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Forum Index : Electronics : Charge Controller Updated
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I finally updated the software for the Picaxe chip Charge Controller. The old version had a lot of "Junk" in there, un-used variables and sloppy code. The latest version is a lot cleaner and has lots of comments to explain whats going on. I've also fixed a couple of bugs, and added a new feature - Low Battery Alarm. The low battery alarm starts beeping when the battery voltage drops below a set level. You set this level with the menu, and its saved in the non-volatile memory along with the charging and load voltages. Check out the Charger page for the latest version of the code.http://www.thebackshed.com/Windmill/charger1.asp Enjoy. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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Chris Senior Member  Joined: 12/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 146 |
Nice work. Its been a while since ive done any programming in basic. Yours looks great though. Im currently doing C programming at tafe. It can be so confusing sometimes! What programming board do you use with the picaxe? I recently bought myself a board, its a Wilem Eprom programmer. Its very very nice. Can program basically all PIC's, AVR's, EPROM's, can even do bios chips and car computers! Plus a bunch of other chips ive never heard of!  Not a bad package for $140 total price. |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hi Chris I program the chip in circuit via the serial connector. Makes it easy to update the software. I did play around with C++ for a while, and Java. But I always end up going back to VisualBasic. Never liked Java, very slow to program in. C++ was difficult to learn to, but it had the big advantage of speed once it was compiled. I spend most of my day writting software for the engineering company I work for. Mostly ASP ( VB script ) based intranet using a SQL database server, and some dedicated VB applications. In my real world application, I use VB because it has a short developement time compared to Java. You can do in 5 lines of vb code what would take you 10 lines of Java code. Same with our servers. Linux is cute, free, and has a good file system, buts its painfull to set anything up, and its Apache web server cant do what we want. But we do use Linux for our firewalls. For the serious stuff we use Windows 2000 or 2003, IIS web servers and SQL200 database servers. The Basic used in the PICAXE cips is very simple and clean. Takes a bit to get used to compared to full blown basic. But it works well for such a compact package, I like the PICAXE chips. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Chris Senior Member Joined: 12/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 146 |
What sort of job do you do? Is it like the IT sides of things? Or the practical sides? I thought you worked at a metal joint? Thats pretty handy that you can program the PICAXE through the serial connection to your pc. Ive been looking at the assemblers code for the PIC's... Found a pretty neat guide as well. Its pretty good for begineers in micro controller programming (me ). Its only something like 35 instructions i think.Im still tossing up what career to get into. Im currently at tafe doing electronic engineering. I will complete that, but im considering getting into law enforcement, something like police officer. I enjoy electronics so much though. |
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| Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
Hey Chris Yeah I work at a metal joint, but its a big metal joint. 120 employees, and I babysit about 40 PC's. Full time job keeping the place running. Spend most of the day sitting on my bum typing on a keyboard. I think its why I like to make stuff when I get home. You can spend hours on a computer, and at the end of the day you turn it off and it looks the same. You cant see what you have achieved. But if you make something with your hands, you can see the results of your efforts at the end of the day. Electronics is a good career to get into, always something new to play with. The CNC router I built was fun because it combined computers, electronics and machines. A bit of everything. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| Chris Senior Member Joined: 12/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 146 |
I got my PIC chips today. I decided im going to build my own charge controller. Since im in suburban melbourne, putting up a giant wind mill is sorta out of the question unfortunately. So i plan on using my F&P gen for a hydro setup off a drain pipe, as well as purchasing a small solar panel as well. Just to run some outdoor lighting etc. Nothing huge. Just a question, with the PICAXE chip you are using, does it have a ADC built into it? Or did you add a external one to your circuit? It seems like its a bit tough getting PIC's with ADC's built in. |
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| RossW Guru  Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495 |
Depending on your application complexity etc, have a look at the ATMEL chips. I have used the 90S8535 chips for ages. They have a 10-bit ADC with 8-channel multiplexer and can happily do conversions at audio frequencies. The 8535 is probably obsolete now, things like the AT-MEGA series were moving in to take their place - faster and with more memory. That said, I'm pretty sure the picaxe does have an a/d in it. |
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| Chris Senior Member Joined: 12/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 146 |
Hmmm, a 10bit ADC, thats pretty decent. What code do you use to program the atmels? Can you use assemblers code at all? I know basic (havnt done it in ages tho), C and am learning assemblers code atm. Thanks for that info, really helpful. |
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| RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495 |
10 bit is "only just" enough. I'd have preferred 14 but I'll cope :) Yes, assembler code is fine - there are free assemblers readily available. There are also free C compilers, and BASIC (well, basic-like). There are commercial programs too, but hey, the free ones are more than adequate. BASCOM is free up to a certain code size, after that it's commercial. It includes a full development environment and even an emulator - so you can write and debug your code without actually building the hardware! (includes a range of LCD output modules, A/D inputs, interrupts etc). RossW |
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| Chris Senior Member Joined: 12/09/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 146 |
Well i have 2 PIC's here, i had them for a while. I knew one of thems capablities, but hadnt looked over the other. The only thing that made me buy this certain one was that it has NanoWatt technology which is perfect for a charge controller. I found out it has a ADC in it too. So it should be fine. Thanks for the help Ross, i had a look at the Atmel chips, the Atmega series is heaps expensive unfortunately. They sell the 8535 in the atmega series now and its 30 dollars. So ill just stick to the PIC's atm. Cheers |
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| RossW Guru Joined: 25/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 495 |
Yup, sounds great. Bloody hell, mate! That's unbelievable! I got some 8535's a few months ago to build a backup generator controller, a weatherstation and a couple of other unrelated projects, and paid $12 each including crystals. RossW |
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