Simple Renard 32

[Mactayl]

I am in the final stages of completing the Simple Renard 32, it is pretty much the same as the Simple Renard 16 and 24, I am using a PIC18F45K22 device for 32 channels and it will run at 57.6k or 115k baud at a clock-rate of 32MHZ for Incandescent lights or LED lights, I am running burn-in tests now. I will post the final code and schematics in about week.

[tstraub]

Sounds Great, I cant wait to read more about it
Tyler

[Mactayl]

Sounds Great, I cant wait to read more about it
Tyler

BTW... This code is a modified version of P.Short's original version of the Simple Renard 16 code and Scorpia's hardware design.

[DaveJZ]

This sounds good...

[Mactayl]

Update..

Progress on the Simple Renard 32 is moving forward. I am almost complete with the final testing of three other devices that will work with the present code. They are all in the PIC18F Family which includes PIC18F 4620,4520,4525 and 45K22 devices. There is no external oscillator needed as they will all run at 32MHZ at a baud rate of 57.6k or 115k using the Renard Dimmer (modified) plug-in in Vixen. The final testing should be completed in a couple of days then I will have P. Short take a look at it. As for the PCB I will be working with Scorpia on the layout of the PCB, The code is a modified version of P. Short's original Simple Renard code and the schematic and PCB will be a modified version Scorpia's original Simple Renard 24 design.

I will post the code this coming week.

9871

[tstraub]

That sounds great Mac. I just took a look at the schematic and I think I have all of the parts required to build one :)

[tstraub]

Working from Mac's schematic I have come up with a home etched version of the Simple 32. Its only ran for about an hour but so far it looks very promising. Component placement is tight in places but the board dose retain the same 3x4 inch footprint as the 24 channel version. Here are some pics for all to enjoy. Honestly the solder joints look lots better in person the camera flash really makes the left over flux look terrible.
Tyler
9895
9894

[ErnieHorning]

I'd recommend putting a .1µF next to both supply inputs on the micro. Based on my noise testing at work, just one cap would be too far away to be effective (for both supply surges and noise immunity).

[Mactayl]

Working from Mac's schematic I have come up with a home etched version of the Simple 32. Its only ran for about an hour but so far it looks very promising. Component placement is tight in places but the board dose retain the same 3x4 inch footprint as the 24 channel version. Here are some pics for all to enjoy. Honestly the solder joints look lots better in person the camera flash really makes the left over flux look terrible.
Tyler



Very nice job Tyler, I would also go along with Ernie's suggestion on the extra cap on the PCB for noise reduction, I am going to add to the schematic. I should post the final code sometime this week, it is pretty much the same as what I sent you except for some small changes.

[tstraub]

Ok I'll add the cap. Looks like there is plenty of room to just drill the holes in the pcb then bend the leads over to the PIC on this one. I'll add traces and pads for any future boards.
Tyler

[Mactayl]

Ok I'll add the cap. Looks like there is plenty of room to just drill the holes in the pcb then bend the leads over to the PIC on this one. I'll add traces and pads for any future boards.
Tyler

Sounds good,,,, Are you ready for the Simple Renard 48..:cool:

[tstraub]

Sounds good,,,, Are you ready for the Simple Renard 48..:cool:

OK Mac, but we have to do it real quick. As soon as the Doc lets me go back to work play time is over :(

[Mactayl]

OK Mac, but we have to do it real quick. As soon as the Doc lets me go back to work play time is over :(

I was just kidding, it's going to be a few months before the 48 channel version happens....:)

[tstraub]

I was just kidding, it's going to be a few months before the 48 channel version happens....:)

Yea, I knew you were kidding. The truth is I already have about 3x the channel count of controllers than I plan to use. It never hurts to have a spare :D

[DaveJZ]

Curious if there is any home etch files, BOM, and the PIC code available yet??

[dirknerkle]

Yea, I knew you were kidding. The truth is I already have about 3x the channel count of controllers than I plan to use. It never hurts to have a spare :D

I think most of us have that M.O. Last year I used 192 channels. Had more than 1200 available. Geez. I just read what I typed. My wife is right. I really AM crazy!

[Mactayl]

Update:
After testing the Simple Renard 32 we believe it is time to let others have a go with one of the Simple Renard series controllers. It is about as basic and low costing as you can get for a 32 channel controller that will run DC LEDs, Incandescent Lights and AC LED Light stringers. The original design is by P. Short
and PCB by Peter Rogers (Scorpia). The code and schematic has be enhanced to accommodate 32 channels, the PCB has been modified by Tyler (tstraub) for a home etch version, He is in the process of completing a final version of the PCB which we will send out for a PCB build then we will do some testing and after that is complete we will offer it to the DIYC community. We are going to start a Simple Renard 32 interest thread before we go much further into this project.
Any suggestions or criticisms are welcome.
BTW we have included the PIC code, home etch files and generic BOM, I will create a Mouser project file after the PCB is final..ATTACH]9911[/ATTACH]

[ErnieHorning]

Thanks for posting the Eagle files, it makes it easier to add my own touch. I removed the ground traces and used a flood instead. This makes it a lot quicker to do the CNC routing method that I use. The router cuts out 95% of the board just doing the ground outline. I don't think this would etch well though, since the spacing is only .o1 inches.

A question though, was there a reason that no connector was used for the AC power supply? The holes are too small for any connector pins so I'm assuming there was no intent.

[tstraub]

The AC power connector is left over from Scorpia's 24 channel version. His board had a screw terminal connector and a barrel jack. There was not room to keep both connectors. I didn't have any barrel jacks on hand so I kept the screw terminal. I really didn't look too closely at the hole size because I drilled the board by hand. The screw terminal fits fine if you drill the holes slightly larger. I hope you enjoy your Simple Renard 32 and thank you for your input on the hole size I will be sure to check into that for the production boards we are trying to get done.

If you could post pictures of your CNC cut board I would like to see them.

Tyler

[ErnieHorning]

A couple of things that I noticed…

The value attribute for J6 & J10 (channel numbers) is not visible on the board and I can’t figure out how to get it to display.

The trace coming out of IC5 pin 24 on the schematic walks over pins 23, 22 & 21 below it, so it looks like it’s supposed to be connected. I moved C5, C3 & C4 above IC2 so that J10 could be moved to the right a bit.


The more that I looked at the board, the more I changed it; so it’s not really the same board that I started with. I’ve move nearly every trace.



• I pulled the parts in from the corners so that there was enough room for even the largest screw head.

• I re-routed the +5V so that the micro is no longer in the middle of supplying power to the upper and lower RJ45 jacks. The micro get’s its own power trace and each of the rows of jacks gets their own also.

• J1 & J2 were .25 mils farther from the board than all the rest of the connectors so the micro and everything to the left was moved to the right 50 mils.

• I did manage to fit the power connector on the board. I ended up turning the connector, opto and the resistors 90° and still leave plenty of room for the screw and access to it.

• When I’m done, I can upload or email this if it’s of interest.


This has been a learning experience for me. My ancient OrCad from the 80’s, no longer functions now that my PC’s are running Windows 7. Eagle has been the easiest to learn CAD system and I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I probably still am not using it in the most efficient way but it’s got a nice Undo and I’ve used it a lot.:D

[tstraub]

It is possible that I sent Mac one of the old files instead of the final version. I don't have eagle installed on this computer to look at the files posted. I will double check later tonight and have mac edit that post if needed. I think the files posted in the File Library are correct but cant verify that from this PC.

[Mactayl]

It is possible that I sent Mac one of the old files instead of the final version. I don't have eagle installed on this computer to look at the files posted. I will double check later tonight and have mac edit that post if needed. I think the files posted in the File Library are correct but cant verify that from this PC.

Home Etch file is now updated on post #17

[dirknerkle]

Nice work guys. Very compact board, way too many straight traces. (Couldn't you work it out where there was a whole bunch of convoluted, go-everywhere traces??? Geez... :lol:)

I think I'll pop one of these in the toaster this week and see how it turns out!

[tstraub]

Nice work guys. Very compact board, way too many straight traces. (Couldn't you work it out where there was a whole bunch of convoluted, go-everywhere traces??? Geez... :lol:)

I think I'll pop one of these in the toaster this week and see how it turns out!

You should have seen some of the spaghetti noodle layouts I had along the way. Finally I did I a little pin reassigning and cobbled up the firmware to get the channel map to work. Mac graciously went threw all my uncommented changes and cleaned it up. We have been pleased with the results. I'm sure you will be happy with this little controller. Just because is called a Simple doesn't mean it is less capable than other controllers. Just less parts and therefore lower cost.

Tyler

[steve_hirst]

I know that my simple 16s and simple 24s ran great this last year mixed in with everything else that I had out there so I'm sure this will run great also. I may have to etch some this week also if I get a chance.

[Mactayl]

I just updated the latest code in post #17 of this thread and in the DIYC file library...:)
why??,,, I sent the wrong one before...:mad::confused:

[tstraub]

I am currently making a some changes to the board layout on the Simple Renard 32. The biggest change I will be making is relocating the voltage regulator. The current design worked well while I was using a PICkit 2 clone to flash the PIC. I recently purchased a PICkit 3 and discovered that the voltage regulator is too close to the ICSP header and makes it difficult to plug the PICkit directly to the header so It needs to be moved. This dose not cause any problems once the PIC is programed but I would like to change it for for production boards.

I see that the etch files for this board have been downloaded just over 30 times since I added them to the File Library a few months ago. So I would like some feed back. If anyone has built this board please let me know how it worked out for you. If there are any other changes that should be made please let me know. Thank you.

Tyler

[dirknerkle]

Tyler,

The board worked fine for me. I connect to the ICSP header via a ribbon cable so for me, there is no conflict with the regulator.

[steve_hirst]

same here, no problems

[N7XG]

Earnie,

Did you ever get this project completed? It sounds like you had some good ideas. I would also like to see pictures of the completed board.

Dean, N7XG

[tstraub]

Dean,
I'm not sure how Ernie's board came out but if your up for a home etch the board in the File Library works great. If you are looking for a production board Mac and I are trying to get a small production run on a board based on this one. Just a few small changes in component placement and an additional Diagnostic LED for RX/TX.

Tyler

[scorpia]

I am currently making a some changes to the board layout on the Simple Renard 32. The biggest change I will be making is relocating the voltage regulator. The current design worked well while I was using a PICkit 2 clone to flash the PIC. I recently purchased a PICkit 3 and discovered that the voltage regulator is too close to the ICSP header and makes it difficult to plug the PICkit directly to the header so It needs to be moved. This dose not cause any problems once the PIC is programed but I would like to change it for for production boards.

I see that the etch files for this board have been downloaded just over 30 times since I added them to the File Library a few months ago. So I would like some feed back. If anyone has built this board please let me know how it worked out for you. If there are any other changes that should be made please let me know. Thank you.

Tyler

Just a quick note, in the last vestion of the simple 24 board. i layed the regulator over to both use the PCB as a bit of a heatsink and to allow better clearance around the ISCP header. it worked pretty well

If you cant find the files give me a yell and ill send em over

Peter

[tstraub]

Thanks for the reminder Peter,

I stood the regulator up on the home etch board because it is a single sided board with no topside copper to use as a heatsink. I think I will try laying it back down on the production board and see how it looks.

Tyler

[N7XG]

Tyler,

Please keep me posted on your production board. I may be interested in 4 or 5. I am thinking of building a demo board and the Simple 32 is what I am looking for. Easy to build, low part count, etc.

I wish I had it last year for my mini-trees. 8 trees, 4 channels each.

Dean

[Mactayl]

Tyler,

Please keep me posted on your production board. I may be interested in 4 or 5. I am thinking of building a demo board and the Simple 32 is what I am looking for. Easy to build, low part count, etc.

I wish I had it last year for my mini-trees. 8 trees, 4 channels each.

Dean

Hi Dean

I will posting the PCB info in a Simple Renard PCB interest thread today, I need to put some final touches on the files first..

[ErnieHorning]

Did you ever get this project completed? It sounds like you had some good ideas. I would also like to see pictures of the completed board. It’s laid out and ready to route but work got in the way. I’m going to try and get this done this week but here is a screen capture of how it’s routed.

I left the original jumper holes in place though the only ones that might be useful are the two square ones next to J1 & J2 if you needed the pass through capability.

http://doityourselfchristmas.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10438&d=1307384945
10438

[soakes94]

So this is probably an easy question to answer but I have no idea, I'm ordering the parts and I wasnt sure what part I use for IC2, I searched it in mouser and got a few results, do I want Bus Transceivers, Buffers & Line Drivers, RS-485 Interface IC or Bus Transceivers? I wasnt sure and didnt want to mess it up haha.

Also is this suitable for the H11AA1 - 782-H11AA1
And is the output of the LM78L05 to me 0.1A or 1A?

I keep adding things to this post haha, is this the right part for the IC5? 579-PIC18F4620-I/P

Thanks Steve

[Mactayl]

So this is probably an easy question to answer but I have no idea, I'm ordering the parts and I wasnt sure what part I use for IC2, I searched it in mouser and got a few results, do I want Bus Transceivers, Buffers & Line Drivers, RS-485 Interface IC or Bus Transceivers? I wasnt sure and didnt want to mess it up haha.

Also is this suitable for the H11AA1 - 782-H11AA1
And is the output of the LM78L05 to me 0.1A or 1A?

I keep adding things to this post haha, is this the right part for the IC5? 579-PIC18F4620-I/P

Thanks Steve

Steve

the 782-H11AA1 is Mousers part number for a H11AA1
Do not use a LM78L05 because it it is only .1 amps
you can use a 579-PIC18F4620-I/P instead of a 579-PIC18F4520-I/P but is is more expensive.

[soakes94]

Okay thats great thanks :)

So the output of the voltage regulator needs to be 1 amp?
And do I need the bridge rectifier if I use a DC power supply?

[Mactayl]

Okay thats great thanks :)

So the output of the voltage regulator needs to be 1 amp?
And do I need the bridge rectifier if I use a DC power supply?


You do not need 1 amp but that is the next one that is available which is a LM7805CT and I spec that one in the SR 32 BOM due to the fact it will function at -40c to +125c. you will need the bridge rectifier because you need the AC signal to generate the Zero Crossing signal that goes into pin one of the PIC18F4xxx device. If you have your own DC supply and have a point where you could tap into the AC signal then you would fine but you must make sure you use the correct value resistors that are feeding the the H11AA1 or you will blow it up.

[soakes94]

That makes sense now, I forgot about the ZC haha. I'm a bit confused now, I was going to etch my own SR32 and I was looking at the group buy for the boards and they have a different layout and more leds and things than the home etch board. So I'm a bit confused now haha. Can the group buy board do more than the home etch board?

Steve

[Mactayl]

That makes sense now, I forgot about the ZC haha. I'm a bit confused now, I was going to etch my own SR32 and I was looking at the group buy for the boards and they have a different layout and more leds and things than the home etch board. So I'm a bit confused now haha. Can the group buy board do more than the home etch board?

Steve

The new SR 32 boards will have a couple of options which are they will be able to accommodate Dirks Ren-W Xbees for wireless operation and there will also be a PIC bypass jumper so Renard data does not get striped out of the data stream which can be used when start addressed is enabled on the PIC so effectively there will be no PIC to PIC data stream delay with multiple controllers connected to the Renard data stream.
The first small batch or SR 32 PCB's should be here by the end of the week then I will test them and if they are OK I will order more.

[soakes94]

Do you recomend I buy the boards from the group buy? I wont be needing wireless or anything. I can etch boards fine, I dont 2 grinchs last year and all my SSR's.

[Mactayl]

Do you recomend I buy the boards from the group buy? I wont be needing wireless or anything. I can etch boards fine, I dont 2 grinchs last year and all my SSR's.


If you can do home etching give it a go, there have been a few folks here that have done them and were quite satisfied with there results.
No need to wait on a group buy, that is entirely up to you.:)

[soakes94]

Okay, last question now haha. Is there a file so I can etch the SR RGB+W boards at home or do I need to group buy that board? Because that will be an awesome board for me since I'm getting really fed up of having to use screw terminals for all my floods haha

[Mactayl]

Okay, last question now haha. Is there a file so I can etch the SR RGB+W boards at home or do I need to group buy that board? Because that will be an awesome board for me since I'm getting really fed up of having to use screw terminals for all my floods haha

Tyler (Tstraub) has home etch files for the SR RGB+W and that home etch is a bit of a challenge, I will talk with him today and have him get with you on that, but like I was saying that one is going to be a bit tougher to home etch.. I just sent out for the first batch of SR RGB+W and they should be here in a couple of weeks if you want to wait until then I will hold one for you.

[tstraub]

Steve,
If you are up for a challenge PM me your email address and I can get the required files to you. The RGB+W home etch is very easy to etch but the drilling is very time consuming and the soldering is very difficult. Pads and traces are very close to the ground plane. The home etch version has a few minor differences from the production board. the biggest one is that it dose not have a Vreg on the board so you need a well regulated 5 volt DC power supply for the ICs.

Tyler

[soakes94]

Ive just etched and drilled my first simple ren32 and went to install the pic socket and the holes dont line up? Im using a 40pin socket and the pic18f4520 and suggested in the BOM. Has my printer printed everything to a smaller scale?

Stephen

[ErnieHorning]

Has my printer printed everything to a smaller scale?If you printed the PDF, you have to set scaling to 'none'. The file is 8.5 x 11, so if you 'fit to page', it will be shrunk by the minimum margin of your printer.

When using none, ignore any warnings the driver may give you.

[P. Short]

Best to do a trial fit of the parts onto the paper printout before doing the transfer.

[ErnieHorning]

I’ve had this happen myself so it’s burned into my brain. I now always put a large put a large part on top of a printed page just to be sure.

I also once made a two sided board that looked great until I discover that top and bottom were swapped. Just flip it over you say? Won’t work since both layers are mirror images of what they should have been.

[Mactayl]

Ive just etched and drilled my first simple ren32 and went to install the pic socket and the holes dont line up? Im using a 40pin socket and the pic18f4520 and suggested in the BOM. Has my printer printed everything to a smaller scale?

Stephen
I hope things work out for you, if not I will be sending out for a new batch of Simple Renard 32 Combos and Simple Renard RGB+W's after I get my DIYC Floods but I have to wait until then before I order any new PCB's, I want to make sure the RGB+W is tested with LED Floods first.

[Greg in Canby]

I want to make sure the RGB+W is tested with LED Floods first.

Any chance your testing with a Mighty Mini or only the DIY Flood?

[Mactayl]

Any chance your testing with a Mighty Mini or only the DOY Flood?

I will be doing both, I need to put my order in for the Mighty Mini LED's by tomorrow or I am SOL for the Mighty Mini's

[smartalec]

Great work guys,
Now i dont want to be rude,
but is there anychance for a DMX Firmware?

[budude]

Great work guys,
Now i dont want to be rude,
but is there anychance for a DMX Firmware?

That would be nice... only reason I do not use RenSimples anymore...

[tstraub]

Mac and I did talk about DMX firmware early this spring. At the time we were both more interested in going wireless so the effort for DMX took the back burner to start address firmware. Mac and Phil worked together to get the start address stuff working. I am unsure if there is any work for DMX being actively developed at this time. My coding skills are not up to the task. All of the code is readily available in the File Library and open source. If there are any coders out there who would like to give it a shot. Please feel free to go for it.

It is late in the year and I'm sure everybody is busy with there own displays right now but if there is someone who is serious about taking on the task and needs hardware for testing I do have a few extra home etched Simple PCB's. Shoot me a PM and we'll work something out to get you the hardware.

Tyler

[Mactayl]

Tyler hit the nail on the head, we have done as much as we are going to do this year with the Simple Renard's. It is time to continue working on sequencing and displays, maybe next year we will explore other options, it is to late in the season to try and make any new changes with the firmware and 99% of that depends on Phil, since he is the Renard Master.

Thanks

[soakes94]

Managed to get do it this time and now have a board populated :) Just wondering though how many amps will I need? I know its 12VAC and I have everything but that just now haha. Could I use 24VAC without changing parts? If not what are the ratings for the 12VAC?

Cheeres

[Mactayl]

Managed to get do it this time and now have a board populated :) Just wondering though how many amps will I need? I know its 12VAC and I have everything but that just now haha. Could I use 24VAC without changing parts? If not what are the ratings for the 12VAC?

Cheeres

Hi Steve,

Do not use 24VAC, the ZC resistors R8 and R9 that go to the H11AA1 are calculated for 9 to 12VAC which are 1K ohms. as for current 500ma is fine I would not use anything less then that.

[soakes94]

If I used the same resistors as the ones used in the ren-c to grinch convertor with 24vac would that work? As I've got loads of them hahah

Steve

[Mactayl]

If I used the same resistors as the ones used in the ren-c to grinch convertor with 24vac would that work? As I've got loads of them hahah

Steve

what value resistor are you using? make sure your cap on the input of the VReg is rated at least 50VDC, you will be dissipating a lot more heat through the voltage regulator using a 24VAC transformer and you will need a heat sink on it.

edit,,, BTW are going to use DC SSR's or AC SSR's, if you are going to use DC SSR's you will not need the H11AA1 and the two ZC resistors, they are only needed for AC SSR's.

[relewis]

hi all - I was developing a Picaxe based demux running on the generic serial protocol, but realised after rushing it for this Christmas that I was actually just re-designing something that already existed. Where can i get the firmware and details for the Renard 32?
Cheers
Rob

[RavingLunatic]

Start at the beginning of this thread. By the time you get to post 17 all should be clear. :wink:

[Mactayl]

hi all - I was developing a Picaxe based demux running on the generic serial protocol, but realised after rushing it for this Christmas that I was actually just re-designing something that already existed. Where can i get the firmware and details for the Renard 32?
Cheers
Rob


Here is the info on the SR 32. The reason you will not find any info in the Wiki is due to the DIYC site crash back in November, I was almost finished entering all the info in the Wiki and the site went down for a week,, when it came back up the info I entered was all gone.. As you probably already know the site is not back up 100%. After It is back up and fully functional I will re-enter all the data again. For now I included a few files. Hope this helps. Here is the link to the PCB's if you are interested in them. http://n7xg.net/diycprojects.html

[relewis]

Cheers Mac - you're a star.
To date I've only ever played with picaxe which has a basic bootloader, so this should be fun - not done Hex programming since ZX spectrum days!
I've got some 18f4520 - will these be ok?
For my first Renard build I'm planning on redesigning the pcb from scratch as I have a couple of 16 channel opto-isolated clickety-clackity relay boards which i used for this year's display on the back of a couple of picaxe chips. They are available off ebay for around £16. Beyond that I'm looking at dimming for next year, so will do this on something a little more standard.
Love the single-chip 32-channel idea. Looks like a real move forward.
This years (small) display is on youtube - search for bigpaperaeroplane
cheers
Rob
(UK)

[tstraub]

I've got some 18f4520 - will these be ok?

cheers
Rob
(UK)

Rob,
The PIC 18F4520 is an excellent choice. I ran 3 SR32s this year(2 home etched and 1 production board). Mine were fitted with one of each 18F4520, 18F4620, and 18F4525. All performed flawlessly all season. I had some problems with my SSR's due to a lot of rain but all of my Simples worked just fine.

good luck
Tyler

[relewis]

I've etched the board and fitted most of the bits -just waiting on the opto.
I had a little issue getting the firmware onto the 18f4520 pic - probably my fault for using a cheapy £17 pic programmer off ebay.
After squirting in the hex it would come back with an error. However i found if i told the programmer that the chip was a 18f4620 all was well.
It will be interesting to see if it actually worked!
I had a rethink and etched the board as standard and am making an intermediate interface board to go between the 32 and my relay boards.
Can anyone point me to a low-current 32 channel SSR board?
cheers
Rob

[Mactayl]

I've etched the board and fitted most of the bits -just waiting on the opto.
I had a little issue getting the firmware onto the 18f4520 pic - probably my fault for using a cheapy £17 pic programmer off ebay.
After squirting in the hex it would come back with an error. However i found if i told the programmer that the chip was a 18f4620 all was well.
It will be interesting to see if it actually worked!
I had a rethink and etched the board as standard and am making an intermediate interface board to go between the 32 and my relay boards.
Can anyone point me to a low-current 32 channel SSR board?
cheers
Rob

Hi Rob,

I do not know of any low-current 32 SSR boards and then again I am not sure what you are trying to do,, are you wanting to use relays or SSR's, if you are looking for SSR's there are a few to choose from SSR8's, SSREZ or SSRneons, take your pick.. As for the problem of your programmer not being able to load the firmware into the PIC18F4520 it could be as simple as selecting the correct device in MPLAB.. I am including an MPLAB file that has the correct firmware for a PIC18F4520, the one you used could of been setup for a PIC18F4620 which is not the same device so I would stick with the firmware for the PIC18F4520..hope this helps

[CaptKirk]

Any thoughts on doing the DMX firmware on this baby? I'd love to do this board with the Strobe Pucks on a DMX setup!!

[Mactayl]

Any thoughts on doing the DMX firmware on this baby? I'd love to do this board with the Strobe Pucks on a DMX setup!!

We will be looking into DMX soon but I am not sure if it can be done with 32 channels. I hope to have an answer soon.

[chadowamsley]

Are pcb's available for the ssr32 ? Or are these still being tested ? Sorry if this has been answered but haven't really seen anything about this.

Thank You,

[Mactayl]

Are pcb's available for the ssr32 ? Or are these still being tested ? Sorry if this has been answered but haven't really seen anything about this.

Thank You,

I guess your meaning SR32 not ssr32, if you are meaning SR32 the boards are available here http://n7xg.net/diycprojects.html

and the BOM is attached..

[mlkren]

They are available now. Here is the Link. (http://n7xg.net/SR32.html)

[relewis]

hmmm - still no luck with the firmware. In fact it seems the chips now wont erase either. Pickit3 me thinks

[tstraub]

Rob,

How are you trying to program this PIC? Through the ICSP header of the SR32 or in a external ZIF socket? Are you powering the chip from the circuit or threw the the PICkit? Most of the trouble I have had programing PICs is related to the voltage on the VSS and VDD pins during programming. I once had a PC that refused to program 18f4520's but would program 16f688's. I finally traced it down to a flaky power supply in the PC. It only had 4.6volts on the 5 volt rail. I swapped out the power supply and its been working great. So if you have another PC it might be worth trying to program the PIC from a different PC.

Tyler

[Mactayl]

hmmm - still no luck with the firmware. In fact it seems the chips now wont erase either. Pickit3 me thinks

Don't understand Pickit2 should work just fine,,, only need the Pickit 3 for PIC18F45Kxxxx/PIC18F46Kxxxx devices,, all the PIC18F4xxx should be fine with a Pickit2 programmer. are you using MPLAB or MPASMWIN ?

[relewis]

I had been using a K149_BC to programme (because it was on ebay and cheap). Have come to the conclusion it wasn't worth bothering with. Pickit3 arrived today and job done in no time. I etched three of these boards last weekend and two are now complete. I made up an interface board to connect one of these to a couple of 16 channel relay boards which i used for this years display and all works brilliantly - 32 channels of really fast clickety clack!
I found the best source for the RJ45 sockets was old 24 port cat5e patch panels.
As this board has just the one status LED I am a little confused as to what the patterns meant. Is there a link to the Status LED decode?
I'm now going to work on some SSR boards and enclosures.
Well done and thanks to everyone involved with this project
Rob

32 channels non-dimmable
64 more dimmable channels in the pipeline!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlfnc6rMAfU

[Mactayl]

Good to hear you got things going and if you need anything be sure to post any questions you have or PM me.

[glaforce]

13500
First one is done.. OK very close someone didnt order the zero crossing opto...

[Mactayl]

Nice job on the Home Etch:thup2:

[glaforce]

Ok i have been reading thru the thread and cant say i'm 100% sure i know what the baud rate is i see 57.6 and 115.2. I have read thru the code and dont see where to change it. So needs some input as Johny 5 would say.


Gary

[Reddy_Kilowatt]

The default is 57.6k. You can customize the firmware by editing the xxx.inc file.:cool2:


;; NOTE:
;;
;; This firmware is configured for PWM use with 57600 baud communications.
;; Here are the DEFINE statements for changing this.
;;
;; User tunable items:
;; define baud rates. uncomment one of the following options
;; #define BAUDRATE 38400 ;; not tested on 32 Channels
#define BAUDRATE 57600
;; #define BAUDRATE 115200

How times fun when your having flies....

-Craig

[Mactayl]

Ok i have been reading thru the thread and cant say i'm 100% sure i know what the baud rate is i see 57.6 and 115.2. I have read thru the code and dont see where to change it. So needs some input as Johny 5 would say.


Gary

Hi Gary,

Not sure if you are wanting to use 57.k baud,,, if so here is a hex file for a PIC18F4620 at 57.6K baud,, if you would like the MPLAB project file or a hex file for 115.2k drop me a PM..

[smartalec]

We will be looking into DMX soon but I am not sure if it can be done with 32 channels. I hope to have an answer soon.

Any update with the DMX ?
thanks

[glaforce]

Ok thanks Mac planning on 57.6K at least for now but my channel count is creeping up and will have to change to 115.2K in a season or two.

[Mactayl]

Any update with the DMX ?
thanks

Hi Alec,

Nothing yet on DMX,,, I just moved from one side of the country to the other and I am in the process of getting settled in after 3,042 miles... Hopefully I will be getting some of the DMX Gurus involved with DMX for the Simples Renard's soon since I am clueless when it comes to DMX....there are a bunch of DMX folks here at DIYC so hopefully some will chime in and volunteer their expertise/services or Paint a Fence (Tom Sawyer Project).:biggrin2: