Post by thread:[PIC] Survey on PIC usage.

On Thu, Feb 02, 2006 at 02:18:21AM -0800, kravnus wolf wrote: > Out of curiosity, how many home projects(used > everyday) did you use > PIC for? > > PIC - 16F873A Door bell. 16F84A - Tachometer for my mill. I was greatly amused when I realised how rediculous it was to use a PIC running at 20mhz, twice the clockspeed of my first computer, just to measure a low-RPM spindle. I calculated it out, and found that the max RPM it could measure was about 1 million something... I ended up multiplexing the 4 digit LED display on it at something like 20khz... Dunno if a mill is quite a "home project" though... Also have some plans to make a outdoor temp sensor thingy using a PIC and a one wire chip for my apartment. There's this hole in my wall that goes clear to the outside. Pretty sure it's from an old cable TV retrofit that's since been re-retrofitted to a different hole. It's sealed with a bit of caulking and I was thinking of pushing the sensor through and using a PIC attached to something nifty like an analog panel meter for the readout, like the "clock" I built for a customer, http://petertodd.ca/art/meter_clock.php He uses, or at least looks at, that everyday, so maybe that counts? -- spam_OUTpeteTakeThisOuTpetertodd.ca http://www.petertodd.ca

Some of my "home" projects are also used in support of my consulting business. Do they count? - An automated corn feeder for game - feeds at dawn, dusk, and midway in between. - A digital tach, period, and frequency meter - uses either direct signal input, contact closure, or optical sensor. A single-axis digital readout for my router table using an optical encoder - A dual-axis digital readout for my lathe/mill using optical encoders (one per axis). The X-axis can be toggled between "DIAMETER" and "RADIUS" display to minimize stupid human errors, depending on whether you're using the mill or lathe. - an ASCII keyboard/display unit to interface with PIC projects without using my regular computer. - An event counter/timer used to verify operation of some of my circuits during their debug phase. - A pulse generator that generates 1-4 pulses with different selectable pulse widths and repetition rates (for more than one pulse, obviously). Used to aid in debugging other circuits. - As a controller chip for a home-designed electrical discharge machine (EDM). Controls the stepper feed motor to maintain the selected current/voltage across the spark gap. - As a cable continuity tester for multi-conductor cable runs. - As an infrared converter/repeater for extending the operation of infrared remotes. Also used in customer projects, most of which are proprietary and outside the scope of this question. Dennis Peter Todd wrote: {Quote hidden}>On Thu, Feb 02, 2006 at 02:18:21AM -0800, kravnus wolf wrote: > > >>Out of curiosity, how many home projects(used >>everyday) did you use >>PIC for? >> >>PIC - 16F873A Door bell. >> >> > >16F84A - Tachometer for my mill. I was greatly amused when I realised >how rediculous it was to use a PIC running at 20mhz, twice the >clockspeed of my first computer, just to measure a low-RPM spindle. I >calculated it out, and found that the max RPM it could measure was about >1 million something... I ended up multiplexing the 4 digit LED display >on it at something like 20khz... Dunno if a mill is quite a "home >project" though... > > >Also have some plans to make a outdoor temp sensor thingy using a PIC >and a one wire chip for my apartment. There's this hole in my wall that >goes clear to the outside. Pretty sure it's from an old cable TV >retrofit that's since been re-retrofitted to a different hole. It's >sealed with a bit of caulking and I was thinking of pushing the sensor >through and using a PIC attached to something nifty like an analog panel >meter for the readout, like the "clock" I built for a customer, >http://petertodd.ca/art/meter_clock.php He uses, or at least looks at, >that everyday, so maybe that counts? > > >

> kravnus wolf kravnusspam_OUTyahoo.com wrote: > > >Out of curiosity, how many home projects(used >everyday) did you use >PIC for? I have three so far: 1) A 16F84 based basement light controller. It auto turns on the lights when the basement door is opened and leaves them on about 90 seconds after the door is closed. The unfinished basement has pull string lights and this project eliminates the need to keep a light on down there. 2) My sunrise/sunset outdoor light controller. My wife likes the outside lights on at night for security. It used to be my job to to turn them on at night and off in the morning. The controller now does this by using an embedded table of sunrise and sunset times from the beginning of each month. It then interpolates the sunrise and sunset time based on the day of the month and the fixed sunrise/sunset values from the tables. For simplicity I used 32 day months, so the turn on turn off times are approximate. It has a lot of interesting features: - It uses a pot/switch interface from a scrapped light dimmer for data entry. - It has a battery backup so that the time is retained during a power outage. - It uses a 32 khz watch crystal for timing. It doesn't work too very well in the unconditioned basement space where the project is located. I implemented a cheap corrector using a $2 wall clock and a LED interruptor, but I couldn't get it stable. Eventually I'd like to do some updates. The pot/switch interface has too much bounce which causes difficulty in setting the date/time. I'd switch to using like power for tracking time too. 3) My homebuilt thermostat has saved me a bunch of money. I finally figured out that family will fiddle with the thermostat. My thermostat has no input interface. It kicks on the AC at 77F and the heater at 71F. Also it runs the unit in 12 minute intervals. The long run times go a long way to keeping the space comfortable. BAJ

Peter RemoveMEplpTakeThisOuTactcom.co.il wrote: >> Interesting application... May I know why ;) >>> >>> 16F675 freezer door open alarm >Anti-beer-gets-warm-device ? >Peter No beer in the freezer. I needed one because the kids go to the freezer downstairs to get ice cream and such. At one time the door did not end up closed as usual and two days later when my wife needed something from the basement we ended up throwing out several hundred dollars of food. I couldn't find a device that would do what I wanted it to do so I had to build my own. I bought a package of the simple "Home Alert" door alarms $10 for 4 And modified one with a 12f675 and a n channel fet to switch on the old electronics if the reed contact was not closed within 1 minute While the door is opened it will chirp every 10 seconds to remind you to close the door (this also works as a battery test) After screaming for a couple seconds it takes a break for a half minute and the process repeats. The pic sleeps most of the time the reed contact operates the INT input all very simple. Peter van Hoof

On Fri, Feb 03, 2006 at 04:27:17PM -0800, Peter van Hoof wrote: > I bought a package of the simple "Home Alert" door alarms $10 for 4 > And modified one with a 12f675 and a n channel fet to switch on the > old electronics if the reed contact was not closed within 1 minute > While the door is opened it will chirp every 10 seconds to remind > you to close the door (this also works as a battery test) > > After screaming for a couple seconds it takes a break for a half minute > and the process repeats. > > The pic sleeps most of the time the reed contact operates the INT input > all very simple. Out of curiosity... Any reason why you didn't simply run the PICs power through the reed switch itself? Or use a transistor operated by the reed switch to turn on the PIC? Running in sleep mode seems kinda wastefull to me rather than just totally turning the PIC off. Incidentally your project kinda reminds me of one I want to do with my fridge... It's a tiny "bar-fridge" sized model, sutable for my equally tiny apartment. Works fine except that if the temperature is set such that ice-cream stays solid in the freezer compartment, the rest of the fridge ends up below zero! The two compartments aren't seperated, and cooling for the fridge is provided by falling air from the freezer. (at top) At worst if set to maximum the freezer part ends up at -30C (!) and my milk is a solid -10C block... My looney scheme was to put a small heater at the very bottom controlled by a PIC with some temperature sensors. I'd have the heater add heat to the fridge portion based on the temp sensor reading to keep it above freezing so that the overall temperature differential would be greater. Power would be supplied by thin insulated copper strips sneaking past the door seal. I suspect that the manufacture assumed in the design that the door would be opened more often than it is, I'm practically never home. Fortunately my apartment has unmetered electricity... -- spamBeGonepetespamBeGonepetertodd.ca http://www.petertodd.ca

Looks like PIC is famous in saving the home appliance. :) Thinking what else should I use PIC for at home. John --- Byron A Jeff <RemoveMEbyronTakeThisOuTcc.gatech.edu> wrote: {Quote hidden}> > kravnus wolf kravnusEraseME.....yahoo.com wrote: > > > > > >Out of curiosity, how many home projects(used > >everyday) did you use > >PIC for? > > I have three so far: > > 1) A 16F84 based basement light controller. It auto > turns on the lights when > the basement door is opened and leaves them on about > 90 seconds after the > door is closed. The unfinished basement has pull > string lights and this > project eliminates the need to keep a light on down > there. > > 2) My sunrise/sunset outdoor light controller. My > wife likes the outside > lights on at night for security. It used to be my > job to to turn them on > at night and off in the morning. The controller now > does this by using > an embedded table of sunrise and sunset times from > the beginning of each > month. It then interpolates the sunrise and sunset > time based on the day > of the month and the fixed sunrise/sunset values > from the tables. For > simplicity I used 32 day months, so the turn on turn > off times are > approximate. It has a lot of interesting features: > > - It uses a pot/switch interface from a scrapped > light dimmer for data > entry. > - It has a battery backup so that the time is > retained during a power outage. > - It uses a 32 khz watch crystal for timing. It > doesn't work too very well > in the unconditioned basement space where the > project is located. I > implemented a cheap corrector using a $2 wall > clock and a LED interruptor, > but I couldn't get it stable. > > Eventually I'd like to do some updates. The > pot/switch interface has too much > bounce which causes difficulty in setting the > date/time. I'd switch to using > like power for tracking time too. > > 3) My homebuilt thermostat has saved me a bunch of > money. I finally figured > out that family will fiddle with the thermostat. My > thermostat has no input > interface. It kicks on the AC at 77F and the heater > at 71F. Also it runs the > unit in 12 minute intervals. The long run times go a > long way to keeping > the space comfortable. > > BAJ > --

No web site, but I can probably send you enough info to keep you happy for a day or two!! I wrote the code as a relative PIC newbie. Thus it isn't relocatable, which gives me heartburn now! It IS well-commented though! The PIC is a 16F628 and it controls the entire EDM operation, from applying electrode power, to sensing limit switch conditions, to the stepper motor (which controls the position of the electrode to maintain whatever gap voltage is desired). It is NOT a wire EDM, but rather one that uses an electrode that punches though tough metal. For example: I've used it to punch square holes though carbide lathe tools and also holes though HSS (tool steel) for mounting hard cutters on relatively "soft" steel carrier shafts using cap screws. Also had to use it once to remove a stuck grade 8 1/4" set screw from an old jointer head. Wasn't fast, but WAS effective! Email me off-line & I'll send you enough info & photos for you to make one yourself, if you so desire! BTW: It works great! Let me know! Dennis P.S. I want to make changes to the code, but haven't done it yet. Right now, it needs a constant stream of "clean" water to flush out the debris. I use a very small fountain pump - you don't need much flow. I want to modify it to cycle the electrode up & down while immersed in the coolant, thus "self-flushing" the spark gap. That's necessary if you have a solid electrode and a deep hole. Usually I use a hollow electrode with coolant running thru the center down to the spark gap. The "cycle" feature isn't a hard change, just haven't gotten around to it! Peter Todd wrote: {Quote hidden}>On Thu, Feb 02, 2006 at 12:35:10PM -0500, Dennis J. Murray wrote: > > >>- As a controller chip for a home-designed electrical discharge machine >>(EDM). Controls the stepper feed motor to maintain the selected >>current/voltage across the spark gap. >> >> > >Love to hear more about that one, got a website on it? > >

Dennis J. Murray wrote: {Quote hidden}> No web site, but I can probably send you enough info to keep you happy > for a day or two!! I wrote the code as a relative PIC newbie. Thus it > isn't relocatable, which gives me heartburn now! It IS well-commented > though! The PIC is a 16F628 and it controls the entire EDM operation, > from applying electrode power, to sensing limit switch conditions, to > the stepper motor (which controls the position of the electrode to > maintain whatever gap voltage is desired). > > It is NOT a wire EDM, but rather one that uses an electrode that punches > though tough metal. For example: I've used it to punch square holes > though carbide lathe tools and also holes though HSS (tool steel) for > mounting hard cutters on relatively "soft" steel carrier shafts using > cap screws. Also had to use it once to remove a stuck grade 8 1/4" set > screw from an old jointer head. Wasn't fast, but WAS effective! > > Email me off-line & I'll send you enough info & photos for you to make > one yourself, if you so desire! > > BTW: It works great! > > Let me know! > Dennis > > P.S. > I want to make changes to the code, but haven't done it yet. Right now, > it needs a constant stream of "clean" water to flush out the debris. I > use a very small fountain pump - you don't need much flow. I want to > modify it to cycle the electrode up & down while immersed in the > coolant, thus "self-flushing" the spark gap. That's necessary if you > have a solid electrode and a deep hole. Usually I use a hollow electrode > with coolant running thru the center down to the spark gap. > > The "cycle" feature isn't a hard change, just haven't gotten around to it! > > > > > > Peter Todd wrote: > > >>On Thu, Feb 02, 2006 at 12:35:10PM -0500, Dennis J. Murray wrote: >> >> >> >>>- As a controller chip for a home-designed electrical discharge machine >>>(EDM). Controls the stepper feed motor to maintain the selected >>>current/voltage across the spark gap. >>> >>> >> >>Love to hear more about that one, got a website on it? >> >>

Simpler idea. Buy a second fridge. My looney scheme was to put a small heater at the very bottom controlled > by a PIC with some temperature sensors. I'd have the heater add heat to > the fridge portion based on the temp sensor reading to keep it above > freezing so that the overall temperature differential would be greater. > Power would be supplied by thin insulated copper strips sneaking past > the door seal. I suspect that the manufacture assumed in the design > that the door would be opened more often than it is, I'm practically > never home. > -- Shawn Wilton (b9 Systems) http://b9Systems.com <- New web page

On Sat, 4 Feb 2006, Peter Todd wrote: > My looney scheme was to put a small heater at the very bottom controlled > by a PIC with some temperature sensors. I'd have the heater add heat to > the fridge portion based on the temp sensor reading to keep it above > freezing so that the overall temperature differential would be greater. > Power would be supplied by thin insulated copper strips sneaking past > the door seal. I suspect that the manufacture assumed in the design > that the door would be opened more often than it is, I'm practically > never home. Get hold of some 1/3 inch expanded polystyrene board, cut two rectangular pieces as wide as the fridge, and slip them under the freezer compartment. Set the gap between them (more or less overlap) to regulate the cooling of the lower compartment. Peter

On Sun, Feb 05, 2006 at 08:26:36PM +0200, Peter wrote: > > My looney scheme was to put a small heater at the very bottom controlled > > by a PIC with some temperature sensors. I'd have the heater add heat to > > the fridge portion based on the temp sensor reading to keep it above > > freezing so that the overall temperature differential would be greater. > > Power would be supplied by thin insulated copper strips sneaking past > > the door seal. I suspect that the manufacture assumed in the design > > that the door would be opened more often than it is, I'm practically > > never home. > > Get hold of some 1/3 inch expanded polystyrene board, cut two > rectangular pieces as wide as the fridge, and slip them under the > freezer compartment. Set the gap between them (more or less overlap) to > regulate the cooling of the lower compartment. That's an excellent idea, I'll give it a try. The insulation could slide in right where the drip tray for the freezer is, just have to remember to replace it when defronsting. Now why didn't I think of that before... Oh, of course, your idea doesn't run on electricity... -- EraseMEpetepetertodd.ca http://www.petertodd.ca

On Sun, 5 Feb 2006, Peter Todd wrote: {Quote hidden}> On Sun, Feb 05, 2006 at 08:26:36PM +0200, Peter wrote: >>> My looney scheme was to put a small heater at the very bottom controlled >>> by a PIC with some temperature sensors. I'd have the heater add heat to >>> the fridge portion based on the temp sensor reading to keep it above >>> freezing so that the overall temperature differential would be greater. >>> Power would be supplied by thin insulated copper strips sneaking past >>> the door seal. I suspect that the manufacture assumed in the design >>> that the door would be opened more often than it is, I'm practically >>> never home. >> >> Get hold of some 1/3 inch expanded polystyrene board, cut two >> rectangular pieces as wide as the fridge, and slip them under the >> freezer compartment. Set the gap between them (more or less overlap) to >> regulate the cooling of the lower compartment. > > That's an excellent idea, I'll give it a try. The insulation could slide > in right where the drip tray for the freezer is, just have to remember > to replace it when defronsting. > > Now why didn't I think of that before... Oh, of course, your idea > doesn't run on electricity... You could use static proof foam and stick a couple of pics in it. Come to think of it, a self adjusting tray overlap using a servo and a thermistor could be worth investigating ... Peter

I am in the process of 'implementing' a pic in two private projects that I am busy with; One of them is an intelligent fan controller ; I have been experimenting with software based PWM, and am waiting for a 1-wire temperature sensor that I ordered to arrive so I can start playing with the 1-wire bus & protocol. The second project is actually a school project. I am supposed to design a oscillator that can generate a *perfect* sine from about 20Hz - 20 Khz, but I kind really got my self excited and decided to embark on an adventure with a DDS (AD9834). I am thinking of implementing a nice LCD with frequency counter and some *menu* options on it as well... All in the name of science of course! Sean

I am also looking into the temp meter. Using Maxim DS18S20. Freq generator to but no scope yet :( John --- Sean Schouten <RemoveMEdev.seantechEraseMEEraseMEgmail.com> wrote: {Quote hidden}> I am in the process of 'implementing' a pic in two > private projects that I > am busy with; One of them is an intelligent fan > controller ; I have been > experimenting with software based PWM, and am > waiting for a 1-wire > temperature sensor that I ordered to arrive so I can > start playing with the > 1-wire bus & protocol. The second project is > actually a school project. I am > supposed to design a oscillator that can generate a > *perfect* sine from > about 20Hz - 20 Khz, but I kind really got my self > excited and decided to > embark on an adventure with a DDS (AD9834). I am > thinking of implementing a > nice LCD with frequency counter and some *menu* > options on it as well... All > in the name of science of course! > > Sean > --

>-----Original Message----- >From: RemoveMEpiclist-bouncesspam_OUTKILLspammit.edu [RemoveMEpiclist-bouncesTakeThisOuTspammit.edu] >Sent: 10 February 2006 21:44 >To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. >Subject: Re: [PIC] Survey on PIC usage. > > >I am in the process of 'implementing' a pic in two private >projects that I am busy with; One of them is an intelligent >fan controller ; I have been experimenting with software based >PWM, and am waiting for a 1-wire temperature sensor that I >ordered to arrive so I can start playing with the 1-wire bus & >protocol. The second project is actually a school project. I >am supposed to design a oscillator that can generate a >*perfect* sine from about 20Hz - 20 Khz, Your project design specifiation should include just how pure the output must be, but "perfect" is not an acceptable, or acheivable design constraint. You should be able to produce a very good sinusoid with carefull design though... Regards Mike ======================================================================= This e-mail is intended for the person it is addressed to only. The information contained in it may be confidential and/or protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you must not make any use of this information, or copy or show it to any person. Please contact us immediately to tell us that you have received this e-mail, and return the original to us. Any use, forwarding, printing or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. No part of this message can be considered a request for goods or services. =======================================================================