Search results

  1. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    Are you planning to use the Brain Library? And I'm glad to hear you're planning to use RF.
  2. Old Steve

    Which resistors, capacitors, etc. to choose for H-Bridge DC Motor Controller?

    Michael ,the first thing to do is to post the schematic diagram of the H-bridge circuit that you intend to use including, if possible, the control system connections. You could leave out the actual component values for now. You'll find plenty of schematics online for H-bridge circuits and their...
  3. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    On the programming side of things, last night I wrote a short, simple sketch to use the Brain Library to retrieve "Signal Strength", "Attention" and "Meditation" values from the TGAM1 chip/board in the headsets. It's intended for use with a direct wired connection to the headset board, but...
  4. Old Steve

    Arduino vs raw PIC, Atmel etc

    I can't answer that Rick, sorry. I'm living in the past, running XP SP3, and it works on this OS. Neither the website nor the datasheet mention which versions of Windows it works with. You could contact them via the website, here: http://virtronics.com.au/contact , or alternatively you could...
  5. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    Those PT2262 (encoder) and PT2272 (decoder) chips are great when combined with the cheap little 433MHz or 315MHz transmitter and receiver modules that are easily available on eBay. The big advantages over IR is that they don't require line-of-sight to work, and they'll work far better than IR...
  6. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    Looking good. Nice work for a first attempt. In fact, nice work period. Well done.
  7. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    You've done well, mate. That car looks great. Don't forget to put a copy of those pics in the actual "Project Log", to show it off. :cool: I guess the paper you referred to that had to come off the plastic boards was the protective sheet on the perspex. Looks much better with it off. ;) Now, a...
  8. Old Steve

    Hand Sanitiser Dispenser Circuit

    ^ A hard act to follow. :D 73's de Edd is definitely on the right track. Interfacing with the current board is still the best way to go, before considering getting a board made by someone. It's still just a matter of using a timer to trigger it, possibly simply switching across the IR...
  9. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    I use Ferric Chloride, but I don't buy it in solution. I buy it in solid blocks, which I then mix into water. It's pure, anhydrous ferric chloride from "Ultrakeet" (I mix 500g FeCl with 2 litres of water. There's an exo-thermic reaction when I mix it - it gets quite warm, verging on hot.) I've...
  10. Old Steve

    Uploading an Arduino UNO *.hex file to the chip/board

    Thank you for the tip, jayanthd, but it's unnecessary. I already have XLoader if at some point I want to upload a hex file. And XLoader was free, (that magic word), whereas I'd have to pay for MegunoLink Pro. Only the trial version is free. (I'm a pensioner, and don't work any more, so can't...
  11. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    Sounding good. It's coming together. Looking forward to seeing a pic when you get it together. Since I don't have my headset or Arduino yet, I'm approaching my project from the other end. Software and planning. I've done a heap of research today. Learned for one thing that I don't need to...
  12. Old Steve

    Mind & Infra Red Controlled Robot Car

    Hi Spike, I've been doing my homework today. Here's a link to the spec sheet of the Neurosky chip and board that's in the Neurosky and Mindflex headsets:- http://wearcam.org/ece516/neurosky_eeg_brainwave_chip_and_board_tgam1.pdf
  13. Old Steve

    Uploading an Arduino UNO *.hex file to the chip/board

    Yep, and the Arduino code uses heaps of program memory compared to C, too, as I'm discovering. (Several times as much to achieve the same thing. C is far more efficient.) I'll use the Arduino language to acces the pins, and other trivial stuff, then C/C++ for everything else. Ha ha. Just reading...
  14. Old Steve

    Uploading an Arduino UNO *.hex file to the chip/board

    Right. I suspected that might be the case. Thanks for that Harald. I've been so busy playing with writing code and testing the limits of using C/C++ that I haven't had time to chase it up further. In that case, I don't need the hex output and can simply use the Arduino IDE as it was intended -...
  15. Old Steve

    Uploading an Arduino UNO *.hex file to the chip/board

    Harald, my plan is to use the programmed chips on my own custom PCBs. I'll be buying completely blank chips, then programming them. If necessary, I'll burn the bootloader in first, (it can be done with the Arduino IDE, without a separate programmer, I've learned), but it would be great if I...
  16. Old Steve

    Arduino vs raw PIC, Atmel etc

    I'm starting to get it all figured out. Pulled another all-nighter. (Third time in a week.) Edit: So, I hadn't realised that stdlib.h was available in the Arduino 'sketches'! I've been floundering along trying to work with only the stuff listed in the Arduino reference pages. I'm much happier...
  17. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    I only fill it to the horizontal line nearest to the top. That takes 1 litre. And I mix a new batch of etchant every few years. I've never kept track of exactly how many times I re-use it, but it's a lot. When I pour it into the etching tank each time, I leave the sediment in the bottom of the...
  18. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    And you don't need a darkroom light at all, just make sure the blinds are closed and you don't have a CFL or fluorescent light too close. No need for dark like traditional photography. The photo-sensitive coating is very forgiving in that regard. Nice job, by the way. Good to hear you swapped...
  19. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    Pre-heat the ferric chloride solution. That will speed the etching process. I keep my etchant in a plastic jug, and put it in a bucket, then fill it as far as possible, (without making the jug float), with boiling water from the electric jug, about 10 minutes before I need it. The more agitation...
  20. Old Steve

    etching my first pcb's

    Sodium Hydroxide. (Yep, the hot stuff, but not at all hot at 10g per litre.) I guess gloves are recommended, but I've never found them necessary. Never had any burning or itching sensations. It's too dilute at that rate. I'm very careful when initially mixing a batch, then once the pure stuff...
Top