Salvaging Valuable SMD IC
I’ve got a non-working Pickit 2 clone lying around. It uses the popular PIC18F2550 because it has USB capabilities. A quick check on Element 14 says that this MCU costs RM 19. That is an expensive microcontroller. Normally a heat gun is required to remove SMD components but I couldn’t be bothered to buy one just to remove a few …
L298N Dual-Channel 2A Motor Driver
I’m working on a new project which has two 12V DC Geared motors. Below are their specifications. Its’ rated current is 410mA but if it is stalled, it requires a whopping 1.8A. Stall current is the highest current that the motor will consume when the load is too much (causing the motor shaft to stop turning). When choosing a suitable …
Microchip PIC16 / PIC18 PWM Mode
This article explains how to set up and use the PWM module on almost all PIC 16 and PIC 18 devices. Depending on the specifications, some PICs may not even have a PWM module at all and some may have 1 or 2 pins that are PWM capable. For this example, I’m using a PIC16F876A which has two PWM modules …
Arduino + Visual Basic : PWM Control
Pulse Width Modulation or PWM allows the microcontroller to mimic analog control by turning the voltage on and off very quickly. The Arduino has an 8 bit PWM built-in, which means it has up to 256 levels of control. ( 2^8 = 256 ). These 256 levels of control actually determines the percentage of the ON duty cycle over the …
PID Line Following Robot
Previously, I’ve made a Bluetooth Controlled Robot (read post). By adding a line sensor to the robot, I’ve managed to create a simple line following robot and utilize the ever popular PID algorithm to navigate the robot. You can read more about my DIY line following sensor here and how I made it. Now it’s time to mount this line following …
Bluetooth Controlled Robot
Recently I’ve bought a robot base kit from eBay for around RM 50. Similar ones sold here will cost around RM 100. The kit comes with the robot base, two motors with gearbox, two wheels and some mounting accessories. The tamiya motor with gearbox. It’s rated at 230rpm @ 6V. The wheel with matching key slot as the gearbox shaft. …