Here’s a quick beginner-friendly tutorial that shows you how to interface and read data with the popular serial protocol, I2C. In particular, we’ll be reading data from the NXP MPL3115A2 altimeter/barometer/temperature sensor. The principles found here can also be applied generically, even to your ambifacient lunar wane shaft positioning sensor of your turboencabulator.
Inspired by Forrest Mims and his Mini-Notebook series, we are detailing the emulation of a 555 or 556 using a PIC in several different circuits in our own set of articles. In this installment, we’ll review the specific circuits which use the 555 as a simple one-shot and discuss the PIC replacement for the same applications.
Over the years, I have accumulated a bunch of chips from before the era of true PCs when computers with names like Altair, KIM-1, and Cosmac ELF were popular. I’ve been looking for a way to use them in new projects, so I designed a system around a 40-pin PIC16F887. I figured this would put some of my historic chips to work and be a great learning tool for understanding how a microcomputer works.
Inspired by Forrest Mims and his Mini-Notebook series, we'll detail the emulation of a 555 or 556 using a PIC in several different circuits. The particular implementation this time covers both monostable and astable modes, and the PIC does not have to be reprogrammed in any way.
A Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other in applications without a host computer. This three-part series will give you the knowledge you need to utilize this protocol. First up: Learn how to use a CAN bus with a Propeller MCU.
This six-digit, beautifully designed timepiece showcases cold war era components — Numitrons instead of Nixie tubes — along with modern LEDs and a Microchip PIC to create not only a useful clock but a great conversation piece as well.
Building digital clocks may not be the sexiest of DIY projects, but it’s still pretty fun. Try this version that utilizes the ESP8266 family of devices which makes incorporating the Network Time Protocol simple.
It’s not all that often that a different piece of hardware comes along that immediately captures the attention of the builder community. The ESP8266 is an example of this. It’s only about the size of a nickel, yet contains a powerful 32-bit microcontroller and a Wi-Fi interface, plus you can buy it for under $10.
A tennis ball suspended from the ceiling at just the right spot is the classic solution, but with more than one person using the garage — possibly driving different cars or just backing in — that just wouldn’t cut it. Here's a high tech solution for the high tech hobbyist.
Typically, one of the first experiments people do when working with microcontrollers is to blink an LED. However, the thrill of this wears out pretty quickly, so let’s see what else can be done.
