http://www.pyroelectro.com PyroElectro.com brings you cool projects & tutorials that you can do at home. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:15:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2012/01/19/fading-leds-via-pwm/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2012/01/19/fading-leds-via-pwm/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:36 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=3886

A very neat feature that PWM (pulse with modulation) offers is being able to control the brightness level of LEDs. By varying the duty cycle percentage, we can control the exact brightness of any LED. This article takes you through a simple example design step-by-step using a PIC microcontroller. The end result is an LED controller that can set an LED to 100 unique brightness levels.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2012/01/19/fading-leds-via-pwm/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/12/22/xbee-wireless-servo-control/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/12/22/xbee-wireless-servo-control/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:10:34 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=3642

Today's article shows you how to build a basic wireless input and output system in the form of a single transmitter and single receiver. Communication is one way to keep things simple with two xbee modules being used for the wireless link. In the end, a small trimpot will control the movement of a servo motor.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/12/22/xbee-wireless-servo-control/feed/ 1 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/10/27/simple-touch-screen-interface/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/10/27/simple-touch-screen-interface/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:00:48 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=3222

Touch screens seem to be the must-have innovation of the decade as they're seen in almost every new gadget and gizmo that comes out. But how exactly do they work and how can we use them? This PyroElectro article explains how a standard 4-wire resistive touch screen works and how to get the X/Y coordinates of a touched point using a PIC 18F452 microcontroller.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/10/27/simple-touch-screen-interface/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/29/ps2-keyboard-to-16x2-lcd/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/29/ps2-keyboard-to-16x2-lcd/#comments Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:00:01 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2924

If you want to make a super simple I/O system that anyone can use, the ps/2 keyboard and a standard 16x2 LCD is all you need. This article explains how to display input from a PS/2 keyboard on a 16x2 lcd with a few example 'commands' like backspace and delete. PS/2 and 16x2 LCD theory is explained, the hardware schematic is included and the software available in the article.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/29/ps2-keyboard-to-16x2-lcd/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/22/build-a-diy-ps2-interface/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/22/build-a-diy-ps2-interface/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:00:27 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2875

This week's PyroElectro article dives into the PS/2 protocol. Using a PIC microcontroller and a standard PS/2 keyboard, learn how to make your own keyboard interface that translates keypresses and outputs them to a 7 segment LED display. The article explains the theory and has all the hardware schematics and software used in the design available for download.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/22/build-a-diy-ps2-interface/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/15/pic-priority-interrupts/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/15/pic-priority-interrupts/#comments Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:00:52 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2827

Last week we looked at an intro to interrupts on the PIC and this week we'll delve even deeper into priority interrupts on a PIC. Interrupts are not all created equal. Some are more important than others and should always be executed while others should wait their turn in line. This article explains how to build a simple system to implement high and low priority interrupts.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/15/pic-priority-interrupts/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/09/an-introduction-to-interrupts-on-a-pic/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/09/an-introduction-to-interrupts-on-a-pic/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:00:18 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2772

This Week's PyroElectro tutorial takes a look at PIC interrupts vs. polling techniques for fast input/output systems. Polling for input usually means a lot more overhead and redundant code, so we turn to interrupts for event driven systems to minimize overhead. This tutorial uses a learn-by-example approach to show how interrupts work and how we use them.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/09/an-introduction-to-interrupts-on-a-pic/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/01/pic-as-spi-master-and-slave/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/01/pic-as-spi-master-and-slave/#comments Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:00:02 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2732

SPI is one of the more prevalent serial communication interfaces for low speed devices like sensors, motor controllers and even LCDs. This tutorial shows you how build an SPI master using a PIC, and interface it to an SPI slave, also a PIC. The final system, is a simple Master-Slave relationship with LED flashing proof.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/09/01/pic-as-spi-master-and-slave/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/08/25/animatronic-neck-diy/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/08/25/animatronic-neck-diy/#comments Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:00:53 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2693

And now to finish off Robotics Week strong: This week, we're adding an Animatronic Neck to the grand Animatronic Head that we've been building. A Pan and Tilt system will be used with 2 servo motors actuating the system. Pictures and demo videos document the construction and testing process for the final chapter in PyroElectro's robotics month.

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]]> http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/08/25/animatronic-neck-diy/feed/ 0 http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/08/11/diy-animatronic-eyes/ http://www.pyroelectro.com/2011/08/11/diy-animatronic-eyes/#comments Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:00:16 +0000 Chris http://www.pyroelectro.com/?p=2570

Ready for the next Animatronics Tutorial for robotics month? This week, we're building Animatronic Eyes using an improvised 2-axis gimbal system. Realistic robotic eyes are difficult to build but this pair of eyes creates quite a decent illusion. Pico/Micro Hobby Servos are used as actuators and standard MDF board for building material.


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