PPDB - Using the full PPDB - Updated Code Version 1.4

Comments

• mindrobots Posts: 6,506

  2011-09-16 08:12 edited 2011-09-16 08:12

  Nicely done!
  
  I missed what the second board wired to the PPDB was ( the little one toward bottom right).
  
  Hope you get your flicker under control!!
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-09-16 08:22 edited 2011-09-16 08:22

  mindrobots wrote: »

  Nicely done!
  
  I missed what the second board wired to the PPDB was ( the little one toward bottom right).
  
  Hope you get your flicker under control!!

  
  The board in the lower right is one I made for the um-FPU V3 but I am not using it yet, the GPS unit, the red thingy in the video, will be connected to it on the I2C bus to update the time clock on startup. I will also be adding TV out if there is room in on the RAM but I can just add 1 or more 24LC256's at different addresses if I need more room and load them in another cog.
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-11-20 02:44 edited 2011-11-20 02:44

  I thought I would take some time to let anyone still interested in this project know I am still working on it. The 4x4 matrix keypad connected to the first PCA9555 was tough for a beginner like me to manipulate but I am making progress, maybe a week or two more till version 1.4 for the keypad.
  
  Aside from that... I am looking for code I saw a while ago but managed to lose it amongst all my files. I saw a method in a file that showed how to wait without pausing the cog, instead it just captured the current clock and resumed when it was a specific elapsed time from the capture. That's all I recall from it so I am lost at the moment as to what file/project I saw it in. I would like to use that section of code for reading the ds1302 in one second increments instead of multiple times a second like I am now.
  
  I'll be digging into all this again in a few days...
• JLocke Posts: 354

  2011-11-20 03:40 edited 2011-11-20 03:40

  I posted some code in the Propeller forum a while back showing how I read the DS1307 every second...
  
  http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?135882-DS1302-add-ons
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-11-20 05:22 edited 2011-11-20 05:22

  Thanks for the link, but that is actually what I am trying to avoid. I don't want to stop or pause the cog running the code. I just want to skip over some code until a certain time frame, in this case 1 second, has passed. Nice code though.
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-11-26 22:10 edited 2011-11-26 22:10

  I found the code I was searching for in post #5 it is called Clock.spin by "Jeff Martin (Parallax)" http://obex.parallax.com/objects/139/ . The description of what I should have asked for is "Synchronize code to the start of time-windows in units of microseconds, milliseconds, or seconds". That's exactly what I needed for reading the time clock during the loop while updating the display. I hope the LED flicker goes away with this since i will no longer be reading the DS1302 with each update of the display.
  
  I will try to remember to post all part numbers and sources with the next update in case anyone wants to rebuild this project.
  
  I decided to start a separate side project for learning to read the 4x4 Matrix keypad with the PCA9555, after that I will try to read the keypad in this project. I am also having a problem with not being able to read interrupts from the PCA9555 bus extenders, Do I need a pull up/down resister on the interrupt line?
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-12-03 01:35 edited 2011-12-03 01:35

  Code and video updated to Version 1.4 See the first post or click this link to go to the top.
  
  I will be using this project as a contest entry for the Quad Rover Contest. I will be placing all version archives on my website today or tomorrow, remind me if I get sidetracked, in case anyone wants to use it as a template for their own project. So far I've managed to keep the code to 626 longs, If BST is used it will be much less, 567.
  
  As stated in the video above, I know it wont be useful to everyone, but it should be useful to some.
  
  EDIT: I forgot to mention that this is all still using only 1 cog.
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-12-31 02:39 edited 2011-12-31 02:39

  I am having some type of hardware problem with this project. I double checked all my wiring and tried all of my code versions. I didn't change the wiring at all in the project since version 1.4, but I did move my board a few times. What is happening is all LEDs on the display are all on.
  
  Did I fry a PCA9555? I know the one controlling to Digit is working, however the one controlling the segments seem to be the one with the issue... Can anyone with experience with the PCA9555 chips help out with this? I don't have any test equipment, but it looks like the data I am sending to the device is coming out reversed, On when it should be off, and off when it should be on. It's not a problem in code since I am testing it with the working code as in the video above.
  
  One step forward, two steps back :frown:
• rogersyd Posts: 222

  2011-12-31 06:58 edited 2011-12-31 06:58

  I love "use the whole board" projects. What a kick. I began a very similar project on a ppdb and found the board linked below to be especially useful. It allows you utilize those leds with a much smaller hardware footprint. The most ridiculous thing i built was a synth/fermium type device. My project used those digits to cycle time/date/frequency, and 4 line lcd to display menu items. That thing was sweet. As you add more hardware and functionally, eventually you'll find yourself optimizing code by modifying and harvesting code from objects. Their are "only" cogs after all. Then the bitter sweet day comes when you start harvesting parts for other temporary installations...
  
  I won't claim to have much experience with the chip in question, or even understand your issue correctly, but if the circuit is working with the bits reversed, just inverse them in your code as a work around. Eventually this thing will become impossible to move around without wires popping out and what not. Hard to say from the video, but unfortunately if you have a hardware issue here, you may need to bite the bullet, tear down that part of the circuit, and rewire it.
  
  Your code is well organized and tidy. That has never been a priority to me, so I can really appreciate it and vouch for it's importance. Good luck on your endeavor.
  
  You can't dance without stepping backwards occasionally.
  
  LED Driver for PPDB:
  http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?129182-New-LED-driver-for-PPDB-Now-Available&highlight=ppdb+digits
• Jorge P Posts: 385

  2011-12-31 22:00 edited 2011-12-31 22:00

  if the circuit is working with the bits reversed, just inverse them in your code as a work around.

  I would rather avoid any future problems with a bad IC by replacing it, as opposed to altering my code work with a bad IC, I have several other PCA9555's so I will just use new parts. I should have socketed the PCA9555's but I bought 300wide sockets accidentally instead of 600wide.
  
  I will have to wait until I can purchase more parts, and that may be a while, so I am going to just end the project here! I will never buy Radio Shack boards for a project again, the pads break and burn off too quickly even with a 25W iron.
• rogersyd Posts: 222

  2012-01-01 07:27 edited 2012-01-01 07:27

  This is good to know about the RS boards. My projects rarely make it out of the bread boarding phase but occasionally I do fire up the iron.