Runners Up

Prize: Each receive a personal GPS unit and an eZ80 evaluation board.

Vehicle Trip Recorder (complete abstract)

The Vehicle Trip Recorder keeps track of and displays basic information such as elapsed time, cost/quantity of fuel, distance traveled, average speed, and other trip information. Information is gathered from the vehicle, processed, and displayed on an LCD panel. Keypad commands tell the system when to start and stop recording and allow data entry. Information is stored on a plug-in Compact Flash (CF) memory card to allow easy transfer of the travel information to a PC for record keeping. A low-cost CF reader connected to a home PC allows transfer of the data, which can be manipulated using a readily available spreadsheet program or word processor.

Dave Filicicchia
Schaumburg, Illinois
dmfili@comcast.net

The Mega-Keyboard (complete abstract)

Web surfing and computer usage usually involve little physical motion or exertion. The Mega-Keyboard offers an alternate keyboard, on which the user walks (or jumps, or dances.) The keyboard surface itself is entirely passive. Detection of the “keystroke” is done optically, by scanning a matrix of infrared beams and determining which have been broken. The control, decoding, and communications functionality is all handled by a Z80S183 microcontroller. The design supports several packaging variations. It can be used to build large-scale “soft keyboards” with the texture of a flat punching-bag, for use by people with limited neuro-muscular control. Because the detection is entirely optical, it could also be wall mounted and hardened for use in environments such as schoolyards or other public access terminals.

Phillip King
Santa Clara, California
pking@pkscientific.com

RF-to-X10 Data Converter (complete abstract)

This RF-to-X10 Converter application provides wireless control for up to 256 devices. The sensors are wireless and transmit to the controller when a change in the environment is detected. The controller operates the devices by using pre-existing power lines via X10, eliminating the cost of installing wires for communication. One proven application would be to control the lights in a museum. The idea would be to intensify a light when a patron moves in front of a display, and dim the light after the patron moves away from the display. Another application would be to control the environment in a greenhouse by monitoring the temperature and humidity and turning fans or heaters on or off to get the desired temperature.

Philip Champagne
Winter Springs, Florida
pjchamp@earthlink.net

Steam Injection Control (complete abstract)

One of the major setback when building a steam-powered radio-control model airplane is the ability to quickly and easily vary the rpm of a steam engine. Similar to fuel injection in a gasoline engine, steam has to be injected into the appropriate cylinder of a steam engine at the appropriate time. Signals, which are calculated and produced by the Z183, turn on and off steam valves that are actuated by solenoids. The speed of the steam engine is selected using a variable resistor. The Z183’s A/D converter reads the voltage across the resistor and this information is then used to calculate the appropriate time delays and solenoid signals.

Richard Prescott
Moscow, Idaho
rickpres2@aol.com

RadioCommunications Controller (complete abstract)

The RadioCommunications Controller provides an interface between an ordinary voice radio, such as a VHF or UHF transceiver, and a computer or another synchronous terminal. The controller can be used in a variety of applications, such as packet AX.25-protocol radio communication, X.25-protocol radio-PAD, or to select signals from a GPS receiver at intervals greater than 1 s and send them via radio. The capabilities of the Z80182’s two on-chip enhanced serial communication controllers (ESCC) made it an easy choice for this project. Channel ESCC-B of the RadioCommunications Controller (DCE) can be connected to a computer (DTE) via RS-232 in asynchronous mode or to synchronous equipment via a V.24 interface. Channel ESCC-A of the controller can be wired to radio via radio-modem chips MX (FX)469 or MX(FX)589 to provide radio communication with 1200/2400 or 4800/9600 bps, respectively.

Gvozdev Alexandrovich, Aldashkina Ivanovna, and Donchenko Grigorjevich
Kiev, Ukraine
gsal@carrier.kiev.ua