Author Archives: R-B

New release of Great Cow BASIC compiler

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Evan tipped us off that the Great Cow Basic development team has recently released a new build of Great Cow BASIC compiler with lots of enhanced features. For those who are unfamiliar with Great Cow BASIC, it is an easy to use BASIC compiler for PIC and AVR microcontrollers. The best thing about it is that it is completely free with no restrictions on the program size. I first came across it in 2008 when I was looking for a free High-Level compiler for developing PIC applications. Great Cow BASIC looked promising to me, and was very easy to learn. But since it was in its early phase, and there were not much built-in libraries at that point, I switched to using the MikroC compiler from MikroElektronika. Since then the Great Cow BASIC has lots of updates and the team behind it has put tremendous effort in making it better with every new release. Some of the enhancements in the latest release include:

  • Improved support for Microchip and Atmel 8-bit microprocessors.
  • Improved IDE to make programming as easy as possible.
  • An enhanced Great Cow Graphical Basic User Interface that supports the review of the demonstration files and the new chip change configuration.
  • Improved Help File.
  • Over 160 useful demonstration files that showcase the breadth and depth of Great Cow Basic capabilities.
  • New functionality with ~90 enhancements over the previous release.
  • Support for a large set of supported hardware accessories including LCD drivers and five types of GLCD support.
  • I2C and TWI hardware support for Microchip and AVR respectively.

Great Cow BASIC also has a graphical programming version named Great Cow Graphical BASIC. Check out the more details on the recent release of Great Cow BASIC here.

Great Cow Graphical BASIC

Great Cow Graphical BASIC

DAN64: A DIY 8-bit microcomputer using Arduino

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Juan J. Martínez’s DAN64 is a single board 8-bit microcomputer based on Arduino board and features a keyboard input, an output screen, and is able to load and run external programs.

DAN64 microcomputer

DAN64 microcomputer

Current version of the project has the following features:

  • Composite video black and white output, 256 x 192 resolution, 32 x 24 characters (8 x 8 pixels font, code page 437 character set).
  • PS/2 keyboard support.
  • 6502 virtual machine with system call interface to native code services.
  • Linear 64KB memory access from the virtual machine (256 bytes page zero, 256 bytes hardware stack, 6144 bytes of video RAM and 58880 bytes for user programs).
  • External storage support via audio in/out.
  • Integrated 6502 assembler and disassembler.
  • Basic shell supporting peek, poke, load, run, etc.

 

Tutorial on Thermocouple Amplifier

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Bill Herd at Hackaday has posted a new video tutorial on Thermocouple Amplifier that covers the most basic instrumentation required to interface a thermocouple to a microcontroller ADC channel for reliable temperature measurements. A thermocouple consists of a junction of two wires made of different metals and are characterized by a temperature coefficient that is required to convert the thermocouple output voltage to the sensed temperature. In addition, the thermocouple also needs to be calibrated to a reference temperature point. In his short tutorial, Bill explains a practical circuit to implement precise temperature readings from a thermocouple.

Thermocouple amplifier

Thermocouple amplifier

Different thermocouples sensors have a different temperature coefficients meaning that they will generate different amounts of voltage for the same change in temperature, usually specified in volts per degree of Celsius (v/◦C). Knowing the temperature coefficient of a sensor is only half the equation, we also need to nail down the zero point, meaning that we establish a calibrated reference point. Applying a known temperature such as immersing the sensor in ice water would be a simple if inconvenient way to establish a known reference temperature. Basically we could zero out and measure the change in volts per degree C from there. Alternatively we could use a Cold Junction Compensator (CJC) such as the LT1025, a chip made to not only replicate the different temperature coefficients of the various thermocouples, but also give us a pretty reasonable calibration.

Raspberry Pi smartphone with 2G support

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Tyler Spadgenske’s entry to 2015 Hack-A-Day Prize contest is tyfone, a DIY smartphone with 2G support using the Raspberry Pi, a 3.5in touchscreen display, and an Adafruit Fona module.

Tyfone:

Tyfone: DIY smartphone

The Raspberry Pi handles all the processing, and connects everything together. The TFT talks to the Raspberry Pi over SPI, and the FONA talks to it over UART. Everything is powered with a 1200mah battery connected to the FONA.The FONA has a charging circuit perfect for use with the phone. Since the battery is only 3.7v, a power boost is used to boost the voltage to 5v for the Raspberry Pi and TFT. A metal speaker and microphone is connected to the FONA for audio, along with an antenna. The FONA also has a real time clock built in, so the Raspberry Pi can keep time even when off wifi connection. The Raspberry Pi also has a USB Wifi Adapter connected to it giving it internet access. Right now all that it is used for is to upload camera photos to dropbox, but more features will be implemented in the future. The Raspberry Pi camera module is used for pictures and video.

Meet Konekt Dash, a cellular development kit for IoT

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Konekt Dash is a new cellular network development kit for the Internet of Things (IoT) applications and is looking for funding at Kickstarter.

Konet

Konekt Dash

The Konekt Dash is a cellular development kit for building Internet of Things (IoT) devices. You can use it to build all sorts of fun connected products like sensors, tracking devices, alarm systems, connected car applications, and more (see examples below).

The Konekt Platform is made to bring enterprise grade features to the individual developer, so its perfect for a solo hobby project or building the connected hardware business of your dreams!

Each Konekt Dash comes preloaded with a Konekt Global SIM and 6 months of our basic data plan (1MB/month or 6MB total).  If you need more data, thats cool too; we have great carrier agreements already in place to provide super affordable connectivity at higher data levels (check the deets below for pricing).

The Konekt Dash will work anywhere you get a cellular signal and can easily and securely communicate to the internet or other devices via the Konekt Cloud.

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