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Runners-Up
Robot
Conversion Kit — Joseph Jones
Acton, MA USA
The
Robot Conversion Kit (RCK) is an AVR-powered electronic package
that enables a user to convert a radio-controlled (RC) car into
an autonomous robot. The RCK provides the fundamental set of
sensors, motor drivers, and functionality needed by nearly every
mobile robot. The RCK also offers a mix of 10 analog and digital
I/O ports that the user can specify for other purposes. Further,
the RCK includes software programmed into the AVR’s flash memory
that demonstrates the principles of modern robot control theory.
Complete
Abstract
Ethernet-Based
Remote Audio Player — Mike Neufeld
Kelowna, BC Canada
This project is a hardware device designed to access MPEG-encoded
audio over a 10BaseT Ethernet network. The system employs a
protocol designed to allow multiple player units to connect
to a single server and simultaneously and independently receive
audio over the network. Users of each remote player can navigate
through the available selection of music by using the built-in
keypad and LCD screen, or with an infrared remote control. The
embedded software sends Ethernet frames containing commands
to the server, requesting song titles (which appear on the LCD),
playlist information, and MPEG audio data. The Windows-based
server software maintains status information on each connected
player, sending frames of requested information back to the
player unit.
Complete
Abstract
FAT32
Hard-drive-based MP3 Player with
512 Bytes of SRAM— Pieter Conradie
Stellenbosch, WP South Africa
This project shows how an 8-bit microcontroller can be interfaced
to an IDE (ATA) hard drive with the minimum of external circuitry.
A FAT32 file system with long filenames and multiple directories
are supported with only 512 bytes of SRAM. The user-selected
file’s data is streamed to an MP3 decoder, which in turn streams
the raw (decoded) data to a 16-bit DAC. The user-interface is
RS-232, but this can be adapted to any suitable protocol that
interfaces with an MMI unit (text display and switches).
Complete
Abstract
Greenhouse
Controller — David Collins
Pottstown, PA USA
The design of this greenhouse controller consists of two units,
the microcontroller/transmitter and the microcontroller/receiver.
The transmitter unit is located in the greenhouse and the receiver
is located in the house about 75 feet from the greenhouse. The
transmitter units gather data from temperature sensors and,
based on this data, operates two vents, a heater, and a fan.
The unit then transmits the temperature data and the state of
the vents, heater, and fan using the license-free 433.9-MHz
band. This information is also displayed on a 4 × 20 LCD in
the unit. The receiver unit receives and displays the same information
on a similar LCD. This process is repeated every 10 s.
Complete
Abstract
VFO
Frequency Counter and PLL stabilizer — Richard Hosking
Nedlands, WA Australia
VFO Frequency Counter and PLL Stabilizer This project can be
used to stabilize a free running oscillator and provide a frequency
readout in one package. The board consists of a gate/prescaler
circuit, a microcontroller, and a loop filter/VCO control circuit
using a passive integrator and voltage follower. The front end
squares, gates, and prescales the VFO signal under the control
of the microcontroller. The microcontroller counts the VFO frequency,
drives an LCD, and acts as an intelligent phase detector. The
controller itself has only an 8-bit counter that contains the
most significant bits of the count data at the end of each count
period (100 ms). The 74HC4020 prescaler contains the other 14
bits of data. To access this data, the prescaler is toggled
until its output changes state. The controller keeps track of
how many pulses are required and from this calculates the contents
of the prescaler. The overall resolution is 22 bits, which means
that frequencies up to about 40 MHz can be counted to a resolution
of 10 Hz. The controller converts the binary data to BCD and
ASCII to drive a 16 × 2 LCD.
Complete
Abstract
PalmScope
— Aaron McFarland
Knoxville, TN USA
The PalmScope is a hardware and software project implementing
the functionality of a portable oscilloscope, a spectrum analyzer,
and a logic analyzer using a PC- or PalmOS-based PDA for display.
The hardware communicates serially with either the PDA or PC.
The software allows the user to view signals up to 120 VAC versus
time or frequency (FFT). With a maximum sample rate of 40 Msps
and a bandwidth of 2 MHz, it is possible to view a wide range
of input signals with great accuracy.
Complete
Abstract
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