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SILICON
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Production Manager
Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Technical Staff
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Ross Tester
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc, VK2ZLO
Mauro Grassi, B.Sc.(Hons.)
Photography
Ross Tester
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Ann Morris
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Phone (02) 9939 3295
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glyn<at>siliconchip.com.au
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Rodney Champness, VK3UG
Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK
Stan Swan
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Publisher’s Letter
Microcontroller projects
can be simple and complex
at the same time
This month, we have two or three projects (depending on how you count them) which are based on PIC
microcontrollers. They are the Shift Light Indicator
and Rev Limiter, the UHF Remote Mains Switch (or
Pump Controller) and the UHF Remote Transmitter.
Last month (January), we had the PIC-Controlled Swimming Pool Alarm and the Water Tank Level Meter Base
Station (again PIC-controlled). And then back in November 2007, we had four
microcontroller projects of varying complexity, from the Playback Adaptor for
CD-ROM Drives to a UV Light Box Timer. In fact, if you wanted to survey the
last few years of SILICON CHIP projects, you would find a similar frequency of
designs using Atmel, PIC or PICAXE microcontrollers.
The main reason why so many microcontrollers are featured in our constructional projects these days is simply that they make it possible to bring these
projects to fruition. Without them, these projects would be impossibly complex
or just simply uneconomic. A good example of this is the CD-ROM Playback
Adaptor. It simply would not be possible to produce this project without the
powerful Atmel microcontroller and a lot of software to boot.
It is also evident that microcontrollers also make the circuits seem quite simple
while allowing very complex features to be incorporated. The Shift Light and Rev
Limiter project in this month’s issue is a case in point. The PIC microcontroller
allows very rapid measurements of engine RPM (necessary because engine RPM
can vary over an extremely wide range with just a blip of the throttle) while
performing two control functions: shift light indication and/or rev limiting. In
fact, you could argue that we have made the control functions too complex and
possibly we should have split the design into two separate projects.
The reason I am canvassing this topic is that we would like to know what
you, the readers, think of this general trend to microcontrollers. Do you accept
that micros are the way to go for many of our projects or would you prefer, if
it were possible, that SILICON CHIP’s projects not use a micro and instead use a
more complex circuit with possibly a lot of conventional logic ICs? Or are our
projects simply too complex, whether they use micros or conventional circuitry?
We are also aware that we are devoting a lot of space to our electronic projects
and they tend to incorporate a great deal of instructional detail so that novice
readers have as few problems as possible. And of course, we also know that no
matter how much detail we include, there will always be some questions unanswered for some readers. Or inevitably, there will always be some readers who
want the project to provide for some other function which would have made
the design more complicated.
Finally, do we have too much emphasis on electronic projects and not enough
on new developments in electronics? At the risk of unleashing a deluge of email,
we would like to hear your opinions on these questions. And if you have suggestions for articles or projects, please let us know about those as well.
Leo Simpson
ISSN 1030-2662
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