Basic Stamp Nuts and Volts Columns

microcontrolleruser

Didn't know there were eight volumes of them.

Had downloaded 1 and 2. Figured that was it.

Somebody said Johnny Mac wrote some of the columns.

Are Jon Williams and Johnny Mac the same person?

Will download other six and remember where they are.

In first column. Basic Stamp is Basic Stamp 1.

I hardly use mine because it looks like you can not pay attention and squash over that SIPP.

microcontrolleruser

"And let me tell you!"HAPPY FACE(Happy faces in menu are a little anemic)

I keep the one Basic Stamp 1 SIPP nice and unused. For my future Basic Stamp museum.HAPPY FACE

It's part of a Basic Stamp Starter Kit. Probably bought one of the last ones from Parallax.

For experimenting. I use the Stamp 1 Project Board. Has a Basic Stamp 1 DIPP on it.

That is a MANLY MAN Stamp !.HAPPY FACE

Happy holidays!

tomcrawford

Here is an index I did some time ago.

JonnyMac

Somebody said Johnny Mac wrote some of the columns.
Are Jon Williams and Johnny Mac the same person?

I, JonnyMac (no H in my name/handle), wrote many columns for Nuts & Volts under both of my names. I wrote about the BASIC Stamp (all flavors), the SX, and the Propeller. That column was originated by Scott Edwards who really helped get the BASIC Stamp going (from outside Parallax). Lon Glazner wrote for a time as well.

Yes, I used to be called Jon Williams. I am a member of the Screen Actors Guild (see www.jonmcphalen.com) and they suggested I change my name to prevent confusion with the composer, John Williams

microcontrolleruser

Thank you Tom and JonnyMac

I will copy and paste the eight 'Table of Contents' for each volume into one .PDF

Writing those articles is quite a contribution to Basic Stamp community.

Happy holidays!

microcontrolleruser

Want to get to the bottom of the App Notes too.

What are they exactly?

microcontrolleruser

Here is Notepad file with first volume table of contents.

Here are all eight in another notepad file.

Couple SX articles in there. Probably SX/B language.

BS1, BS2 and a couple articles about BS2p24 and BS2p40.

microcontrolleruser

Column #23

Scott Edwards on DC motor control.

Are the limits on micro control of motors up to 24 volts and a set amount of amperage?

Happy holidays!

microcontrolleruser

Just a loose question here.

Have 16x2 LCD in serial and parallel interface.

Would like to get 4x20 ones also.

Is that a good idea?

Happy holidays!

Mike Green

"limits on micro control of motors up to 24 volts and ... amperage"
It all depends ... There are motor controllers that can handle voltages
into the hundreds of volts and currents into the tens of amps, some
handling DC and some handling AC. At what point do we leave the
realm of hobby and enter that of commercial/industrial? Mains voltage
can be up to 240V or so. Motors commonly encountered for home/hobby
use might be up to 1 HP which comes out to around 6A at 120v. What do
you want to do with a motor controller? How much are you willing to pay
for one? Those are the sorts of questions involved.

"Is that a good idea?"
Similarly ... There's no right or wrong answer. It all depends on what you
want to do with the display, what you want to show, how much you want to
spend, how much space you have for it

microcontrolleruser

Thanks Mike

" At what point do we leave the
realm of hobby and enter that of commercial/industrial?"

Going a little bit by this and a little by experience. It's from article.

"MOTORS FASCINATE Stamp users. They seem to be looking for a mythical universal
motor-controller that interfaces to Stamps, controls any motor from 0.1 to 100 amps at 1
to 50 volts, is 100% efficient, and costs less than $5"

I am sensing a good place to draw the line is 24 volts and 3 amps.

Will that be good rule of thumb for awhile?

Mike Green

Parallax has a nice Propeller-based dual H-bridge motor controller that handles up to 10A. Does that violate your "rule of thumb"? I hope not. I suspect that 24-36V is a good range for maximum voltage ... we're talking about 2-3 x 12V ... That's a lot of battery, maybe not quite so big if you have a big robot. 3A is a good bit of current for a motor at 12V or more. A 12V windshield wiper motor might draw close to 1/2A under load. Parallax's Arlo motors can draw over 8A at 12V under heavy load. Drawing these "lines" is complicated by the fuzziness in the definitions involved. Best to explain the circumstances you're trying to discuss and avoid hard "lines" except where you're talking about Absolute Maximum or Minimum specifications in a datasheet.

microcontrolleruser

Thank Mike

'Fractional horsepower'.

Here's another example of a 'as a general rule'.

Fractional are for hobby and 1 hp and above you are getting into industrial.

I figured out to look at Craftsman bench top power tools. Radial saw, band saw etc.

Let me check that out. I would say they are non hobby. They are AC too.

You have to decide or it gets way to messy.

Right now it looks like the lower fractional horsepower and DC.

microcontrolleruser

Here. This is a little for definite. Motor Mind B controller. Just bought two of them.

Parallax picked out this rating to carry.

Thus. This is a good general guide to what is considered 'Hobby' DC motor range.

https://www.parallax.com/sites/default/files/downloads/27961-Motor-MindB-Manual.pdf

It can handle 5-30vdc and 2 amp max continuous motor current and 3.5 vdc max peak motor currrent.

W9GFO

Mike Green wrote: »

... A 12V windshield wiper motor might draw close to 1/2A under load.

That doesn't sound right. That is only 6 watts, about the same power draw as the Standard sized HiTech servos we used in FRC.

Perhaps the "/" was accidental, 12A is closer to what I would expect.

Mike Green

W9GFO Sorry, I had been looking at a website carrying wiper motors for small sports cars. They're small and lightly loaded.

microcontrolleruser

We picked up two Motor Mind B DC motor controller boards.They were carried by Parallax in the Stamp 2/SX era.

They are controlled by sending it commands by serial communication.

That picture is so darn big you can read the micro. It's a PIC16F628A.

Here' a picture of one and the datasheet.

There is a lesson for it somewhere in Parallax manuals.

https://www.parallax.com/sites/default/files/downloads/27961-Motor-MindB-Manual.pdf

Anybody have any experience with this controller and can explain how it works exactly?

microcontrolleruser

Here is a link to some hobby DC motors.

https://www.robotshop.com/en/dc-motors.html

I need to pick one out and connect it to a testbed and see hands on how powerful they are.

Going to use the Parallax Motor Mind B controller.

What is a good one to start with?

Shawn Lowe

Fwiw, efx-tek carries a really nice bs1 board that can't be great for the price. I own several