Savage Circuits Discussion Forums http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/ en Fri, 18 May 2012 15:51:59 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/images/misc/rss.png Savage Circuits Discussion Forums http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/ News: PPDB used in the new Spiderman Movie http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1222-PPDB-used-in-the-new-Spiderman-Movie&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 18:30:46 GMT Many of you know that I am co-designer of the PPDB (Propeller Professional Development Board), having designed the final stages/changes to the board... Many of you know that I am co-designer of the PPDB (Propeller Professional Development Board), having designed the final stages/changes to the board and also the product owner (person who maintains the product @ Parallax Inc.) so seeing this being used in the new Spiderman movie really makes me proud!
:woot:

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Some of you may have seen the post on the Parallax Forums.
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]]> General Discussion Chris Savage http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1222-PPDB-used-in-the-new-Spiderman-Movie Question: 3-D Printers http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1221-3-D-Printers&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 11:52:37 GMT Has anyone here ever built/used one of the RepRap type 3-D Printers?

I'm about to take the leap and start collecting parts and/or buying a kit. ]]> General Discussion JohnR http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1221-3-D-Printers Watt Is Love? http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1220-Watt-Is-Love&goto=newpost Thu, 17 May 2012 11:20:45 GMT Saw this and had to share it!
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If you don't get it, please see this video.
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]]> Tech Humor Chris Savage http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1220-Watt-Is-Love <![CDATA[Happy Mother's Day!]]> http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1219-Happy-Mother-s-Day!&goto=newpost Sun, 13 May 2012 13:07:49 GMT ... to all you Moms out there. Hope you have a great day! Paul ... to all you Moms out there. Hope you have a great day!


Paul ]]> General Discussion doggiedoc http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1219-Happy-Mother-s-Day! Info: iOS and MacOSX Code Development http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1216-iOS-and-MacOSX-Code-Development&goto=newpost Wed, 09 May 2012 23:40:40 GMT I know JohnR has recently added the task of iOS Dev to his list of responsibilities and I am sure there is at least one other on here... (member... I know JohnR has recently added the task of iOS Dev to his list of responsibilities and I am sure there is at least one other on here... (member SSteve has posted in other threads about OSX dev but he's been inactive since July 2011). So... I thought it might be timely to start a new thread for discussion of topics related to said Development. :D

I've got countless books on Objective-C and Cocoa but the one's I seem to like the most are from Aaron Hillegass and the fine folks over at The Big Nerd Ranch. I recently picked up a copy (Kindle version) of the latest edition of IOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide with the intention of working through it again. I have the 2nd edition and worked through most of it, but the new addition is written for Xcode 4.3 and iOS 5.0.

If anybody needs loaners of books (hard copies) let me know. Everything I've been getting lately have been eVersions so I don't know if those can be "shared" or not.

Paul ]]> Code Monkeys doggiedoc http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1216-iOS-and-MacOSX-Code-Development In Progress: Project Orthrus (Propeller SPI Slave for Arduino Shield) http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1211-Project-Orthrus-(Propeller-SPI-Slave-for-Arduino-Shield)&goto=newpost Fri, 04 May 2012 01:49:46 GMT Project Orthrus (named after the 2 headed dog in Greek mythology) uses a Propeller chip as a SPI slave to permit another microcontroller to act as... Project Orthrus (named after the 2 headed dog in Greek mythology) uses a Propeller chip as a SPI slave to permit another microcontroller to act as the Master. It will also have an I2C interface so that the eeprom used by the Propeller can be written to by the master microcontroller. It will have:

1. Composite output using the Ranquest video driver
2. Stereo output using the AYCog
3. VGA output driver to be determined
4. Keyboard
5. Mouse
6. SD Reader using the Master microcontroller via SPI

This idea is not new since I have a Chameleon-PIC which uses 2 microcontrollers in a similiar fashion. The difference is that all drivers will be public domain and will be modified to have C rather than Spin code. Also I plan to create an Arduino shield for this.

The goal of the project is to give the Arduino community another gaming interface that is not as complex as the Gameduino. For the hackers I want to keep code in C since it will lessen the learning curve and hopefully show the potential use of the Propeller to non-Propeller communities. To this end the hardware will have the Creative Commons licsense and the code will use the MIT License.

Currently I have a Arduino Pro Mini 3.3V wired via SPI to a Propeller in a PPDB. I have successfully done the traditional blinking LED program. The next step is to create a text terminal using the composite output. ]]> Member Project Workbench blittled http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1211-Project-Orthrus-(Propeller-SPI-Slave-for-Arduino-Shield) Question: What is the best IC? http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1207-What-is-the-best-IC&goto=newpost Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:08:08 GMT Ok - here's my first set of questions (it's long, so bear with me):

First: What, is the best IC to use in the following circuit? Now, I know it depends on the type of circuit, and also on opinion, so I'm going to describe the functions I need it to be able to do:

Circuit one:
1) Must be able to display a menu, text, to an LCD, and eventually, graphics and text to a GLCD with backlight.
2) Will be used in an automotive application (12VDC, and perhaps 24VDC) - so I know I'll need a voltage regulator to drop the automotive voltage down to 5VDC.
3) Will send data to a BT or some sort of low power radio transmitter/receiver
4) Will monitor the following: VDC (as the following: Actual Battery/Car Voltage; Ignition switch (on/off as 12VDC); and Dimmer switch (again, as voltage)), Temperature, Ambient Light (I know how to do all of this but the Vin - which I think I can figure out).
5) Will monitor 11 button inputs, which will control various options, and the menu selection(s).
6) Will have microUSB port more than likely to ease programming
7) Must be able to store values (not a lot - I figure anything with a minimal amount of memory of the appropriate type will work), and retain those values if power is off.
8) While not planned for the time being, future applications may require me to allow it to interface with GPS units (such as the Garmin or TomTom), Cell phones/Smart Phones (mainly to display or pull data from SMS messages), and perhaps also the cars electronics such as the remote unlock or remote start - so basically, the chipset, whatever one is used, should be expandable/upgradeable without having to do a complete rewire of circuit board.
9) Must be as cheap as possible, while not sacrificing scalability or useability based on the above points, to keep costs lower.
10) Should not be "overkill" - i.e.: More chip than what would ever be required (in this case, I can see I might need something with up to 64 I/O pins, but I won't need something with 100 or more...)
11) Size is a factor. the LCD I will be using will be no more than 4"(w)x 3"(h). All this will be placed into a box/unit of some sort that will have 11 buttons on the front, the LCD/GLCD, and contain the entire circuitry within itself. Ideally, only four wires will go in/out of the box: 12VDC In, Ignition In, Dimmer Volts In, GND Out.
12) Last, must be easily programmable using a windows PC, and preferably USB port on the PC, and software.

I don't want to go into the actual function of the circuits, since they are proprietary, and I'm working on patents for them now.

2nd Question: I've dabbled with some of the Circuit simulators, Circuit design, and PCB design software out there. I like Eagle, but can't afford to pay hefty prices for professional software at this time. I'm currently looking for something that will allow me to design, and then simulate the circuit above, using the chip I decide to go with. Is there anything out there that will work in this sense? Later, I'll want to transfer my circuit design to a PCB design for eventual PCB production.

My experience with ICs has been with the ArduinoUno (ATMega 328) and the programming software for that board.

Any help/advice you can give on what the best chips are that I should look into for this type of circuit are greatly appreciated. I will listen to all who reply, and use this as my springboard for the next step: Building my first prototype.

Thanks!

BlackWolf ]]> Blackwolf http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1207-What-is-the-best-IC Happy Birthday http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1206-Happy-Birthday&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:33:37 GMT *.... .- .--. .--. -.-- / -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-.. / -- --- .-. ... .* Chris that was subtle, for my limited... .... .- .--. .--. -.-- / -... .. .-. - .... -.. .- -.-- / ... .- -- ..- . .-.. / -- --- .-. ... .

Chris that was subtle, for my limited intelligence anyway :confused: . Anyway I enjoyed it :)

Jeff ]]> General Discussion Unsoundcode http://www.savagecircuits.com/forums/showthread.php?1206-Happy-Birthday