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Temperature monitor and alarm

11/4/2016

4 Comments

 
This was one of those projects that should have taken an afternoon and didn't, however it's now complete and working rather nicely.
Picture
I already had a box from a defunct project that had the 4x20 LCD display installed and power switch, mains transformer and a mains IEC socket on the rear so I decided to re-task it for this.

Inside is a PIC18F25K22 running this show, and the device can monitor up to three channels. Each channel has a 5-pin din connector and cable that connects to a Maxim DS18B20 temperature sensor.
You can set the alarm temperature independently on each channel, and the project starts beeping and flashing the LCD backlight if a maximum is exceeded. I also included a relay that can be used as a power interrupter for the project under test. This way I can leave a project on soak but if it starts to over heat, the power can be cut automatically.

The reason it took longer than anticipated was for some reason the PCB never etched correctly and I had some messing around to do. The software only took around an hour to write and debug. I love Proton BASIC.

...and the reason it's three channels and not more, well I happened to have three 5-pin din sockets in my junk box. If I'd had more... who knows.

If anybody is interested I'll make available the circuit diagram, PCB foil and PIC firmware but this really is an easy project to design and build.

So, now that's up and running, I can get back to the original task of designing a decent voltage boost converter.

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Another clock... I love clocks...

15/10/2013

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I've got a thing for clocks... I wonder if it's because I'm not getting any younger.
Anyway, I had a day free over the weekend and decided It was clock building time.
There's not much to this clock really. A PIC18F25K22 running some simple firmware written in AMICUS18 BASIC. There's a Dallas DS1302 RTC chip with battery backup, and a handful of other components.
I've been experimenting with different firmware to see which makes the display the most readable.
The image on the left of the clock front is showing a time of 10:20:13

UPDATE 29/10/13
I've created a construction project for this clock which can be found here.

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Update to the PIC Digital Thermometer & Clock 

18/8/2013

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When I'm not in the workshop, I usually switch off the clock; no point in wasting electricity.
The other day, when I turned the clock on, I noticed it was running a few minutes fast but once I reset the time, never gave it another thought.

Yesterday I switched the clock on and the time was completely incorrect. A quick check of the battery backup voltage revealed the problem; it was down to around 1.1v which is odd as it's a rechargeable cell and the recharging is supposed to be controlled by the Maxim DS1302 RTC chip.

I checked the firmware source code against the RTC datasheet and the error immediately became obvious. A bug in the code that's taken nearly two years to come to light, meant I wasn't specifying the charging options incorrectly. I've corrected the problem and updated the project files to include the fix.

This is an interesting reminder that even in the simplest of projects, some bugs can take a long time to surface.

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Completed the Nixie Clock

13/5/2012

3 Comments

 
It’s been a busy couple of days playing with the Nixie Clock but it’s been well worth it.

The firmware for the PIC is completed and running and the main logic board that contains the PIC, RS232 interface, Audio Amplifier, HT and +5v PSU is complete and working.

I had to make a few “modifications” to the wooden case as the display board PCB was slightly too wide and the 7-way Molex connector was catching on the side, preventing the board from sliding into place. Thank heavens for electric files !!

The chap who will be receiving this is a bit of a change freak and loves things that are configurable, so every parameter can be configured by hooking the clock to a dumb RS232 terminal.

There is provision for two temperature sensors to be connected, and you can set alarms if minimum or maximum temperatures on either channel are exceeded. Alarms are either flashing coloured LED’s and/or an audio alert (frequency configurable of course).

There is provision for the CPU to power down the Nixie tubes during a specified time window. This could be useful during the day when the owner will be at work and should help extend the life of the tubes.

The on board RTC (DS1802) can have its date / time  set via a simple command over the serial port, and is also responsible for trickle-charging the on-board NiMH back up battery.

All that’s left to do is fit everything into the case and possibly make a few alterations to the firmware. I’m using just under 25% of the available program space, so theres lots of room available for additional features. I’ve also added an 8-way Molex connector to the top of the PCB that brings out +5v, 0v and the remaining unused I/O pins from the PIC; this will make hardware expansion simpler when it’s required; and it will be required at some point.
I've marked all the connectors so that when enquiring hands take the darn thing apart, it can be put back to gether... that's going to happen at some point as well I suspect.
Picture
Picture showing back wooden panel with interface connector, logic and driver board.
3 Comments

Clocks... Clocks... Clocks...

9/1/2012

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Now I love clocks, I really do. They are great projects because you can place them on the mantelpiece or in other prominent locations as a functional working device, partners can’t complain about it being another piece of junk because they do something useful, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are great beginner projects and once you’ve built it, you can tell people “I made that”.

Recently, I’ve been working on a new clock project and it suddenly occurred to me that except for the physical display aspect of the clock, the internals are nearly always the same. A battery-backed RTC for the date/time (usually a Dallas DS1302) with support components, a PSU section of some type that usually puts out 5v for the logic and possible an additional higher voltage for larger LED displays, a PIC to glue everything together and some display driver hardware.

The only really custom part is the physical display, and the PIC firmware, and this got me thinking; “Can I construct a generic clock that can have many different displays connected, and just need to update the PIC firmware as required”?

So, this is what I’m currently working on. Some more thought is required on some of the projects finer attributes but I have an initial prototype sat on my breadboard that’s driving a strange looking LED display with 60 LEDs on it (I’ll post pictures later) and it seems to be working well.

The next part is to design several other display units and make sure that they can be driven by the hardware.
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    A software and hardware engineer who loves retro computers.

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