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Issue #225 April 2009 — Embedded Programming
Task Manager
Troubleshooters, Unite!, by C. J. Abate
Priority Interrupt
Print Is Dead—Long Live Print, by Steve Ciarcia
New Product News, edited by John Gorsky
FEATURE ARTICLES
Construct a USB GPIO Pod (Part 1)
No Parallel Port, No Problem
by DJ Delorie
Unless you’ve been in a cave for the past decade, you know that the parallel port has been eclipsed by the USB port. In this article, DJ describes how to design a general-purpose input output (GPIO) pod that can plug into your USB port. Now you will have the flexibility to define the I/O you need. p. 16
Keywords: USB, GPIO, R8C, FT232RL, Linux, programming, GCC
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
Robot Navigation and Control (Part 2)
Software Development
by Guido Ottaviani
Guido built a navigation and control subsystem for an autonomous differential steering explorer robot. Here he describes the software development phase of the project. p. 30
Keywords: Robotics, differential steering, dsPIC30F, PID, ADC, quadrature encoder, dead reckoning, odometry
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
Digital Decoding — Read
it now!
Decode Periodic Signal Transmissions
by Danilo Consonni
Danilo’s digital decoder decodes the SRC-RAI signal, the Italian official hourly signal. With this device, you can learn how one of the oldest operating signals of sample time is made and how it works. p. 40
Keywords: SRC-RAI, time signal, transmission, decoding, IEN, PIC16F628
COLUMNS
INTELLIGENT ENERGY SOLUTIONS — ABOVE THE GROUND PLANE
Solar Data Logger (Part 1)
PCB Layout, Inductor Saturation, and Other Troubles
by Ed Nisely
Every engineer knows projects don’t always work out as planned. Ed’s goal was to build a data collection board that could automatically characterize a solar panel, record the panel’s output over the course of several days, and then compare the results to his manually collected data. Unfortunately, he experienced some problems. Read on to learn why you should always have a proper-sized board. p. 24
Keywords: Solar panel, data logger, PV, Aurduino Diecimila, ATmega168, MAX4372T, load, power, current, ground plane, MPP
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
THE DARKER SIDE
Time Domain Reflectometry
Detect and Measure Impedance Mismatches
by Robert Lacoste
Robert demystifies the topic of time domain reflectometry, which enables you to detect, measure, and locate any impedance mismatch in a transmission line. To do so, he explains the theory behind it and presents some practical experiments. p. 50
Keywords: TDR, time domain reflectometry, cable, pulse generator, oscilloscope, splitter, QUCS, microstrip
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
FROM THE BENCH
Programmable Robotics (Part 2)
Application Development
by Jeff Bachiochi
When Jeff couldn’t add a Bluetooth adapter module to iRobot’s Create (because it used the same cargo bay connector as the Command Module), he did what any good designer would do: he built his own. This month, he explains how to replace the Command Module with a two-serial-port microcontroller. p. 58
Keywords: iRobot Create, robotics, Bluetooth, interface, dsPIC30F4011, UART, Liberty BASIC, RDS 2008
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
SILICON UPDATE
ZSTAR Trek
A Healthy Mix of MCUs, Sensors, and Wireless Technology
by Tom Cantrell
SILICON UPDATE
With a combination of MCUs, sensors, and wireless capabilities, the ZSTAR3 evaluation kit could be a great starting point for your next project. In addition to a wireless accelerometer, it includes a USB plug-in wireless hub and handy PC-based utility software. p. 66
Keywords: ZSTAR3, MMA7456L, accelerometer, MC1321x, 'S08, 802.15.4, wireless
(A link to the article will be emailed to you.)
BONUS FEATURE ARTICLE
Time-Triggered Systems (Part 1) — Read
it now!
Co-Operative Schedulers 101
by Michael Smith
In this series of articles, Mike takes a closer look at time-triggered systems. Here he explains his recent “re-awakening” to the advantages of co-operative schedulers and presents an interesting approach to using them.
(As appeared with Circuit Cellar Digital Plus April 2009 issue. Subscribers get immediate access to Bonus Materials. Click here for Digial Plus subscription options)
PREVIEW
Issue #226 May 2009 — Measurement & Sensors
◊ Smart Lead-Acid Battery Meter: An MCU-Based "Gauge" for SLA Batteries
◊ Construct a USB GPIO Pod (Part 2): USB JTAG Module
◊ DOS in the 21st Century: A Flash Drive Reader for MCUs Works for DOS
◊ Transformerless Power Supply
◊ LESSONS FROM THE TRENCHES FAT File System Review (Part 2): C Code for the File System
◊ FROM THE BENCH A World Without the NTSC: NTSC-to-VGA Conversion Made Simple
◊ SILICON UPDATE Whistle While You Work: A Look at a Modern DSP
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