Basic stamp light meter
I am working my way through the "What's a Microcontroller?" workbook with a Homework Board. I am looking forward to moving on to building on of the several Boebot kits I have here. I have gotten to the project where I build a light meter that causes the seven segment LED to race in a circle at a speed that is proportional to the amount of light received. My problem is that I like watching this device so much I have gone through about 5 nine volt batteries and just let it run all day long. I can't bear to disassemble it! How can I move on with such a neat toy sitting next to my laptop while I surf around? Am I going to have to buy a basic stamp and LED with a 9 volt wall wart just so I can build this into some nifty case? It has been keeping me company for a week so far...
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Ron Giuntini
San Francisco
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Ron Giuntini
San Francisco
Comments
It's RadioShack catalog number 273-1761, 6VDc, 800mA.
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Steve
"Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered."
Ron
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Ron Giuntini
San Francisco
I would love to see it and even build one myself!!
Joe
One problem with keeping a circuit assembled for a long time (cheap and plentiful breadboards, notwithstanding) is that it ties up your BS2IC. A $50 Stamp running a lightshow is an awful waste...but for about $20 ($11 for a BS2IC DIP, $5 for a 2KB EEPROM, $2.50 for a 20MHz resonator and a little left over for miscellaneous resistors, caps, etc) you can build a dedicated BS2-based circuit that will happily and economically drive that LED lightshow of yours.
The only "gotcha" is that you have to be able to program the EEPROM. I bought a BS2 OEM kit (www.parallax.com/html_pages/products/basicstamps/basic_stamps_oem.asp) for this purpose: The BS2 OEM kit allows me to develop the circuit (I plug the BS2 OEM into a breadboard and build the circuits onto the breadboard) and finalize the program. Once the final program is in EEPROM, I move the EEPROM into the waiting circuit that includes the DIP-version of the BS2IC and a socket for the EEPROM. Each BS2-based project starts with the basic expense of $20 for the discrete parts plus whatever the rest of the circuitry costs.
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I wouldn't connect that if I were you...
Post Edited (aalegado) : 6/30/2006 7:50:23 AM GMT
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Ron Giuntini
San Francisco
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Tracy Allen
www.emesystems.com