Current Part:
[2] LM317 Variable Voltage Regulator
[2] 1mW XBee Modules
[2] HS-485 Servos
Pan and Tilt System
[2] 20 MHz Crystal
[3] 10kΩ Resistor
[2] 100Ω Resistor
[2] 5kΩ Trimpots
[2] 1uF Capacitor
[2] 5mm LED
[2] Breadboard
Breadboard Wire
SIPs
SPST Button
[2] 9v Connector
[2] Battery Holder
Parts List Details
You are probably familiar with most of the parts listed out above, but if that's not the case-don't fear! I will briefly explain the purpose of the most important parts in the sections below.
PIC 18LF4520
This microcontroller will be used to encode commands and transmit them, and a second microcontroller will be used to decode the commands and then execute them appropriately to control the pan/tilt system. The 'LF' low-power version of the PIC is used since the XBee modules require +3.3v and not +5v. This makes it so that we can use a single power supply.
LM317 Variable Voltage Regulator
We use these LM317 with a single resistor and trimpot to adjust the voltage output to +3.3v because that is what the PIC 18LF4520 and XBee Modules require in order to operate correctly.
1mW XBee Module
This module will be used to transmit and receive data at 9600 baud through the PIC 18LF4520. No changs will be made to the XBee advanced settings, just a plain off-the-shelf xbee module will be used.
Pan and Tilt System
The pan and tilt system that I have was purchased from the internet. There are many, many different places where you can find pre-manufactured pan and tilt systems. They're usually pretty cheap and have decent quality.
20 MHz Crystal
There is no particular reason that 20 MHz needs to be used for this project, I just had two 20 MHz crystals laying around so I built this project around that crystal speed.
Breadboard and Breadboard Wire
Two breadboards will be used, one for the transmitter and one for the receiver. This means a whole lot of breadboard jumper wire will be needed to get everything connected.
9v Connector
While we won't actually be using 9v batteries for power supplies, the common +9v connector is found on many battery packs, so I like to use them to connect battery pack to breadboard.