cheddarking: A house has 7 bedrooms and 2 living rooms....as well as a BQ comprising 1room/livingroom/toilet

The main house has 2 Large Fridges and 2 Deep Freezers.

Each bedroom has a Wall mounted 1hp AC...while the 2 living rooms have a 3HP split standing unit each.

There are 9 Flatscreen LEDs in this house, usually on at the same time.

There is also a pumping machine in the yard for water.


Can you use Solar Energy to Power this house? And how big is the Array gonna be?

Yes you can use solar energy to power the house but the cost of the solar energy materials and installation for the house can build the same house in another plot of land

Barcholder: Hi All

I'd like to start a discussion about the cost of Electricity in Nigeria today. The numbers make for interesting reading. And as they say, numbers don't lie.

Diesel Generator 71.7 Naira per kWh
Petrol Generator 69.5 Naira per kWh
PHCN Grid Electricity 23 Naira per kWh
Solar Power 15.5 Naira per kWh

Why on earth do Nigerians still persist on using generators?

Discuss

From your post above,Solar Power looks cheaper but I will like you to note the following points:

1. Solar Power system is made up of: the solar panels/cells (convert the solar energy to electrical energy(DC voltage/current)),solar charge controller (Regulates the converted DC voltage used to charge batteries), DC batteries (used to power up a UPS/Inverter), UPS/Inverter (converts the DC voltage from batteries to 230V AC voltage which you can use to power up your house)

2. Solar power is NOT normally used as a stand-alone power supply. It is used to support an existing power supply such as mains/PHCN or generator. The reason is that the power from solar system depends on the battery current and it will be difficult to fully charge the batteries from the solar panels (unless you have enough millions of naira to waste on panels). For your batteries to last longer, you will need to charge the batteries through Mains(PHCN) or generator.


thats my 2cent

princejude:

Exercise 3 : Servo motor control.
In this exercise, I will copy some sections of my code in a recent project titled "Automated waste bin". This is a simple wast bin with some automatic controls. The waste bin have an ultrasonic sensor, if you come close to the bin, the bin's door will open and ones you are through and out from the bin, the door will close. The opening and closing of the door was controlled using a servo motor while your distance from the bin was measured using an ultrasonic sensor.

Chei !! i don go late ooo ... will be back shortly

Yeah am back...
Here is the code for the servo motor control:

#include <16F887.h>
#device adc=8
#FUSES NOWDT, HS, NOPUT, NOPROTECT, NODEBUG, NOBROWNOUT, NOLVP, NOCPD, NOWRT
#use delay(clock=8000000)
#use rs232(baud=9600,parity=N,xmit=PIN_C6,rcv=PIN_C7,bits=

#define TRIG  PIN_B2       // HC-SR04 Ultrasonic trig pin connected to MCU's pin B2
#define ECHO  PIN_B1       // HC-SR04 Ultrasonic echo pin connected to MCU's pin B1
#define SERVO PIN_C3       // Servo motor connected to MCU's pin C3
#define LOW_BAT PIN_A1     // Low battery indicator connected to pin A1
#define FULL  PIN_A2       // Waste bin FULL indicator connected to pin A2
#define RX  PIN_B3         // Photo transistor(used to detect when waste-bin is full)
                           // is connected to pin B3

int16 distance, time, adc_res;   // declare some variables as int16

void pulse_clockwise()           // function to turn servo motor clockwise
{
   output_high(SERVO);
   delay_us(1445);
   output_low(SERVO);
   delay_ms(20);
}

void pulse_anticlockwise()       // function to turn servo motor anticlockwise
{
   output_high(SERVO);
   delay_us(1530);
   output_low(SERVO);
   delay_ms(20);
}

void stop_pulse()               // function to stop servo motor 
{
      output_high(SERVO);
      delay_us(1480);
      output_low(SERVO);
      delay_ms(20);
}

void open_bin()                  // funtion to open the waste-bin
{
   int8 i;
   for(i=0;i<8;i++)             // turns servo motor clockwise eight times
   {
      pulse_clockwise();
      delay_ms(50);
      stop_pulse();
      delay_ms(400);
   }
}

void close_bin()              // function to close waste-bin
{
   int8 j;
   for(j=0;j<8;j++)           // turns servo motor anticlockwise eight times
   {
      pulse_anticlockwise();
      delay_ms(50);
      stop_pulse();
      delay_ms(400);
   }
}

int16 get_distance()           // gets your distance from the waste-bin(using HC-SR04 
                               // Ultrasonic sensor
{
   setup_timer_1(T1_INTERNAL|T1_DIV_BY_4);     // initiating timer
   {
      output_high(TRIG);                         // ping the sonar
      delay_us(20);                            // sending 20us pulse
      output_low(TRIG);
      while(!input(ECHO))                       // wait for high state of echo pin
      {}
      set_timer1(0);                           // setting timer zero
      while(input(ECHO))                       // Wait for high state of echo pin
      {}
      time=get_timer1();                       // Getting the time
      distance=time*0.028 + 1.093 ;            // Calculating the distance
      return (distance);                       // returns the value of distance    
   }           
}

void get_adc()                    // Sense the battery level using the internal
                                  // ADC(Analog to Digital Converter) module of 
                                  // the microcontroller
   { 
      delay_ms(50);               // wait for ADC to initialize 
      adc_res = read_adc();                   // Reads the adc result
      if(adc_res < 200)output_high(LOW_BAT);  // If the ADC result is below 200, 
                                              // ON the low battery indicator
      else output_low(LOW_BAT);               // if not,OFF the low bat indicator
   }

void main()                                  // main program starts here
{
   setup_adc(ADC_CLOCK_INTERNAL);
   setup_adc_ports(AN0);
   set_adc_channel(0);                       // Selects adc channel 0
   setup_spi(SPI_SS_DISABLED);
   setup_timer_0(RTCC_INTERNAL|RTCC_DIV_1);
   setup_timer_2(T2_DISABLED,0,1);
   setup_comparator(NC_NC_NC_NC);
   setup_vref(FALSE);

   // TODO: USER CODE!!
  
   stop_pulse();              // Stop servo motor
   output_low(SERVO);
   output_low(FULL);
   output_low(LOW_BAT);
   stop_pulse();
 
   while(true)
   {
    if(input(RX)){output_high(FULL);}     // if waste-bin full,ON ful indicator
    else {output_low(FULL);}              // else OFF indicator
    get_adc();                            // gets adc-value(battery level)
      get_distance();                     // gets your distance from the waste-bin
      if(distance < 30)                   // if your distance to the bin is less than 30cm
      {  
         open_bin();                      // Open waste-bin 
         stop_pulse();
         delay_ms(5000);                  // waits 5 second for you to dispose your waste
         close_bin();                     // Close waste-bin
         stop_pulse();
      }
       else 
       {
         stop_pulse();                    // Stop servo motor
       }
   }
}

cogitoErgo:
Please why is everybody not talking again, where is Princejude and co?

I was busy,will try to upload some today

hopefullman: @princjud.pls is it 2ru dt basic is more simpler than C?can i get a link 2learn Basic.thank u

Basic may be more simpler but you will get more online resources/tutorials on C. if you want to learn basic check mikroBasic at mikroElectronika. http://www.mikroe.com/mikrobasic/pic/

hoodboi: hi princejude, thank you so much for ur efforts, it is highly appreciated. I want to ask, is there any book in pdf format you can upload to teach programming micro controllers. i downloaded a mplab compiler recently and i now have the proteus simulator. Also, pls among the exercises, can you include one to control the to and fro movement of a motor. thanx

Exercise 3 : Servo motor control.
In this exercise, I will copy some sections of my code in a recent project titled "Automated waste bin". This is a simple wast bin with some automatic controls. The waste bin have an ultrasonic sensor, if you come close to the bin, the bin's door will open and ones you are through and out from the bin, the door will close. The opening and closing of the door was controlled using a servo motor while your distance from the bin was measured using an ultrasonic sensor.

Chei !! i don go late ooo ... will be back shortly

cogitoErgo: I wuld like to have an automatic weather station dat culd datalog, etc!

That will be a nice project

cogitoErgo:
i will like help on how to get some of d hardwares!

You will get most of the hardware at www.jutronix.com

Another good ebook http://www.4shared.com/office/vEEqbDro/An_introduction_to_programming.htm

hopefullman:
thank u.must i av 2learn asm b4 learnin c?

No. You can learn C without asm.

hopefullman:
i ws tld dt asm wl let me undstand d pic 4beta resourc alocatn.

Asm will help you to be familiar with the PIC registers because you use the register names directly in asm though in my own opinion it was a bit difficult to remember all the mnemonics. I prefer C to Asm because C is more friendly (like human language)

hopefullman:
i dnt wnt 2spend so much tym on a lang dt wunt realy benefit me much.2nks

All programming languages are ok,and none is better than the other,what you achieved using C you can also achieve it using asm. The major issue is which of the language will be easier to learn.

Use Google to search for free ebooks on PIC C programming. You can search with the following key words:

"ccs c ebook", "PIC C programming ebooks", "pic c programming pdf"

If you can download the book in the link below,you are good to go(It is for CCS C ) http://www.4shared.com/office/GzmYwLCl/Embedded_C_Programming__Microc.html

hopefullman:
i cuddnt find pic c tutorials on d net.all i see is sum pic projects in c lang wich i dnt understand.i avnt even find BASIC lang tutorials.pls if u hav a link 2 pic c tutorials pls kindly share.2nk u

There are many C compilers (with enough online resources)for PIC.
1. CCS C www.ccsinfo.com/forum Register with this forum ask questions and also search for sample codes in there code library.
2. MikroC PRO for PIC www.mikroe.com They have some good online ebooks which you can read free from here http://www.mikroe.com/pic/books/ This is there ebook on C: http://www.mikroe.com/products/view/285/book-pic-microcontrollers-programming-in-c/ You can also download there compiler here: http://www.mikroe.com/pic/compilers/
3. Hi-Tech C

kemesty: The soldier is in b1. Please how can I upload pics on nairaland?

Upload the pics to any free image hosting site such as tinypic.com. Then copy the image link and paste it in nairaland reply or new post.

http://www.hobbyprojects.com/pic_tutorials/tutorial1.html
The above link will be a good start for PIC assembly programming

hopefullman: I compild ds code and mplab told me build suced bt didnt display d hex file.hw wl i get d hex file.

The hex file will be inside your project folder. That is the folder where you saved the MPLAB project.

hopefullman: I compild ds code...

That is assembly language. Why not you start with basic or C language. C language will be easier to learn than assembly

usisky:

Also, if you need to work on Embedded Ethernet/Internet enabled devices, you may want to take a look at this chip from Microchip: ENC28j60. A sample app. can be found at here: AVRnet

That ENC28j60 is a powerful chip, You can get it in Naija at www.microscale-embedded.com

hoodboi: I want to ask, is there any book in pdf format you can upload to teach programming micro controllers.

There is a lot of free microcontroller ebooks (pdf) online. Just google it and be specific on the type of microcontroller and compiler you want to learn'

hoodboi: Also, pls among the exercises, can you include one to control the to and fro movement of a motor. thanx

What type of motor do you want to control.... AC motor, DC motor, Stepper motor or Servo motor ?

Exercise2: 16x2LCD display

The code is below:

#include <16F887.h>
#device adc=8
#FUSES NOWDT, HS, NOPUT, MCLR, NOPROTECT, NOCPD, NOBROWNOUT, IESO, FCMEN, NOLVP, NODEBUG, NOWRT, BORV40
#use delay(clock=8000000)
#use rs232(baud=9600,parity=N,xmit=PIN_C6,rcv=PIN_C7,bits=
#include <lcd.c>

void main()
{
   setup_adc_ports(NO_ANALOGS|VSS_VDD);
   setup_adc(ADC_OFF);
   setup_spi(SPI_SS_DISABLED);
   setup_timer_0(RTCC_INTERNAL|RTCC_DIV_1);
   setup_timer_1(T1_DISABLED);
   setup_timer_2(T2_DISABLED,0,1);
   setup_comparator(NC_NC_NC_NC);// This device COMP currently not supported by the PICWizard
//Setup_Oscillator parameter not selected from Intr Oscillator Config tab

   // TODO: USER CODE!!
   lcd_init();         // initialize lcd
   printf(lcd_putc,"   Moderator   \n frontpage ASAP "; // write to lcd
   
   while(true)         // loop forever
   {     
   }

}

The Proteus simulator circuit is below:

hopefullman:
does it mean dat mikroc and picc also has an ide?

They are different C compilers for PIC. The PICC I know is this CCS C compiler am using in the above exercise.
There are microC and mikroC PRO for PIC. They are all C compilers with some different syntax.
I don't like using microC because it is almost like assembly language, I use mikroC PRO for PIC a lot because
it has enough libraries. You can download the latest version of mikroC PRO for PIC here: http://www.mikroe.com/mikroc/pic/
MikroC PRO for PIC was developed by mikroelectronika. They also have:
MikroC PRO for 8051
MikroC PRO for AVR
MikroC PRO for ARM
MikroC PRO for dsPIC
MikroC PRO for PIC32

hopefullman:
pls answer my qst.can i writ my cod wt mikroC and picC compiler?thank u

You can write your code with any compiler

Mods this is not advert but it will help someone to see what he can do with embedded systems

http://www.facebook.com

Will be back, Let me do my office work

If you have compiled the Exercise1 code:

located the hex file inside your project folder, its name will be "your project name . hex)

Click "File" >> "Import hex" Select the hex file click "open" to get:



Click "Write" to program the chip.

Burning the hex file into the chip (PIC16F887)

To transfer the hex file of your code into the chip, you need a PIC programmer (I have Microscale's PIC USB Programmer).
It is there CLONE version of PIC KIT2 Programmer.
It cost N5000 and it can program many PICs. It uses PIC KIT2 software which can be download free here:

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/PICkit%202%20v2.61.00%20Setup%20dotNET%20A.zip OR

http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/PICkit%202%20v2.61.00%20Setup%20A.zip.

Extract the first one and install. Double-click the PICkit 2 icon to open.

If you didn't succed in the installation then you need a VISUAL STUDIO software in your PC.
Install the visual studio and extract the second file and instal it. Or you can still reinstall the first
one after visual studio installation.

Open the PICkit2 software to get:



"PICkit2 not found" because PICkit2 hardware was not connected to your PC

If you have the hardware, connect it to your PC, connect the Programmer to the ICSP pin of your
development kit (I bought one from Microscale (cost N10000 )), close and reopen the PICkit2 software to get:

Excercise1: LED Blinking
This is a simple project that blinks 8 light emitting diodes connected to PORTD of PIC16F887 MCU



Type the following code under "// TODO: USER CODE !!" line

while(true)         // loop forever
   {
      output_D(0xFF);      //on all the LEDs
      delay_ms(500);      // wait 500ms
      output_D(0x00);      //off all the LEDs
      delay_ms(500);      //wait 500ms
   }

Click "Compile" >> "Build All" to compile the project.

Now let move on to the real business

Install the ccs c compiler,then create a new project as follows: double-click on the icon to open it as shown below:



Click >> Project >> Pic wizard to open the next window



Type "Example1" inside the file name box. Right-click inside the "save As" window, select "New" then "Folder" to
create a new folder for the project. Rename the New Folder. Click "Save" to open the next window



Change the oscillator frequency to your crystal value and click on the arrow beside device to select the
microcontroller you want to use (select PIC16F887),uncheck the box beside "one fuse per line with comments" then click OK to open next window



This is where you will type your code.

Selecting a PIC

So which PIC should you choose to start with? A few years ago this question was easy to answer: the 16F84. These were the only affordable flash PICs and hence The hobbyist PICs. You will still find lots of designs in electronics magazines and on the internet using these chip.
But recently Microchip has broadened its offering of flash chips with types that are much more attractive. In my opinion three of these are prime candidates to be 'my first PIC': the 16F628, the 16F877 and the 18F452.
The 16F628 is somewhat cheaper than the old 16F84, has twice the code size, much more RAM, a UART and some more goodies. This is the chip for simple applications and of course for beginners.
The 16F877 is around twice the price of the old 16F84, but it has eight times the code size, much more RAM, much more I/O pins, a UART, A/D converter and a lot more. Unless your budget is very tight I would recommend the 16F877 as your first buy, otherwise you should consider the 16F628. The 16F84A (the 16F84 - without A - and the 16c84 are ob- solete) should be used only to build an existing design that you do not want to modify.
The 18F452 is part of the new (16-bit core) series of PICs. It offers an instruction set that is much improved over the 14- bit (16F) PICs, improved peripherals, twice the code space and twice the speed compared to the 16F877, at a price that is only marginally higher.
The 16F628 can be considered the next-generation 16F84, because it is pin-compatible with those older chips. But note that it is not fully software compatible. The 16F628 also has a smaller cousin, the 16F627 (1k code instead of 2k). The 16F627 does not seem to be an attractive chip as the prices I found were actually a little higher than for the 16F628.
With 8K code space and 34 I/O pins the 16F877 is the largest chip of the 16F87x family, the 16F876 comes in a smaller package with less (IO) pins. It is about the same price as a
16F877, so it is interesting only when the larger package of the 16F877 is a problem. Note that the 16F877 and 16F876 both have a UART (for asynchronous serial communication) and an MSSP (for SPI and I2C), while the smaller chips have only a UART. The 16F872 is a 16F870 but with an MSSP instead of a UART.
The 18F chips are new family of PICs, with an instruction set that is much improved over the 16F chips, with more peripherals, and more code and data space. Yet the price of the 18F chips is only marginally higher than the comparable 16F87x chips. There are variations of the 18F chips that have an integrated CAN controller - nice when you want to create a network of PIC chips.
If you can't make sense of the Microchip part numbering you are not the only one. These are the only patterns that I have found:
The prefix 12 is for chips with 8 pins.

The prefix 16 is for 12-bit and 14-bit core chips with more than 8 pins.
The prefix 18 is for 16-bit core chips.
Next the letter C is for EPROM (OTP or windowed) chips, except for the 16C84 that has EEPROM, which is (for a user) almost the same as flash.
The letter F is for flash chips. They have flash memory, which can be erased and re-programmed.
Windowed EPROM chips have a JW suffix.
For some of the chips Microchip has released improved versions, identified by appending an A to the type. Such A chips are in most aspects identical to their non-A predecessors (but it does not harm to check the data sheets or the 'migration' document), except that the programming algorithm often changed. Hence you can buy and use an A chip if it is available (they are often slightly cheaper), but check that your programmer explicitly supports the A version. Note: The 16F84A uses the same programming algorithm as the 16F84, but the A chip can run at up to 20 MHz, the non-A only up to 10 MHz.
So what chip should you choose to start with? As said before, first check which chips you can actually buy. Then consider whether you want to use an existing design or other document. In that case the choice has been narrowed down for you. If you already have a programmer, check which chips it supports. For the choice I recommend that you take the most powerful chip that still fulfills the above constraints. The 18F4520 would be the first choice, the 16F887 the next, and the 16F873 the last.
Once you have acquired some experience with your first PIC, and you have a nice project debugged and running, it might be the right time to fit it into a cheaper PIC.

.

PIC Microcontroller Families



Every member of any one family shares the same core architecture and instruction set. The families are identified primarily by the first two digits of the device code. The alphabetic character that follows gives some indication of the technology used. The ‘C’ implies CMOS technology, where CMOS stands for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor. The ‘F’ indicates Flash memory technology. An ‘A’ after the number indicates a technological upgrade on the first issue device. An ‘X’ indicates that a certain digit can take a number of values. For example, the 16C84 was the first of its kind. It was later reissued as the 16F84, incorporating Flash memory technology. It was then reissued as the 16F84A, with certain further technological upgrades.

Microchip also used to give each family a name. Thus, their first family, the 16C5XX, was called the ‘baseline’ family. The development of this, with device numbers starting ‘16C’ or ‘16F’ (and a fourth digit that was not 5), was called the ‘mid-range’ family. The powerful evolution of this, with codes starting from ‘17C’ up to ‘18F’, was called the ‘high-end’ family. For simplicity, to identify a PIC family, this manual will refer to ‘12 Series’, ‘16 Series’, ‘18 Series’ and so on.
Let us briefly survey each family.


The 16C5X Series family
This, the baseline family, represents the most direct descendant of its General Instrument ancestors and displays all the core features of the original PIC design. With only a two-level stack and no interrupts, there is significant limitation on the program and hardware complexity that can be developed. Particularly without interrupts there is restriction on the type of on-chip peripheral that can be included, as most peripherals use interrupts to enhance their interface with the CPU. The 16C5X family has also been issued with Flash memory, with 16F5X codes.

The PIC 16 Series family
This, the ‘mid-range’ family, represents an improved version of the 16C5XX Series, in which interrupts are introduced and the stack size increased. The instruction set is a slight extension of that of the 16C5X. A very wide range of family members exists, with many different peripherals and technical enhancements. The larger devices, with many peripherals and significant on-chip memory, are both powerful and versatile.

The 12 Series family
The 12 series microcontrollers are designed for really tiny applications, being packaged in small ICs (for example, 8- or 14-pin). They have a simple architecture and can be viewed as ‘stripped-down’ versions of the 16C5XX series, with the same instruction set. Despite their small size, 12 Series microcontrollers carry some interesting peripherals, including analog-to-digital converters and EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) data memory.

The 17 Series family
This family was introduced to give a real step-up in CPU performance compared with any of the 16 Series devices. While retaining the RISC strategy, the instruction set size is nearly doubled and the instruction word size increased to 16-bit. Thus, some programming activities that are awkward in the mid-range family, like table reads or data moves, are here much simpler. A hardware multiplier is also available. The single, often overloaded, interrupt vector of the mid-range family becomes four. Although much more powerful than the 16 Series, this family is limited in number, and Microchip appear to be focusing on the 18 Series family to move forward developments at the more powerful end of their range.

The 18 Series family
In this family Microchip comes to grips with some of the issues of sophisticated processors. The instruction set has increased to 75 instructions, in certain versions there is also an ‘extended’ instruction set, with a further small set of instructions.
There are two interrupt vectors, which can be prioritised. This is an extremely powerful family of microcontrollers and a number of new members can be expected in the future.


The PIC 16 Series family
The PIC 16 Series family is growing rapidly, with a huge and almost bewildering diversity of members. All family members have identical core and instruction set, with the difference arising from different peripherals and other features being implemented, and different package sizes.

.

For this tutorial, google and download the following material: ccs c compiler, proteus simulator and PIC16F887 datasheet
You can also buy the following material for your programming exercise: PIC16F887 MCU, PIC Programmer and PIC development kit.