Quote:
Originally posted by JoeJ
We are using a PIC16F877A. This is a flash part with 8K of program memory on chip. 38 I/O pins and a very easy assembly language (35 instructions). Also the HC11F1 is a PLCC which is hard to build on protoboard. PIC comes in DIP. Programing tools are a free download. For $100 from digikey the 16F877 has an in-circuit debugger.
Our system also monitors motor current and provides a circuit breaker overload timer. This will allow short periods of burst power that are computer controlled so the driver doesn't have to guess.
|
Sounds kind of interesting.....I agree about the Microchip device. Nice parts for hobbiests because the development tools are so cheap!
It also sounds like you are doing something similar to us with the motor current monitoring (integration) and circuit breaker timer.
Our custom circuit only measures current, and the heavy math/calculations are done by our Dashboard program on the laptop. This way, we can do things like keep logs of our matches as well as wan our driver of impending doom of the breaker!
We also wanted to keep computers out of the decision making process because the risk/benefit of "pushing" the breaker changes with the number of seconds left in the match. (and also, we didn't want a system shutdown should the current measurement curcuit go belly-up.
-Quentin