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Some simple questions — Parallax Forums

Some simple questions

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2001-01-25 22:59 in General Discussion
Hi,
I'm new to Basic Stamps, and have a few simple questions. I'm planning on
building an altimeter for a model rocket. I'm hoping to base it around the
altimeter shown on Shaun's Basic Stamp II Projects page, that I found from
the link on the Parallax site. Anyway, I have a few questions regarding his
design (perhaps if he reads this list he could answaer).
So:
1) Why use a seperate voltage regulator? I thought the BS2 had a built in
+5V regulator, so why not run the ADC, sensor, etc. from that?
2) Is the op-amp necessary between the sensor and the ADC? Could I just run
Vout from the pressure sensor (or any sensor for that matter) straight in to
the analog input of the ADC?
Srry if these are stupid questions, my electronic skills are not great, but
I want to understand what I'm doing, rather than just copying a design.
Thanks,
James.

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2001-01-25 22:59
    >
    > Hi,
    > I'm new to Basic Stamps, and have a few simple questions. I'm
    > planning on
    > building an altimeter for a model rocket. I'm hoping to base
    > it around the
    > altimeter shown on Shaun's Basic Stamp II Projects page, that
    > I found from
    > the link on the Parallax site. Anyway, I have a few questions
    > regarding his
    > design (perhaps if he reads this list he could answaer).
    > So:
    > 1) Why use a seperate voltage regulator? I thought the BS2
    > had a built in
    > +5V regulator, so why not run the ADC, sensor, etc. from that?

    The onboard regulator has a fairly limited current output.

    > 2) Is the op-amp necessary between the sensor and the ADC?
    > Could I just run
    > Vout from the pressure sensor (or any sensor for that matter)
    > straight in to
    > the analog input of the ADC?

    Not familiar with he sensor, but the output voltage was probably too low or
    more likely the range between highest reading and lowest values were so
    small that the ADC had very little sensitivity.

    Tim
    [noparse][[/noparse]Denver, CO]
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