A friend at Purdue University (Sumanth Peddamatham) helped motivate and inspire me to create a high voltage flyback transformer driver for a computer CRT flyback transformer. While the schematic and code for driving the transformer are extremely straightforward and simple, finding and obtaining a high quality solid state flyback transformer can be difficult. Please note that the voltages generated by the flyback transformer are potentially very dangerous, so extreme care must be exercised when building and/or using the schematic presented in this project. Diode split flyback transformers (like the one used in this project) can output 25kV or more. Read More
Category: PIC Projects
PIC18F2550 KS0108 Graphical LCD Oscilloscope
Using the PIC18F2550 GLCD Text Test as a basis for further experimentation, I put together a simple and accurate graphical oscilloscope using a PIC18F2550 microcontroller and a AGM1264F graphical LCD. The oscilloscope measures the average voltage, the maximum voltage, the minimum voltage, the peak-to-peak voltage, and the zero-crossing frequency for a DC signal over 100 samples. The oscilloscope has a built in edge trigger function that can be set to capture on rise or fall (or disabled altogether). The time scale for the display is variable and can be easily redefined using the changeTimeDivision function. Likewise, the voltage range can be change to 0-5V, 0-2.5V, and 0-1.25V. The main limitations of this oscilloscope include relatively slow acquisition time and sampling rate (~60kHz) and the fact that the inputs are limited by the constraints of the internal ADC. However, it is a very nice display and I highly suggest you view the videos to see it in action. Read More
PIC18F2550 MAX114 4-Channel ADC
I have experimented with MAX1241s and MAX144s in the past, hoping to find an external analog to digital converter (ADC) that will allow for multi-channel high-speed data acquisition. The MAX114 is an 8-bit four-channel ADC that allows for up to 1Msps (1,000,000 samples per second) with a parallel 8-bit microcontroller interface. This project investigated the viability of developing a high-speed multi-channel oscilloscope using the MAX114 and the PIC18F2550. Read More
PIC18F2550 MAX144 2-Channel ADC
As discussed in my MAX1241 project, there are a number of advantages for utilizing external analog to digital converters (ADCs) in a project’s design. The MAX144 is a 12-bit two-channel ADC that has a “7.4µs successive-approximation ADC, automatic power-down, fast wake-up (2.5µs), an on-chip clock, and a high-speed, 3-wire serial interface.” All of these contribute to a wonderful, fast, two-channel analog-to-digital converter, which can be utilized in a number of situations where high-speed (108ksps) data acquisition is necessary. Read More
PIC18F2550 MAX1241 1-Channel ADC
There are a number of advantages for utilizing an external analog to digital converter (ADC) in a project’s design. The internal ADC of the PIC18F series is limited to 10-bit resolution, while much higher resolution ADCs are available. In addition, high-speed multi-channel conversion is possible utilizing multiple external ADCs and multi-channel ADCs. The MAX1241 is a 12-bit single-channel ADC that has a “7.5µs successive-approximation ADC, a fast track/hold (1.5µs), an on-chip clock, and a high-speed, 3-wire serial interface.” All of these contribute to a great compact analog-to-digital converter, which can be utilized in a number of situations where high-speed sampling (73ksps) is required. Read More
PIC18F2550 USB HID IO
After completing the PIC18F2550 USB HID Oscilloscope, I decided to expand upon the project and firmware to include multiple analog inputs and digital i/o. The base firmware for this project is the same as the PIC18F2550 USB HID Oscilloscope‘s; however, more features have been added that allow the user to access the PIC18F2550’s Port B for digital i/o. In addition, the firmware now allows the user to access the AN0-AN4 analog pins for monitoring and data acquisition. Read More
PIC18F2550 USB HID Oscilloscope
This is a project that I’ve been planning on putting together for a long time. After creating an oscilloscope using a PIC12F675, I wanted to create a simple and effective USB oscilloscope using the higher performance PIC18F2550. During the development of this project, I learned quite a bit about USB HID communication, which allows me to quickly and effectively communicate with the desktop computer. Using HID means that this oscilloscope does not require drivers (only the oscilloscope software). Read More