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Issue #214 May 2008
DIY Measurement And Sensing Projects
by C. J. Abate
During the past two decades, measurement and sensing technologies have become increasingly important in the daily lives of average consumers. Today, a typical American home has at least one measurement or sensor system that features embedded technologies. Electronic temperature-measuring systems, health-monitoring medical devices, motion-sensing security networks, and interactive gaming systems are common examples.
As most of our long-time readers know well, many of these technologies were first developed by members of the embedded design community and then presented in the pages of Circuit Cellar. For instance, back in Circuit Cellar Issue 2 (March/April 1988), we ran an article by Tom Riley about building a four-channel, temperature-logging system. In Circuit Cellar Issue 26 (April/May 1992), we ran an article by our founder Steve Ciarcia about building a “people tracking” system for his house. Such IR systems are ubiquitous these days. More recently, we ran James Koehler’s article about building a proton precession magnetometer (Circuit Cellar Issue 202, May 2007). These are only a few of the dozens of articles about measurement and sensor systems that we’ve published over the years.
This month, we present four new articles about do-it-yourself measurement and sensor projects. I encourage you to read through each article and try your hand at at least one of these exciting projects.
Starting on page 16, Gerhard Oberforcher takes you step by step through the process of building a PIC-based ultrasonic snow depth sensor. Even if you don’t need to take accurate snow depth measurements, you can use the principles described in this article to build a measurement system for various other purposes.
Miguel Rusch’s prize-winning LCR meter will be a great addition to your workbench (p. 34). The meter enables you to monitor the analog performance of any device under test.
Turn to page 41 to learn how Steve Lubbers built a seizure-monitoring system for his dog. Following Steve’s advice will help you design a truly 21st-century electronic data logging and monitoring system. This project proves that you can use your engineering skills to monitor serious, life-threatening conditions.
Jeff Bachiochi presents the last theme-related article in the issue. In “Control Circuitry,” he explains how to build a controller that can interact with your favorite gaming console (p. 70). Using your design and programming expertise to tweak an existing sensor-based gaming system can be an affordable alternative to buying the next expensive product to hit the market.
Once you’ve read through these engaging articles, be sure to check out David Lynch’s follow-up article on embedded Linux development (p. 52), Wolfgang Matthes’s article on ATA interfaces (p. 60), Tom Cantrell’s introduction to MAX II technology (p. 76), and George Martin’s article about “looking” into his C compiler (p. 83).
Finally, take some time to study the amazing projects that placed at the top of the WIZnet iEthernet Design Contest (p. 30). The projects range from an innovative WIZ810MJ-based irrigation timer/controller to a handy embedded server application that enables you to find airfare deals on the Internet. Congratulations to all of the winners!
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