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embedds.com writes:
All AVR microcontrollers have internal watchdog timer that can be successfully used in your projects. Atmega328 and other modern AVR microcontrollers have so called Enhanced Watchdog Timer (WDT). It has few very useful features including: separate 128kHz clock source, ability to reset microcontroller and generate interrupt.
Using watchdog timer in your projects - [Link]
Here’s a circuit by Joe Desbonnet’s Random Tech Stuff that’s designed to monitor battery voltage. It uses one resistor, one diode (or LED), one microcontroller ADC input and one digital output. [via]
PIC 12F675 battery monitor using a diode/LED and resistor – [Link]
This is a multifunction bench test instrument built using an Atmega128 microcontroller and incorporate a lot of functions like voltmeter, ammeter, logic analyzer, frequency generator, frequency counter and also provides regulated DC power supply.
A multifunction digital meter using Atmega128 – [Link]
Perhaps one of the most entertaining things to do with an embedded microcontroller is to get it to actually move something. Three very popular devices used to “make things move” include dc motors, RC servos, and stepper motors. This lab session will look at how you can interface a dc motor to a PIC microcontroller.
DC motor interfacing to PICMicro – [Link]
ian writes:
Programming microcontrollers isn’t hard. Building a programmer makes a great first electronics project. The goal of this instructable is to explain the simple ‘in circuit serial programming’ method used with Microchip PICs.
Understanding ICSP for PIC Microcontrollers – [Link]
ZF did a review of the FTDI Vinculum board: [via]
I just got hold of FTDI chip’s new Vinculo developing platform, so here’s a quick review for you!
Vinculo is a 25€ development platform for the FTDI Vinculum II (VNC2) dual USB host/slave microcontroller. The board design has been copied from Arduino, and they even advertise it as Arduino-inspired and Arduino shield compatible. FTDI seems to have realized the potential that comes when having a large hobbyist userbase…
Vinculo Arduino clone with USB slave – [Link]
Fabien Royer writes:
Programming AVR microcontrollers using ISP is a simple process when the target is on a board exposing a 6 or 10-pin ISP header. But what if you have different types of AVR chips? Their SPI pins (VCC, GND, MOSI, MISO, SCK) aren’t always in the same locations.
Instead of buying different types of target boards or buying an expensive generic programmer, I built one using a small breadboard, a Universal 28 pin ZIF DIP socket and 6 male-male hookup wires that I connected to my USBtinyISP programmer.
Build a cheap, flexible AVR microcontroller programming target board – [Link]
This article explains some of the updates to some of the most mature microcontroller architectures. [via]
60% of all CPUs and MPUs are 8 bits; 16 bitters account for 15% of the market, with the much ballyhooed 32 bit machines bringing up the rear of the market at a paltry 9%. According to a 2001 survey, our 43% of our readers use PICmicro parts, 55% use 8051/52/251/AVR, 36% go for Motorola’s 68XX family and Zilog’s Z8/Z80/Z180 devices account for about 15%. These numbers total more than 100% as some folks used more than one processor in that year. In the 16 bit world 41% use 8086/186/96/196 devices and 21% employ the 68HC12/16.
8 and 16 Bit Microcontrollers – [Link]
Embedded-Lab has launched a tutorial on interfacing a DC motor with a PIC microcontroller. It describes about the various operating modes of a dc motor and how to control them with a microcontroller. The tutorial also describes a classical H-bridge circuit using transistors.
Tutorial: DC motor interfacing to Microcontrollers - [Link]
This article discuss about mcu software and what to do when your code grows in size. We should follow some simple rules that makes microcontroller programming more fun than scratching along. Check details on the link below.
When your project grows bigger – [Link]
