开云体育

Very nice.

Michail Wilson
206-920-6312

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., David Forbes <dforbes@...> wrote:

On 6/29/2010 8:12 PM, msilv3r wrote:

Now my question to you guys, on the PIC side of things.
-From my current understanding, I will have a byte by byte buffer.
This means I will have to do some type of compare with each character.
I'm not sure how to do this.

I've done serial communication with the 18F4520 in MCC18, but not with a 16F in
C. I have programmed a 16F873 in assembly language to do serial I/O.

The serial port is simply a data register that contains the last byte received,
and a status bit in the status register indicating that a data byte is available
in the data register.

When the data register is read, then the status flag is automatically cleared
until another byte is received. So you only have to test the status bit and read
in the character to move data into your string array.

You don't actually need to buffer the string at all. You can parse the characters as they appear at the serial port. I have a little project which parses GPS NMEA strings and generates a square wave where frequency is proportional to speed, done on an Atmel ATtiny15 which has no RAM. The strategy is to be constantly looking for the string preamble (e.g. "$GPRMC"). Once you spot it, start counting comma characters ignoring everything else until you get to the field you want then do a simple atoi routine to convert numbers to an integer.

If you're interested I can email you my code, though it's in C and a bit AVR specific (uses the proguchar library for string storage).

Neil S

-----
From: nick@...
--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., Bjorn Again <mimewar@...> wrote:

What is the AVR setup you mentioned that is under 40$?

There are a stack around on eBay and elsewhere - As an example have a look at - this is a complete AVR development system, complete with LCD, LED array, sounder etc. etc. You program it with AVRstudio (free from ATmel) and WinAVR (wrapper round avr-gcc) which is also free. You would need an AVR ICSP programmer which you can either make for a few dollars or buy again on eBay such as .

So, for 45 bucks you have a complete, end-to-end, development system with all sorts of good stuff.

Olimex sell cheap development boards too - I think Sparkfun are their agents in the US.
-----

Nick, you are the best! I was confused about some terms, this auction at least explained to me, what a development board, and a programmer are. There are all sorts of terms that are kind of interchangeable depending on manufacturer, or architecture. Guys like you on this site, who know more than me, and don't mind sharing your love of the hobby, make the hobby worth while
Thank you so much my friend
Shane

P.S. would it be okay to ask a few questions out of group (direct correspondence through e-mail)?

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One has to remember too that if the byte in the buffer is not read before the next one arrives, it will be overwritten, and thus, lost.
Of course at low baud rates as the usual for NMEA GPSs (9600 bauds), the uC can run circles while waiting for the next byte to come in, but a bad implemented loop on another routine can also thrash everything.
I used to use the UART interrupt to circumvent this. That was when I was used to use assembler instead of high level cr*p for sissies :D
But new compilers also allow for interrupt usage so not all is lost.

骋补蝉迟ó苍

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]

That's done it... he certainly can't now that you have told everyone about it.

John K.
. Shame you cannot use that huge cellar underneath the workshop
for anything.

John S

On 1 Jul 2010, at 06:58, Nick wrote:

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "ghpicard" <ghpicard@...> wrote:

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "Nick" <nick@> wrote:

I'm currently doing a controller for this project: e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?72000 and e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?90019

May I hate you for having such a great test bench?
And for having it so neat and tidy?

As Mr. Smout can confirm, my workshop is currently a complete tip - there is so much stuff in there, its difficult to even get in the door. More so, since I now do mainly HV stuff, and that is very bulky... with one hobby, it would be OK, with several...

Just to clarify - the bench was tidied for the photo ;-)

Nick

Yes Nicko, sorry about knocking over and stamping on that NIB CD47. I'm glad it wasn't expensive or rare or anything, I'd have been upset. Shame you cannot use that huge cellar underneath the workshop for anything.

John S

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
On 1 July 2010 16:36, Nick <nick@...> wrote:

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "James" <jamesrsweet@...> wrote:

Well the nice thing about those is if you don't like the programming enviroment, you can develop in Bascom, C, or ASM on the same hardware. The Arduino is nothing but a carrier board for the AVR and some bootloader firmware on the MCU.

<snip>

My main problem is that I keep trying to use real C++ as my instincts drag me that way, but the Arduino has some every nasty hacks indeed

<snip>
-----

With the amount of memory available, C++ is quite a limiting option here.


--
Steve Rooke - ZL3TUV & G8KVD
The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
- Einstein

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., Bjorn Again <mimewar@...> wrote:

What is the AVR setup you mentioned that is under 40$?

There are a stack around on eBay and elsewhere - As an example have a look at - this is a complete AVR development system, complete with LCD, LED array, sounder etc. etc. You program it with AVRstudio (free from ATmel) and WinAVR (wrapper round avr-gcc) which is also free. You would need an AVR ICSP programmer which you can either make for a few dollars or buy again on eBay such as .

So, for 45 bucks you have a complete, end-to-end, development system with all sorts of good stuff.

Olimex sell cheap development boards too - I think Sparkfun are their agents in the US.

Nick

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "ghpicard" <ghpicard@...> wrote:

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "Nick" <nick@> wrote:

I'm currently doing a controller for this project: and

May I hate you for having such a great test bench?
And for having it so neat and tidy?

As Mr. Smout can confirm, my workshop is currently a complete tip - there is so much stuff in there, its difficult to even get in the door. More so, since I now do mainly HV stuff, and that is very bulky... with one hobby, it would be OK, with several...

Just to clarify - the bench was tidied for the photo ;-)

Nick

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
On Wed, Jun 30, 2010 at 7:33 PM, threeneurons <threeneurons@...>wrote:

westdave <WESTDAVE@...> wrote:

mike and the davester were at the TRW ham swap meet last sat...
[some guy stole] fat lovely xmitter tubes ... worth about $250
each times four! ... caught ... with the goods on him by
Redondo PD, this guy was going for a ride and to night being
in the pokey might bring on a new dimension.

A whole new dimension requiring Preparation-H. There's a reason they call
it the pokey.

<snip>

He was an older an smaller fellow, so I don't know how he fared amongst
Redondo PD's normal clients.

Hm. an older guy you say? Is that what happens to old hams when their linear
amp needs new finals and they have no other means to acquire them? I picture
a fiendish grin and shifty hands..
Maybe I should get out of this hobby before I find myself seriously
considering shoplifting some tubes for my QRO rig some day.

-Adam

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
From: WESTDAVE@...



moses clock chip 6 digit direct drive with lots of trick stuff built in no programing needed
<snip>
-----

WOW! I think i will be placing an order for this one!

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--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., "James" <jamesrsweet@...> wrote:

Well the nice thing about those is if you don't like the programming enviroment, you can develop in Bascom, C, or ASM on the same hardware. The Arduino is nothing but a carrier board for the AVR and some bootloader firmware on the MCU.

I think that's what I said in my last paragraph ;-)

As they come with the CPU socketed and an ICSP connector, you can do what you want with them - it's just an ATmega328P on a small board.

My main problem is that I keep trying to use real C++ as my instincts drag me that way, but the Arduino has some every nasty hacks indeed, particularly related to its generation of function prototypes, which are broken. e.g. if you use templated definitions... uh, ohh - no go. I have a class for rotary encoder that I normally use that encapsulates the ISR, so it mixes static member functions and a class factory. As yet, I've not found a way to make the Arduino IDE allow me to instantiate it correctly...

Nick

moses clock chip 6 digit direct drive with lots of trick stuff built in no programing needed
(6) HP 5082 7340 5vdc BCD( LEDS) with rounded numbers (they come in lime green also) or a(6) TIL311 ...bcd lines will also drive 74141 and nixie tubes


a fun starter clock almost no parts and can be made on a piece of perf board 5 volts dc only
slot roll
scroll
wave
peekaboo
digit fading
day/ date

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
From: threeneurons@...
<snip>
I only mentioned the 'STAMP', as a first introductory step. Personally, I'd get away from BASIC, and move to C, once I get my mind use to programming.
<snip>
Just consider the BASIC Stamp as a one-time development/learning tool. Play with it for a while. Once you get comfortable, download the AVR BASIC Compiler, buy an ISP, a solderless protoboard, and a few parts, and burn (or burn up) a few.
-----

That was kind of the plan. Use the Stamp and BASIC as a stepping stool, and go on to bigger and better... and more complex languages and systems from there.

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

westdave <WESTDAVE@...> wrote:

mike and the davester were at the TRW ham swap meet last sat...
[some guy stole] fat lovely xmitter tubes ... worth about $250
each times four! ... caught ... with the goods on him by
Redondo PD, this guy was going for a ride and to night being
in the pokey might bring on a new dimension.

A whole new dimension requiring Preparation-H. There's a reason they call it the pokey.

That was just bizarre. I could see petty shoplifting of items sought after by 'normal' people (computer & cellphone parts and accessories). I could see a couple of geeks arguing over a rare find, and who spotted it, and claimed it 1st. But outright theft of these large items, that would have been (and were) quickly noticed is something I did not expect. This guy either had no brains, or had a pair of big ones (key word HAD). He was an older an smaller fellow, so I don't know how he fared amongst Redondo PD's normal clients.

IMO the Basic Stamp is both obscenely expensive and
very slow. There is a free version of the Bascom BASIC
compiler for the AVR series microcontrollers. It's nearly
as easy as Stamp, it's *many* times faster, and a free compiler,
$20 programming cable and $2 microcontrollers ...

Nice to know, but I only mentioned the 'STAMP', as a first introductory step. Personally, I'd get away from BASIC, and move to C, once I get my mind use to programming.

We old farts tend to forget the time when we first learned to program. There's a major thought paradigm that we had to wrap our minds around. I had the worst time getting around the increment concept. In Fortran and BASIC you see:

I = I + 1

But, for a rookie engineering major, having taken 4-1/2 years of math in high school, the above statement makes no sense, because you're drilled (in math) to think about it in a whole different way. Maybe if I had seen it in C (i++;) or assembler (inc I) first, maybe I would have had an easier time with it.

Just consider the BASIC Stamp as a one-time development/learning tool. Play with it for a while. Once you get comfortable, download the AVR BASIC Compiler, buy an ISP, a solderless protoboard, and a few parts, and burn (or burn up) a few.

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
From: michail1@...
<snip>
Amazing how get the blinking LED is so satifying, isn't it? :)
I still remember bragging to my friend ---
"Dude, I got the LED blinking now (, and for only $20)" Ha!
-----

It felt great! typing in "END" and hitting run, and blink...blink...blink...
These are the types of things I need for encouragement in learning something like a computer language: a blinking LED.

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[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
From: threeneurons@...
> From: mimewar@...

It's all subjective, there is no right or wrong ...
<snip>
-----
... a friend at Radio Shack ... a parallax PIC BASIC kit for
cheap, so I picked that up, and it's fun. At least I'm learning
something, and the LED is blinking just fine. It's a start.

Yep, there is no wrong answer, other than not doing anything at all.
Our responses, are just suggestions, depending on what you want.
<snip>
I like hardware. For me, I prefer to build the hardware from scratch, based around a uC (almost exclusively AVR, currently). I usually pick the smallest device that will do the job, but that's just me. With many uCs (AVR, PIC, & a few more) the tools to get you going are pretty cheap. With the AVR its under $40, and with that TI part (recently discussed) under $5.

AND ...

if you really want to get into really old technology, why not design and build your nixie clock with all discrete components. No ICs. Try it with discrete transistors. If you really feel masochistic, use only vacuum tubes.
<snip>
-----

I hope I didn't come off as rude or snotty with that last post! I only meant that there seems to be no end of ideas, and views on the matter. That's encouraging in that, my approach isn't necessarily wrong, just different.

I want to get my hands dirty, and assemble a circuit, and write some code. I get discouraged easily, and my passion needs food. I want to get one basic clock running, so I will feel the need to improve and adapt, and grow. I have plenty of time, so learning a new computer language is not an issue, it's just a matter of what will get me going fastest and easiest.

As far as vacuum tubes go, While I understand the beauty, that's not in my range of desire haha. Seems like it's a big job.

What is the AVR setup you mentioned that is under 40$?

Thanks again!

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[edited by A.J. - please trim quoted material]
-----
From: nick@...

If you want to do simple stuff which doesn't require complex high speed faffing around, then BASIC is fine. Most people are completely agnostic wrt. hardware and language - use whatever you find easiest. However, for a nixie clock, you most certainly don't need to use a uP unless you want fancy features (fading etc.).
<snip>
-----

I want fading!!! I'll build this frist clock with what I have, and branch out from here. Fading will be a fancy feature for the next clock. Thanks Nick, It's encouraging that I'm not wasting my time with BASIC altogether haha.

Thanks
Shane

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