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Whistle! — Parallax Forums

Whistle!

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2000-04-26 05:47 in General Discussion
Is there any kind of assembly I can get that will, with either 5v, 9v, or 12v,
emit a whistle that can be mistaken for a (loud) referee's whistle?
My stampII project emits an audible tone through a small speaker, but I'm trying
to replicate a WHISTLE's functions....
thanks....
--
ARC in Lago Vista, TX

Spotted on the back of a t-shirt worn by LAPD Bomb Squad: "If you see me
running,
try to keep up."

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-18 19:51
    Hmph. I don't know aything about this but:

    http://www.invention.com/yamamoto.htm
    You might look up the patent on IBM's patent system.

    http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/

    Regards,

    Al Williams
    AWC
    * 8 channels of PWM with the PAK-V: http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak5.htm



    >
    Original Message
    > From: A.Ron Carmichael [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=BYcWLSNP5zaRlUBQ3-JogGo3UMNf2kYRyKj5OyEb_4ip6DfIYRgWzmGFTHZqzUKHBqy1FSCjYA]arc@i...[/url
    > Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 1:06 PM
    > To: basicstamps@egroups.com
    > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Whistle!
    >
    >
    > Is there any kind of assembly I can get that will, with either
    > 5v, 9v, or 12v,
    > emit a whistle that can be mistaken for a (loud) referee's whistle?
    > My stampII project emits an audible tone through a small speaker,
    > but I'm trying
    > to replicate a WHISTLE's functions....
    > thanks....
    > --
    > ARC in Lago Vista, TX
    >
    > Spotted on the back of a t-shirt worn by LAPD Bomb Squad: "If you
    > see me running,
    > try to keep up."
    >
    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-18 22:05
    wow. cool site. but only thing I turned up is likely to be pretty expensive,
    and doesn't look like it's gotten past the purty drawin's stage - there were no
    schematics either.
    I guess I'd just like something shrill and loud, that a stamp can control.... ??



    Al Williams wrote:

    > Hmph. I don't know aything about this but:
    >
    > http://www.invention.com/yamamoto.htm
    > You might look up the patent on IBM's patent system.
    >
    > http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/
    >
    > Regards,
    >
    > Al Williams
    > AWC
    > * 8 channels of PWM with the PAK-V: http://www.al-williams.com/awce/pak5.htm
    >
    > >
    Original Message
    > > From: A.Ron Carmichael [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=83-WZJBagbWEdeVtPgyaATEnbMF8hXIYLGb6_oH9yTiIYWWEBaMN3kjGZcnTLzPcCi0klO-RUFCcZzI]arc@i...[/url
    > > Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 1:06 PM
    > > To: basicstamps@egroups.com
    > > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Whistle!
    > >
    > >
    > > Is there any kind of assembly I can get that will, with either
    > > 5v, 9v, or 12v,
    > > emit a whistle that can be mistaken for a (loud) referee's whistle?
    > > My stampII project emits an audible tone through a small speaker,
    > > but I'm trying
    > > to replicate a WHISTLE's functions....
    > > thanks....
    > > --
    > > ARC in Lago Vista, TX
    > >
    > > Spotted on the back of a t-shirt worn by LAPD Bomb Squad: "If you
    > > see me running,
    > > try to keep up."
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    When ideas fail, words become very handy.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-18 22:35
    Well, if you think of what a referee's whistle sounds like, its basically a
    shrill tone that's got a low frequency amplitude modulation on top of that.
    Maybe cook up some hardware to generate the base frequency then
    amplitude-modulate the signal? Do it all in software? Then just dump the
    signal into a piezo unit at whatever voltage the unit will handle...

    Corsair000@a...
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-18 23:30
    on 4/18/00 2:35 PM, Corsair000@a... at Corsair000@a... wrote:

    > Well, if you think of what a referee's whistle sounds like, its basically a
    > shrill tone that's got a low frequency amplitude modulation on top of that.
    > Maybe cook up some hardware to generate the base frequency then
    > amplitude-modulate the signal? Do it all in software? Then just dump the
    > signal into a piezo unit at whatever voltage the unit will handle...
    >
    > Corsair000@a...
    >
    >
    >
    >
    Or you could trigger one of those sound recording chips to play a recording
    of a real referee's whistle amplified as loud as you like.

    Michael
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 01:34
    the problem was finding an el cheapo deluxe device to amplify the signal - the
    Stamp can generate a tone, the problem was getting it to be loud....thanks

    Michael Ward wrote:

    > on 4/18/00 2:35 PM, Corsair000@a... at Corsair000@a... wrote:
    >
    > > Well, if you think of what a referee's whistle sounds like, its basically a
    > > shrill tone that's got a low frequency amplitude modulation on top of that.
    > > Maybe cook up some hardware to generate the base frequency then
    > > amplitude-modulate the signal? Do it all in software? Then just dump the
    > > signal into a piezo unit at whatever voltage the unit will handle...
    > >
    > > Corsair000@a...
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > >
    > Or you could trigger one of those sound recording chips to play a recording
    > of a real referee's whistle amplified as loud as you like.
    >
    > Michael

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    When ideas fail, words become very handy.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 01:41
    on 4/18/00 5:34 PM, A.Ron Carmichael at arc@i... wrote:

    > the problem was finding an el cheapo deluxe device to amplify the signal - the
    > Stamp can generate a tone, the problem was getting it to be loud....thanks
    >
    >
    One chip amps are even cheaper than the recorders. Or am I missing some
    design criterion?

    regards,
    Michael
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 03:26
    ahhh, ummm, you are making the all-too-easy assumption that I know what the heck
    I'm
    doing<G>. I've got very little knowledge about things electronic in this
    regard.
    Is a "one chip amp" able to make loud sounds? <G> Is there a URL where I can
    get
    some info on such a critter? thanks for jumping in.

    Michael Ward wrote:

    > One chip amps are even cheaper than the recorders. Or am I missing some
    > design criterion?
    >
    > regards,
    > Michael

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    When ideas fail, words become very handy.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 16:53
    on 4/18/00 7:26 PM, A.Ron Carmichael at arc@i... wrote:

    > Is a "one chip amp" able to make loud sounds? <G> Is there a URL where I
    > can get
    > some info on such a critter? thanks for jumping in.
    >


    Oops. Sorry about the assumption. I'm gathering you have basic
    soldering and construction skills. You might check out this kit from the
    Marlin P Jones online catalog. It's cheap and looks easy to build.

    http://www.mpja.com/product.asp?product=6027+KT

    1 WATT AMPLIFIER KIT
    Circuit designed around a single TDA7052 IC.
    Ideal part for larger projects. Drives 8 ohm
    speaker (not supplied) Ideal for battery
    powered circuits, Operates on 3-15 VDC
    solder pads for all connections. K-27
    L: 1-1/4" W: 1-1/8" H: 7/8" WT: .05
    STOCK NO. 6027 KT
    PRICE $4.69
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 19:36
    thanks - ordered! I can assemble, just not know why <G>...

    Michael Ward wrote:

    > I'm gathering you have basic
    > soldering and construction skills. You might check out this kit from the
    > Marlin P Jones online catalog. It's cheap and looks easy to build.
    >
    > http://www.mpja.com/product.asp?product=6027+KT
    >
    > 1 WATT AMPLIFIER KIT
    > Circuit designed around a single TDA7052 IC.
    > Ideal part for larger projects. Drives 8 ohm
    > speaker (not supplied) Ideal for battery
    > powered circuits, Operates on 3-15 VDC
    > solder pads for all connections. K-27
    > L: 1-1/4" W: 1-1/8" H: 7/8" WT: .05
    > STOCK NO. 6027 KT
    > PRICE $4.69

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    Did you know that dolphins are so intelligent that within only a few weeks of
    captivity, they can train Americans to stand at the very edge of the pool and
    throw them fish.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-19 20:11
    I'm going nuts on a related topic.

    I've got the internals of a project built, wired, soldered, and programcoded successfully.

    Push a button, the LCD displays seconds counting down, LEDs light forvarious parts of the countdown properly (RED/YELLOW/GREEN).· I'veeven got the right delay parameter so that I'm on the money to within asecond, over 260 seconds' delay. [noparse]:)[/noparse]·· A speaker beeps at appropriateintervals (albeit not loudly enough yet).

    Everything internally works perfectly.

    BUT I cannot get outside the box with the project.· The goal isto control 3 separate relays so that a traffic lite comes on at the sametime as the same color LED does. I have a 4-wire cat3 coming from the relaysthat I hook into a RJ11 socket in the box.· .· One wire is 12V+,the other three wires each service a relay to a 12V traffic lite.·Connecting the 12v lead to any of the three wires closes a circuit andthe traffic light comes on, powered by a 12v transformer.
    I figured to use a ULN2003·· as the switch to be driven by3 Stamp Pins each in turn going high, turning each of the 3 traffic liteson at different intervals.

    So:

    I have Basic Stamp II pin 13· is connected to input PIN 01 of aULN2003 . (The notch in the chip is up, the 01 is uppermost left side,output 16 is uppermost right side of ULN chip).·····The opposing output pin of the ULN, PIN 16, connects to the non-poweredlead of a 12v relay.· The 12v positive lead from all of the threerelays is connected to pin 09 of the ULN2003, and I've connected ULN 2003's··PIN 08 to the ground of the basic stamp.

    Right at the BSII Pin13 I also have a 220ohm resistor going to a greenLED and then to ground.· This LED is the indicator at the controlbox as to which traffic light should be lit.· THis LED works finebut NOT the traffic lites.

    Connecting the traffic light leads to the ULN 2003 causes ALL threelights to come on, whether the stamp is on, whether the timer is running.·I obviously don't understand how the ULN 2003 controls the flow of juicefrom the one positive lead from the 12v transformer to the three trafficlights.· Parallax tech support told me that I needed to put a 10Kresistor across the lead to the ULN pin 01 going to ground.· Thathad no effect.·· Stephen at Tech Support has been very patientwith my rudimentary questions, has explained it several times and I stillcannot figure out why all three lites come on when I connect the RJ11 jackinto the socket (regardless of whether the BSII is powered up or not).
    I do notice that when I connect/disconnect the RJ11 from the relaysthat the BSII will reset itself.· Juice is flowing wrong somehow!


    Is there anyone that can explain to me what I'm doing wrong?

    My BSII code to control the pin out from the stamp for this says:
    '······ 5432109876543210outs = %0010001000000000· 'Set pin 9 high for green 1.5 LED indicator························· 'and 13 for separate GREEN LED & green TRAFFIC LIGHT'out13=1················· '13 is green LED turn it ON and green relay


    (I use the '54321....' to help me keep track of what I'm doingto each pin...)

    --
    ARC in· Lago Vista, TX

    Did you know that dolphins are so intelligent that within only a fewweeks of captivity, they can train Americans to stand at the very edgeof the pool and throw them fish.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 01:32
    Ron:
    I'm not sure I understand your connections, but here are a few comments on
    the ULN2003:

    1) The ULN is designed to SINK current when the respective input is turned
    on with a logic hi.

    2) Therefore, your load (relay?) should have one terminal always connected
    to +12VDC. The other load wire connects to the ULN, which will "ground" the
    load for you when energized. Think of the ULN as a simple switch to ground.

    3) The pin 9 connection of the ULN connects to internal diode clamps to
    protect against spikes when the relays turn off. It will not supply power
    to the load, but it should be connected to +12.

    You may already know the above, but it wasn't clear if you did.

    Regards,
    Ray McArthur

    Original Message
    From: A.Ron Carmichael
    To: basicstamps@egroups.com
    Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 3:11 PM
    Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Whistle!


    I'm going nuts on a related topic.
    I've got the internals of a project built, wired, soldered, and program
    coded successfully.
    Push a button, the LCD displays seconds counting down, LEDs light for
    various parts of the countdown properly (RED/YELLOW/GREEN). I've even got
    the right delay parameter so that I'm on the money to within a second, over
    260 seconds' delay. [noparse]:)[/noparse] A speaker beeps at appropriate intervals (albeit
    not loudly enough yet).
    Everything internally works perfectly.
    BUT I cannot get outside the box with the project. The goal is to control 3
    separate relays so that a traffic lite comes on at the same time as the same
    color LED does. I have a 4-wire cat3 coming from the relays that I hook into
    a RJ11 socket in the box. . One wire is 12V+, the other three wires each
    service a relay to a 12V traffic lite. Connecting the 12v lead to any of
    the three wires closes a circuit and the traffic light comes on, powered by
    a 12v transformer.
    I figured to use a ULN2003 as the switch to be driven by 3 Stamp Pins each
    in turn going high, turning each of the 3 traffic lites on at different
    intervals.
    So:
    I have Basic Stamp II pin 13 is connected to input PIN 01 of a ULN2003 .
    (The notch in the chip is up, the 01 is uppermost left side, output 16 is
    uppermost right side of ULN chip). The opposing output pin of the ULN,
    PIN 16, connects to the non-powered lead of a 12v relay. The 12v positive
    lead from all of the three relays is connected to pin 09 of the ULN2003, and
    I've connected ULN 2003's PIN 08 to the ground of the basic stamp.
    Right at the BSII Pin13 I also have a 220ohm resistor going to a green LED
    and then to ground. This LED is the indicator at the control box as to
    which traffic light should be lit. THis LED works fine but NOT the traffic
    lites.
    Connecting the traffic light leads to the ULN 2003 causes ALL three lights
    to come on, whether the stamp is on, whether the timer is running. I
    obviously don't understand how the ULN 2003 controls the flow of juice from
    the one positive lead from the 12v transformer to the three traffic lights.
    Parallax tech support told me that I needed to put a 10K resistor across the
    lead to the ULN pin 01 going to ground. That had no effect. Stephen at
    Tech Support has been very patient with my rudimentary questions, has
    explained it several times and I still cannot figure out why all three lites
    come on when I connect the RJ11 jack into the socket (regardless of whether
    the BSII is powered up or not).
    I do notice that when I connect/disconnect the RJ11 from the relays that the
    BSII will reset itself. Juice is flowing wrong somehow!

    Is there anyone that can explain to me what I'm doing wrong?
    My BSII code to control the pin out from the stamp for this says:
    ' 5432109876543210
    outs = %0010001000000000 'Set pin 9 high for green 1.5 LED indicator
    'and 13 for separate GREEN LED & green TRAFFIC
    LIGHT
    'out13=1 '13 is green LED turn it ON and green relay

    (I use the '54321....' to help me keep track of what I'm doing to each
    pin...)
    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX
    Did you know that dolphins are so intelligent that within only a few weeks
    of captivity, they can train Americans to stand at the very edge of the pool
    and throw them fish.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 04:11
    as near as I can tell:
    2) & 3) the 12V+ has been wired to the pin 9 of the ULN.


    >
    > 1) The ULN is designed to SINK current when the respective input is turned
    > on with a logic hi.
    >

    If a stamp is attached to the input, that would be when I set the pin on the
    stamp to a "1" in the code??


    > 2) Therefore, your load (relay?) should have one terminal always connected
    > to +12VDC. The other load wire connects to the ULN, which will "ground" the
    > load for you when energized. Think of the ULN as a simple switch to ground.
    >

    so the pin 9 (12V+) gets to flow THROUGH the output pin of the ULN when the
    opposing INPUT pin is "tickled" by the Stamp Pin going to a "1".

    > 3) The pin 9 connection of the ULN connects to internal diode clamps to
    > protect against spikes when the relays turn off. It will not supply power
    > to the load, but it should be connected to +12.
    >
    > You may already know the above, but it wasn't clear if you did.

    Ray - it is extemely frustrating to me, a clinical pharmacist for about 20+
    years, to have something beyond my understanding. I've always been able to
    acquire the knowledge and "DO" what I need to do. Like this project. Jeez, I
    have put together everything on the circuits to do the LEDS, the buttons, the
    speaker, the off/on switch to the stamp, the LCD display messages, the timer
    logic loops, using a schematic from Parallax tech support. I can't tell you
    the resistance on a resistor without getting out a chart, but I can tell you
    with one.<G>. I can cleanly solder the contacts to a single point on the carrier
    board without hosing up the adjacent socket. I can read, dammit.<G> I just
    cannot see why the ULN2003 is lighting up all 3 circuits regardless of the hi/lo
    state of the stamp output pins attached to the ULN input pins. argh.
    I figure I've put around 200 bucks into this, not counting billable hours. It's
    a donation to my daughter's archery sport - I'm happy to do it, and frankly it
    will be deemed "fun" if I succeed. If not, well, *&(*&#$(##$#$%#.....piece of
    sh*#$#(&%$gaw#$#)($#$#$#9 . <G> I won't be selling copies of it - it will
    go onto http://www.texasarchery.org, where I am webmaster, for all archery
    tourney directors to use if they want. Of course, a copy also goes up here for
    anyone else to benefit from....I was a sysop on CIS for many years, back in the
    golden era ....[noparse][[/noparse]Dataease]. You give back to payback, you know? The folks up
    here on this list are much like the forum I honchoed - people helping because
    they like what they are involved in, not because they havetuh.
    <sorry, off soapbox>

    -
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    "And the sea will grant each man new hope, as sleep brings dreams of home." -
    Christopher Columbus.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 05:30
    If a stamp is attached to the input, that would be when I set the pin on
    the
    stamp to a "1" in the code??

    ** YES

    2) Therefore, your load (relay?) should have one terminal always connected
    to +12VDC. The other load wire connects to the ULN, which will "ground"
    the
    load for you when energized. Think of the ULN as a simple switch to ground.

    so the pin 9 (12V+) gets to flow THROUGH the output pin of the ULN when
    the
    opposing INPUT pin is "tickled" by the Stamp Pin going to a "1".

    ** NO. The +12V must be connected to the load. The ULN will connect the
    other end of the load to ground when the stamp pin for that section is "1".

    When a coil is turned off , it makes a high voltage spike that can bust
    transistors. The only purpose of pin 9 is to safely absorb this spike.
    When the ULN drives things without a coil, (like a light bulb), pin 9 is not
    even connected.

    If this doesn't help, could you possibly post a schematic, (at least of the
    ULN portion)? Many people on the list are familiar with the ULN2003, and I
    am sure one of us can help. It sounds like you are close to success.

    Good luck,
    Ray McArthur
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 05:58
    At 10:11 PM 4/19/00 -0500, A.Ron Carmichael wrote:
    >as near as I can tell:
    >2) & 3) the 12V+ has been wired to the pin 9 of the ULN.

    Perhaps have a closer look at that wire going to pin 9 of the 2003. If
    that pin was connected to ground, that would cause the same effect as you
    are describing.

    From what I can tell, you have already done most things right. Leave the
    stamp disconnected until you get the relays NOT to pull in.

    To recap: position the 2003 with the pins DOWN and the notch at the
    top. Top LEFT pin is pin 1, bottom left pin is 8, bottom right pin is 9,
    top right pin is 16. Pin 8 is gnd, pin 9 is the diode clamp. Pins 1 thru
    7 are inputs and match up with the outputs on pins 16 thru 10 (input pin is
    directly opposite the output pin.

    Make sure that you don't have the relay supply reversed - that pin 8 really
    is negative and that pin 9 is positive. One side of all the relay coils
    also goes to the same supply (+) as pin 9 is tied to. The other side of
    the relay coils go to pins 16, 15, 14, etc.

    Leave pins 1-7 disconnected for now. Apply power - the relays should NOT
    pull in. If they do NOT pull in but the loads are ON, check to make sure
    you are using the right contacts on the relays - make sure that you are
    using the Normally Open contact and NOT the Normally Closed contact.

    Once you have power applied with the relays NOT energized, touch a wire
    from +12V to pin 1 of the 2003 - the relay connected to pin 16 should pull
    in and its load turn on. Test the rest of the inputs. Once everything
    works, THEN connect the stamp.

    Best of luck!

    dwayne



    Dwayne Reid <dwayner@p...>
    Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
    (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax

    Celebrating 16 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2000)

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    Do NOT send unsolicited commercial email to this email address.
    This message neither grants consent to receive unsolicited
    commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 06:46
    thanks ! I'll give it a try...

    Dwayne Reid wrote:

    > At 10:11 PM 4/19/00 -0500, A.Ron Carmichael wrote:
    > >as near as I can tell:
    > >2) & 3) the 12V+ has been wired to the pin 9 of the ULN.
    >
    > Perhaps have a closer look at that wire going to pin 9 of the 2003. If
    > that pin was connected to ground, that would cause the same effect as you
    > are describing.
    >
    > From what I can tell, you have already done most things right. Leave the
    > stamp disconnected until you get the relays NOT to pull in.
    >
    > To recap: position the 2003 with the pins DOWN and the notch at the
    > top. Top LEFT pin is pin 1, bottom left pin is 8, bottom right pin is 9,
    > top right pin is 16. Pin 8 is gnd, pin 9 is the diode clamp. Pins 1 thru
    > 7 are inputs and match up with the outputs on pins 16 thru 10 (input pin is
    > directly opposite the output pin.
    >
    > Make sure that you don't have the relay supply reversed - that pin 8 really
    > is negative and that pin 9 is positive. One side of all the relay coils
    > also goes to the same supply (+) as pin 9 is tied to. The other side of
    > the relay coils go to pins 16, 15, 14, etc.
    >
    > Leave pins 1-7 disconnected for now. Apply power - the relays should NOT
    > pull in. If they do NOT pull in but the loads are ON, check to make sure
    > you are using the right contacts on the relays - make sure that you are
    > using the Normally Open contact and NOT the Normally Closed contact.
    >
    > Once you have power applied with the relays NOT energized, touch a wire
    > from +12V to pin 1 of the 2003 - the relay connected to pin 16 should pull
    > in and its load turn on. Test the rest of the inputs. Once everything
    > works, THEN connect the stamp.
    >
    > Best of luck!
    >
    > dwayne
    >
    > Dwayne Reid <dwayner@p...>
    > Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
    > (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax
    >
    > Celebrating 16 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2000)
    >
    > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    > Do NOT send unsolicited commercial email to this email address.
    > This message neither grants consent to receive unsolicited
    > commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email.

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    Beat the 5 o'clock rush, leave work at noon!
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 07:42
    rather than post to the list and risk ticking anyone off with excess bandwidth,
    I put a page up referencing the whole thang:
    http://www.inetport.com/~arc, and one page down to the link on the archery timer
    project.... or just click here: http://www.inetport.com/~arc/Timer/BSII.htm
    (it should be done uploading in a short while)

    rjmca wrote:

    > If a stamp is attached to the input, that would be when I set the pin on
    > the
    > stamp to a "1" in the code??
    >
    > ** YES
    >
    > 2) Therefore, your load (relay?) should have one terminal always connected
    > to +12VDC. The other load wire connects to the ULN, which will "ground"
    > the
    > load for you when energized. Think of the ULN as a simple switch to ground.
    >
    > so the pin 9 (12V+) gets to flow THROUGH the output pin of the ULN when
    > the
    > opposing INPUT pin is "tickled" by the Stamp Pin going to a "1".
    >
    > ** NO. The +12V must be connected to the load. The ULN will connect the
    > other end of the load to ground when the stamp pin for that section is "1".
    >
    > When a coil is turned off , it makes a high voltage spike that can bust
    > transistors. The only purpose of pin 9 is to safely absorb this spike.
    > When the ULN drives things without a coil, (like a light bulb), pin 9 is not
    > even connected.
    >
    > If this doesn't help, could you possibly post a schematic, (at least of the
    > ULN portion)? Many people on the list are familiar with the ULN2003, and I
    > am sure one of us can help. It sounds like you are close to success.
    >
    > Good luck,
    > Ray McArthur

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    Beat the 5 o'clock rush, leave work at noon!
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 19:16
    Ron:
    I just looked at your website/schematic; can't see any problems with your
    circuit. The next step is to follow Steve's and Wayne's suggestions.
    Perhaps you don't have what you think you have.

    Good luck,
    Ray

    Original Message
    From: A.Ron Carmichael <arc@i...>
    To: <basicstamps@egroups.com>
    Sent: Thursday, April 20, 2000 2:42 AM
    Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Whistle!


    > rather than post to the list and risk ticking anyone off with excess
    bandwidth,
    > I put a page up referencing the whole thang:
    > http://www.inetport.com/~arc, and one page down to the link on the archery
    timer
    > project.... or just click here:
    http://www.inetport.com/~arc/Timer/BSII.htm
    > (it should be done uploading in a short while)
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-20 20:01
    Thanks, Ray....I'm trying their instructions but am not gettin' good results....

    rjmca wrote:

    > Ron:
    > I just looked at your website/schematic; can't see any problems with your
    > circuit. The next step is to follow Steve's and Wayne's suggestions.
    > Perhaps you don't have what you think you have.
    >
    > Good luck,
    > Ray

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    Trouble's always a good shot, and in my case it has a laser sight.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-24 19:55
    Radio Shack catalog has a 1-watt amplifier circuit which drives 8-ohm
    speakers. The circuit uses one LM386 audio amplifier chip, a pot for
    volume and 3 capacitors. Louder amp chips (from Linear) could be
    substituted for more volume, but the LM386 is loud enough to be
    uncomfortable at full volume. In my application, I use a BS-1 output pin
    as input to the pot, which acts as a voltage divider for lower volume.
    Dennis
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-25 05:02
    All I want to do at this time is relace a manual, multi-position, rotary
    knob with something the BSII can control and I'm not having a bit of luck.
    I've tried the suggestions that I can from up here over the last few days,
    with no success.

    Back when I was getting all the pieces for this project, the nice girl at
    Tinkertronics listened to my description of the 12 volt system, and
    apparently sold me a ULN that promptly burned itself out when 12-15 volts
    was applied.

    NOW that I gone back and talked to some other guy there, that understood
    electronics mo' better, I have a ULN that (unlike my previous) is rated for
    up to 15 volts (it's an NTE2014, 7-channel darlington array/driver for 6v
    to 15v CMOS/PMOS)

    I have mounted it on a board of education all by it's lonesome - no basic
    stamp to clutter up the picture.

    I put a 9 volt battery on the board. Jumper pin 08 of the 2014 to the VSS
    on the board, grounding the chip.

    I plug in the two heavy leads from the power supply to the relays.

    I put the 12v+ lead (phone wire - black) from the relay to pin 09.

    I put the other phone wire-size lead from the relay onto pin 16 of the
    2014. Lite doesn't come on.

    I take a long jumper wire, and plug it into the 5v+ lead on the board of
    education, and touch the other end of this jumper wire to the PIN 01 of the
    2014. Nothing changes - no lite.

    I then run a grounding wire from the pin 08 to the 12 vdc negative on the 15
    volt AC/DC transformer. no change. no lite. HMMMM.... remove the jumper
    from 01, no change, no lite.

    nothing works so far, so I diddle around, just trying things without
    intelligence. I reverse the leads on the 2014, and sizzle pop goes the
    2014 chip. great. THAT one's toast now..... Well, I've got one more to fry
    <G> since I bought TWO.

    The problem has GOT to be the way that those relays have been wired up in
    the traffic light tower - the terminals of the 3 relay boxes are completely
    obscured by an opaque plastic painted all over them so I can't tell you
    exactly how they are wired up.

    There are a number of guys up here that have been giving me assistance, but
    some of the questions they've asked lead me to believe that I haven't
    given you a clear picture of the setup. I will try once more to explain
    what I see in these relays because this has GOT to be part of the roadblock.

    I have a pair of large alligator clips that attach via 16 gauge multistrand
    wire to either a car battery or to the DC outputs of an ac/dc transformer.
    ONE of the 16 gauge leads goes from the power source to a box of relays, the
    other goes to wiring lugs. From the relays, these 16 gauge wires run to
    the light bulbs and then to the lugs to finish the circuit.

    In addition to the large wire going into the relay box and going out to the
    wiring lug, there are two smaller, 22 or 24 gauges wires attached to each
    relay's top. When the transformer is turned on, nothing happens until the
    two smaller wires are attached to each other. When they are linked
    together, the light comes on. So for THREE traffic lights
    (red/green/yellow) there are THREE relays. One of the small wires from
    each relay are all joined into one common wire (black), which can be either
    positive or negative depending on how I connect that large alligator clip to
    the power source. The other color-coded SMALLER wire from each relay
    corresponds to the light color, so that there is a PHONE WIRE running 50
    meters from the tower of traffic lights (where the relays and power
    transformer are situated) to the table where a person sits. There are NOT 5
    wires, just 4. The phone wire has an RJ11 jack on the end, and plugs
    into a phone wall socket mounted on a block of wood, and has a
    multi-position rotary switch wired to the socket. Rotating the knob of the
    switch simply closes the circuit between the black wire and one of the three
    colored wires, depending on which light needs to come on. Again,this works
    independently of the polarity of the heavy wires leading to the relays.

    I'm trying to replace the freakin' rotary knob<GG>, and not having a bit of
    success at this point.

    Since whoever wired up the traffic light tower and the relays didn't leave a
    schematic, didn't leave a parts list, and covered over the relay tops
    completely so that I cannot see the wires, AND since I don't understand
    much about the Whys and Wherefores of electronic circuit design, I've spent
    perhaps 30 or 40 hours on this project learning as much as I can about the
    design but have developed a flat place on my forehead from hitting a wall.

    The BSII code is done. The transfer to a carrier board, including
    soldering, is done. It works. timers time, LEDs indicate, speaker
    beeps, buttons butt, liquid crystal display shows displays of countdowns and
    color clues, everything works. EXCEPT how to replace the manual rotary
    switch with something that the BSII can control.

    Are there any other methods besides a ULN 2003 to mimic turning the knob.
    How about I just get a stepper motor and have it ROTATE THE FREAKIN'
    KNOB????? AAAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. (<ggg>) sound of Ron the pharmacist
    losing it around the bend.......

    Anyone want to call me on my nickle and tell me how stupid I am over the
    phone? I hate losing to stupid technology, but I'll admit defeat at this
    point. Several hundred dollars and countless hours down the tubes.....
    Heck, anyone in Austin want a free lunch?<G>
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-25 05:04
    Dennis - thanks very much for the suggestion and tip.
    If I don't committ hari kari over the problem I've run into with the relays
    then I'll go get the circuit from RS and continue on. RIght now, I'm
    completely confounded though and have little hope for success.

    Dennis O'Leary wrote:

    > Radio Shack catalog has a 1-watt amplifier circuit which drives 8-ohm
    > speakers. The circuit uses one LM386 audio amplifier chip, a pot for
    > volume and 3 capacitors. Louder amp chips (from Linear) could be
    > substituted for more volume, but the LM386 is loud enough to be
    > uncomfortable at full volume. In my application, I use a BS-1 output pin
    > as input to the pot, which acts as a voltage divider for lower volume.
    > Dennis

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    "On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only
    nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what
    it does." - Will Rogers
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-25 06:13
    I put the output from a 555 timer into a 4 watt amplifier kit (that used a
    LM386). It was driving a small 8 ohm speaker with plenty o' volume! With
    the 555 you can get any (audio) frequency you want by changing the resistor
    values, even very high frequencies like a whistle. I think the amplifier
    kit was about 10 bucks locally. The stamp can easily change the frequency
    by selecting different resistors...

    Hope this helps, Duncan
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-25 12:29
    At 11:02 PM 4/24/00 -0500, you wrote:

    >All I want to do at this time is relace a manual, multi-position, rotary
    >knob with something the BSII can control and I'm not having a bit of luck.
    >I've tried the suggestions that I can from up here over the last few days,
    >with no success.

    Is it possible to replace the three (unknown) relays? If it is, the
    solution is simple: find some known relays that can be driven by logic
    levels and use these. ie. bypass the present switching system thats giving
    you such grief.

    Duncan
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-25 20:21
    That's a good suggestion. My biggest worry is that the system currently works
    manually now - I like the idea of having the ability to fall back to manual if
    the automated BSII project goes toes up. [noparse]:)[/noparse] Right now a rotary switch
    mechanically connects the common 12vDC + line to any of the three ground wires
    to the relays, which gives safe, reliable performance of the traffic lights.

    Also, my confidence level is pretty low, after getting beat by the 2003 - makes
    me pretty leery of messing with the current relays since they are working at
    this point. All I need to do now is BREAK what already works.

    orthner@s... wrote:

    > At 11:02 PM 4/24/00 -0500, you wrote:
    >
    > >All I want to do at this time is relace a manual, multi-position, rotary
    > >knob with something the BSII can control and I'm not having a bit of luck.
    > >I've tried the suggestions that I can from up here over the last few days,
    > >with no success.
    >
    > Is it possible to replace the three (unknown) relays? If it is, the
    > solution is simple: find some known relays that can be driven by logic
    > levels and use these. ie. bypass the present switching system thats giving
    > you such grief.
    >
    > Duncan

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX

    Don't like my driving? Then quit watching me.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-26 01:12
    At 11:02 PM 4/24/00 -0500, A.Ron Carmichael wrote:
    >All I want to do at this time is relace a manual, multi-position, rotary
    >knob with something the BSII can control and I'm not having a bit of luck.
    >I've tried the suggestions that I can from up here over the last few days,
    >with no success.

    Hi again, Ron.

    Question: using the current range on your multi meter, how much current
    does each relay draw? Connect the Black lead to one side of the current
    meter, the Red lead to the other side. Measure both DC current as well as
    AC current if you can. Make sure the light comes on while you measure the
    current.

    IF (and only if) that current is less than 400 mA both AC & DC, try the
    following. Its a rehash of what I suggested earlier.

    Measure voltage from Black lead to Red lead - make sure that Black is (-),
    Red is (+). Touch Black to Red: light should come on.

    Black lead from light to '2003 pin 8 (bottom left corner). 9V battery (-)
    to pin 8. 10K resistor from pin 8 to pin 9. 10 uF cap from pin 8 (-) to
    pin 9(+). Red, yellow, green wires from relays to pins 16, 15, 14. Touch
    + wire from 9V battery to pin 1 - see if light comes on.

    Let us know how this part goes.

    dwayne



    Dwayne Reid <dwayner@p...>
    Trinity Electronics Systems Ltd Edmonton, AB, CANADA
    (780) 489-3199 voice (780) 487-6397 fax

    Celebrating 16 years of Engineering Innovation (1984 - 2000)

    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    Do NOT send unsolicited commercial email to this email address.
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    commercial email nor is intended to solicit commercial email.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-26 05:47
    there is a eureka in this message!!!!

    Dwayne Reid wrote:

    > Question: using the current range on your multi meter, how much current
    > does each relay draw? Connect the Black lead to one side of the current
    > meter, the Red lead to the other side. Measure both DC current as well as
    > AC current if you can. Make sure the light comes on while you measure the
    > current.

    I can test only the small gauge wires from the relay. AC current doesn't give
    a steady reading.
    DC volts, set at a range of 20, gives a reading of 15.23 . the light does NOT
    come on when I am reading the voltage, but if I touch the two wires together
    (without the meter inbetween) the light comes on.
    based on your next question, I'm guessing that I should be measuring "DCA" on
    the minipro meter.

    I move the red lead from the Vohm socket to the "mA" socket, and put the dial
    on 200m. The light DOES come on, and the meter reads "77.0" to "75.0" .

    If I move the dial from 200m to 20m, and put the red plug into the "20A"
    socket, I get a reading of "0.07" .
    With the red plug in "20A" socket and the dial on "2m" , the meter reads .007
    and the light comes on.


    > IF (and only if) that current is less than 400 mA both AC & DC, try the
    > following. Its a rehash of what I suggested earlier.
    >

    Not sure how to read AC - the meter doesn't have a setting for it?

    > Measure voltage from Black lead to Red lead - make sure that Black is (-),
    > Red is (+). Touch Black to Red: light should come on.

    I am guessing that the meter reading is 70 mA (?) based on the above???

    I mounted the NTE2014 onto the board of education with NO basic stamp II on the
    board.


    > Black lead from light to '2003 pin 8 (bottom left corner). 9V battery (-)
    > to pin 8. 10K resistor from pin 8 to pin 9. 10 uF cap from pin 8 (-) to
    > pin 9(+). Red, yellow, green wires from relays to pins 16, 15, 14. Touch
    > + wire from 9V battery to pin 1 - see if light comes on.

    Doing the above caused the light to go on, before I touched the + wire from the
    9v battery to anything so I quickly disconnected the black lead.

    I reversed the leads from the transformer to the relay back to "normal", they
    way they were before I started struggling, so that the black common wire is a
    negative, and I plugged it into pin 8 as directed above. Put the cap and the
    resistor across 8 and 9, with the (+) side of the cap on the 9pin. I plugged
    the red, green, and yellow phone wires from the relays onto pins 14, 15, and
    16. (these are (+))

    no light, until LO AND BEHOLD THERE IS A LIGHT!!!! I touch the (+) of the
    9volt battery to the pin 1 (across from the red lead from the relays)

    WOW! it works! It CAN work!!

    Dwayne - yew da man!

    To make it more like the current coming from the basic stamp circuits, I then
    put the 9 volt battery onto the board of education, and jumped the 5volt (-)
    lead to pin 8. Jumped the 5volt (+) from the battery to each of the three
    input pins across from the 14/15/16 pins one at a time, causes the
    corresponding traffic lite to go on!!!! it works even at 5 volts!

    SOOOO, if I had only had a "right" strength ULN at the gitgo, this all would
    have worked the first time - whoops, except wait a minute...I didn't have that
    other pair of critters jumped over 8 and 9 before!! Is the cap and the
    resistor the same as having a xener diode across the 8 and 9 pins? What are
    those two devices doing in the scope of thing? (IOW is it something I would
    understand<G>? ) why are they there?

    You or someone else mentioned a zener diode yesterday - so I looked and there
    were only two on the shelf for sale, and they were each less than 2 bucks - so
    I bought a 15 volt, 1 watt zener diode (1N4744A) and a 5.1volt, 1 watt zener
    diode (1IN4733A) at Radio Shack yesterday. Would one of these work as
    well/better or should I just stick with the resistor and the cap? If the zener
    is the better component, the package sez the band marks the cathode which I
    think is the (+) end, so that end would go on pin 9 ?

    wow. the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT an oncoming train! so cool.
    I'm going to post this and then go to bed, and sleep good for a change. ...
    Talk to you tomorrow morning! and thanks again to all the folks up here that
    have been so patient. Anybody have any drug questions they need answering?
    THAT I can hep with. or DataEase database programming? That I can help
    with. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

    --
    ARC in Lago Vista, TX
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