroller Temp SensorLaser Display.NET OscilloscopeSerial interfacing LCD with Pic Microcontroller

Let us see about the architecture categories in PIC microcontrollerMicrochips 8 bit PIC microcontrollers fall into three product architecture categories providing a variety of option for any application requirementBaseline 8 bit architecture - 12 bit program wordMidrange 8 bit architecture - 14 bit program wordHigh performance 8 bit architecture - 16 bit program wordBaseline Architecture - The bas

The microcontrollers are widely used in nowadays electronic and modern devices. You can track them whether on personal use for fun or even for the serious and confidential applications by banks, security services, government authority or military field. Most of the algorithm that uploaded into its memory is well written in Assembler. Many villains out there [...]

This project may not be needed for your everyday life but it turns a PIC Microcontroller  into a DTMF Phone Dialer and there is code provided so next time you need to make some DTMF magic you can use this project as a starting point. " The dialer is operated this way: Storing a number. The [...]

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Looking for compact but flexible, simple and cheap development board? You should consider this nice list of microcontroller USB-Stick tools. These are special development tools that include all necessary hardware and software in a portable USB stick. Most of them consist of two parts - USB stick and attachable target board. For instance eZ430-RF2500 is the [...]

Here is an interesting build of some Automatic Closing Gates that was made for this wooden gate. It was built out of necessity, the builder had a child that he did not want running onto the road. The motor and gearbox is controlled using a Picaxe Microcontroller. Activation of the gate is done remotely using [...]

Parallel interfacing LCD with MCU  needs at least 6 I/O pins (4 bit mode) and maximun 11 I/O pins (8 bit mode). The I/O pin’s can be cut down to 3 pin by serial interfacing using shift registers. There are a few shift registers that can be used such as 74HC164, 74HC595, CD4094 and other [...]

It’s been ten years when Cornell University Computer Engineering students were publishing their final embedded projects. I always enjoy browsing over that big list of complete projects. You can get some crazy ideas here but also some good lessons that could be helpful while building your own projects. As every year this one is not an [...]

  Gadget Freak has a cool Freezer Failure Alarm project that is based on the PIC Microcontroller. Most projects have no important purpose but this one sure does. It could save you hundreds of dollars if you have a freezer full of meat! Looks like a nice simple yet effective design. See this document for full [...]

For anyone who has have not played with a microcontroller yet, here is your chance to try one out for a very decent price.Popular Science has a article about the RBBB (Really Bare Bones Board) - the most minimal (to date) clone of the Arduino. This board fits the 16MHz Atmega168 and the most minimal of support components onto a PCB barely larger than the IC itself.Ladyada has had a slightly more feature-filled equivalent available for a while, the Boarduino.For more info on the Arduino, go here.Oh, and there WILL be one included in my robot.

Developing USB PC Peripherals Using Intel 8X930AX USB MicrocontrollerAnnabooks; Bk&Disk edition ISBN: 0929392388 176 pages PDF 1,4 MbWooi Ming is a Senior Technical Marketing Engineer for Intel USB Microcontrollers. He focuses on USB, microcontroller architecture, firmware development, and the utilization of microcontrollers in various USB application. He has been involved in the USB world since the early days of USB development. Wooi Ming also provides technical consultations to various major OEMs and has helped them to develop and demonstrate their USB products in several international tradeshows. Wooi Ming has a Master of Engineering Degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National University of Singapore and a Bachelor Degree in Engineering from the University

  crazyrobotsoftware.com writes : As an educational experiment, I decided to build a small temperature sensor, and data logger. Since I have little experience with direct Analog to Digital (A->D) converters, I decided to start out with a little more “meaty” hardware. I used a Basic Stamp II (BOE) BS2-IC microcontroller to capture temperature using a [...]

C compilers are getting more and more advanced, but there is always a trade off made between speed and code size. Compiled code can be faster or smaller but not both. So you have to choose which part is more important speed or code size.The Increase of microcontroller code efficiency can be done in many […]

Reducing microcontroller code size isn’t ease task, but what if you want resulting code to fit your available memory…Minimizing microcontroller code size can be done in two ways:Firs is using compilers optimization feature by code size. This optimization is very dangerous. Your optimized code may not work as supposed to because compiler may eliminate some […]

All you know that microcontrollers have limited amount RAM and EEPROM. For instance ATMega128 has 4-Kbytes of RAM, 4-Kbyte of EEPROM. This may seem quite enough for some applications, but more complicated routines require more of RAM. And there is no compiler that can do better optimization on usage of ram than programmer.The main aim […]

Top side PCB About three years ago,I bought a USB data cable to use with T610 mobile phone.I can’t remember what is the model just know it is made in China.Now I have a new model mobile phone and my USB data cable not used at all.Therefore, I want to modify it to use with my [...]

The following is a code that would allow for selecting PORTS pins randomly.I created this small program to test my system against malfunction sensors attacks and overflow buffers within the system itself.while((new_i_random > 7) && (old_i_random != new_i_random)) // Make sure that the pin selector is within the range of bits of PORTC{srand((TMR0*new_i_random)); // Reseed the random function generatornew_i_random = rand(); // Generate a new random numbernew_i_random &= 0x0F; // Select the low bits of the new generated number}PORTC &= 0x00; // Clear the PORTPORTC = 1 << new_i_random; // Shift "new_i_random" bits to the left to enable a pin of PORTCasm("nop");old_i_random = new_i_random; // Store the old PORTC pinnew_i_random = 10; // Reset the PORTC pin selectorCLRWDT(); // Clear the watchDog timer of the PIC before the PIC resetssdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgssdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgssdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgsdfgs

In Microprocessor more op-codes, few bit handling instructions. But in Micro controller: fewer op-codes, more bit handling Instructions, and also it is defined as a device that includes micro processor, memory, & input / output signal lines on a single chip. Share This

  This PIC Microcontroller Spud Gun looks to be well built and constructed. The PIC controller allows for lots of safety features such as only allowing a single charge of fuel and ensuring that there is a projectile in place before fuel can be introduced. Watch the video to the end to see a ball get fired. “This project is definitely not small potatoes — three barrels loaded with spuds and charged with propane! Two PIC microcontrollers handle the User Interface, Azimuth and Elevation Aiming and Fire Control functions. Aiming is controlled with a joystick. The Fire Control subsystem verifies a projectile is loaded in the selected barrel before injecting the controlled charge of fuel and that the barrel is armed before firing.” Via: Make

These Gesture Controlled Lamps use the Arduino Microcontroller to detect movement and adjust the lights accordingly. If you want to get your hands on a free Arduino microcontroller have a look at the latest uC Hobby giveaway. “Gestures in front of any lamp affect all the lamps. The lamps all show the same display, but it depends on which lamp generated the triggering event. For those of you new to the project: the concept is “action at a distance”, the lamps all react in unison regardless of distance (well, within a few hundred meters). Technically, quite complex: uses AD5206 digipots, Zigbee radios and Arduino minis, all held together with some elaborate software.”

Benjamin Tang and Rishi Ramchand are Cornell University students who made an Autonomous Blimp as their final project in the ECE 476 Microcontroller Design course. The project uses a GP2Y0D340 IR sensor to see if there is an obstacle in the way that needs to be maneuvered around. That IR sensor looks to be the type that is normally found in the automatic water taps that are found in most modern commercial bathrooms, with a 2 foot range I can think of lots of cool uses for the device… “Our project controls a propeller-driven toy blimp; it keeps the blimp moving in a straight line if its path is clear, and otherwise navigates it around obstacles in its path. To accomplish the former task, our circuit uses a gyroscope to detect horizontal rotation and compensates for it by adjusting the propeller speed. Obstacle detection is performed using a digital infrared proximity sensor. The central challenge of our project was to build a circuit that was sufficiently light to be

ASTLAB has built an machine that automates programming microcontrollers. This could be a useful machine if you needed to make hundreds of pre-programmed microcontrollers. There is a tube of blank microcontroller chips on the right, and the programmed ones on the left. A motorized arm moves over to this tube and grabs a blank chip using a suction tool and drops it into a ZIF socket, a servo then closes the ZIF socket allowing the chip to be programmed. The arm then picks up the programmed chip and drops it into the tube of programmed chips. It looks like the project is well documented, unfortunately I don’t understand the language and my trusty Google translator doesn’t help either. If someone wants to summarize it in English I would be appreciative. Video after the jump.  

ASTLAB has built an machine that automates programming microcontrollers. This could be a useful machine if you needed to make hundreds of pre-programmed microcontrollers. There is a tube of blank microcontroller chips on the right, and the programmed ones on the left. A motorized arm moves over to this tube and grabs a blank chip using a suction tool and drops it into a ZIF socket, a servo then closes the ZIF socket allowing the chip to be programmed. The arm then picks up the programmed chip and drops it into the tube of programmed chips. It looks like the project is well documented, unfortunately I don’t understand the language and my trusty Google translator doesn’t help either. If someone wants to summarize it in English I would be appreciative. Video after the jump.  

Ross Smith from the University of South Australia gave an interesting microcontroller design presentation that contains some useful information for anyone that is considering using one in their next project. “This presentation looks at how to develop your own custom microcontroller hardware from scratch. Often laptops and general purpose computers are too powerful and too large to use for simple hardware projects. Often you can perform tasks like controlling DC motors, stepper motors, switches, LCDs, LEDs, buzzers/speakers etc. efficiently and effectively using inexpensive/free microcontrollers. Other benefits such as extremely small size and ultra low power consumption are also inherent benefits of most popular microcontrollers.”  

Ross Smith from the University of South Australia gave an interesting microcontroller design presentation that contains some useful information for anyone that is considering using one in their next project. “This presentation looks at how to develop your own custom microcontroller hardware from scratch. Often laptops and general purpose computers are too powerful and too large to use for simple hardware projects. Often you can perform tasks like controlling DC motors, stepper motors, switches, LCDs, LEDs, buzzers/speakers etc. efficiently and effectively using inexpensive/free microcontrollers. Other benefits such as extremely small size and ultra low power consumption are also inherent benefits of most popular microcontrollers.”  

Sometimes you just haven’t ability to flash microcontroller in order to test program functionality in development phase. For this there may be many reasons like you don’t have a prototype ready or you need to test parts of code and so on. For this there are software simulators used which simulates microcontroller work without microcontroller itself. Simulators usually don’t have connection to real world all operations are simulated in software. Microcontroller simulator is a program model which imitates its work. Modern simulators now simulates not only arithmetic operations but also I/O operations and even peripherals like timers, ADC, USART, I2C and so on. In many cases there is possible to prepare whole project jus using simulator and then burn compiled code to real microcontroller. Simulators usually allow: debugging at source code level; follow operation time in slow motion but with real world values; connect stimulus signals like they are real world sign

Bruce Land over at Cornell University teaches a microcontroller design course that has the students get into groups and design cool projects. The ECE 476 Microcontroller Design Final Projects for 2007 are now posted on the course Web site. The projects include everything from a ultrasonic car parking aid to a laser pong game! Hacked Gadgets will be featuring some of these projects during the next few weeks. What are your favorites?

In the microcontroller world some things are a bit tricky to do without some help. This can be some code libraries that help us talk to an LCD display, or communicate via some of the new serial protocols such as one wire. Elektronika.ba has done some work to help everyone out who wants to interface a microcontroller to a GSM phone. Thanks for making the English version for us. Code and diagrams are available on his site. “This device acts as interface between your microcontroller project and a GSM phone. It handles all modem data communication between the GSM phone and your micro-project. The best thing is that it decodes PDU into TEXT on the fly! It’s based on PIC16F877A microcontroller running on 16MHz at 5V. It has an onboard level converter for serial communication with the gsm phone because PIC’s UART RX input pin has a Schmitt trigger triggering at 4,5 - 5V while the phone is sending only approx. 3V from it’s TX pin. It also has a zener diode at TX p

You may remember an RFID project that was featured here last year by The Digital Dawg Pound. Nick has come up with a new and improved RFID Door Entry System. Video after the jump. “I decided to try and improve the reliability and responsiveness of my previous RFID front door project (based around a client / server design), by re-implementing it using the Parallax BASIC Stamp 2e, and the 13.5MHz APSX RW-210 RFID reader as a standalone device. I was also looking to gain some practical experience with BASIC Stamp programming. The design is fairly straight forward, a custom circuit board links the BASIC Stamp to the RFID reader, and is powered by 12v. When a valid card is recognised, it provides 12v output to a door strike, and buzzer for 3 seconds. When an invalid card is recognised, it pulses 12v to a buzzer only for 250 milliseconds 3 times in a row (see below for video demo). It also features a trigger input which when connected to ground will simulate a valid tag bring pres

There has been quite a few temperature devices featured here in the past. This temperature logger is nice since it uses one of my favorite temperature sensing chips, the DS18B20. This sensor is digital and does not need any calibration. When I make my next batch of home brew beer there will definitely be a DS18B20 floating in it. Or if I have some extra DS1822 devices from the fish tank light project I might just use those… “The logger probes measure temperatures from –55°C to +125°C (–67°F to +257°F). No calibration required. A PIC Arbiter acts as interface between the Dallas temperature sensors and a logging PC. There are 8 terminations or single wire busses. Each of the 8 busses can support up to 8 sensors. As many sensors can be installed as required, limited to 64 maximum. I have called it an Arbiter as the controller negotiates with each probe on the single wire bus. Each individual Dallas temperature sensor unique serial number. Where a particular pr