Since Max7219 is possible for 7 Segment, Would Max be p

[Guest]

Hi Everybody, Dave, and Mike Powell I have tried few experiment for Max7219 for 7 segment digit dislay, and it works wonderful.. To say this, I regret buying 7 segment digit display module from EPIC. Now this come up in my mind with question to ask, would it also be possible using Max7219 for Output? Speaking of such as Warning light, gear light, or maybe gauges involved with stepper or servo motor. Let me know if you know any kind of circuit that can do those function, I'd love to do another expierment.

[Guest]

Arthur,For control of servos and stepper motors go to http://www.Ferrettronics.com and see what they have there. I use FT 639 for servos and it works nice.I also already tried MAX 7219 and really is excellent, now I am waiting for someone to make the codes to use it with FS2002, as I am not a programmer.Best regards Alberto Kunzel

[Guest]

FolksThe 7219 CAN be used for output, I'm using it to drive all my lights from gear lights through annunciators, and LEDs in push buttons etc. I'm not sure that you would want to drive servos or steppers from it though, given current-draw limitations, much better to use a dedicated chip. (Although I dont see why you couldnt use it to drive inputs to these circuits)Regarding the FS code, I have it working, its beautiful to watch the MAX update the display as you change values in FS, I'll upload it tonight, if I ever get out of work!Glad you guys got the circuit working - I was worried for a while there that I'd balls'd something up!!RegardsDave T

[Guest MikePowell]

Good morning,I agree with Dave, the MAX7219 is a good solution for LEDs and such, but there are better solutions for stepping motors and servos. The Motorola (now On Semiconductor) MC1379P is a starting point for driving small stepping motors. It costs $5~6US and is available from Jameco www.jameco.com . It runs the motor but does not itself manage the interface to your PC. You could perhaps clock the MC1379P from a parallel port. I have not done this, but it appears workable.RC servos are controlled by the width of a pulse ranging from .9 to 1.5 milliseconds. Given the demands on accurate timing of this pulse, driving such a servo directly from a Windows PC would seem a guaranteed path to frustration. Some sort of intermediate controller is called for. The Ferrettronics chip mentioned by Alberto appears a likely candidate. It certainly is one of the least expensive.A PIC micro controller is one of the least expensive approaches for both. It does have the unfortunate requirement of developing code, however. The PIC16F628-20 costs about $3US and can be programmed to do much more than the MC1379P. The PIC does need to have power buffers to drive a stepping motor, but cheap transistors can be used. This particular PIC has a USART that will interface nicely with your PC's serial port. Likewise, the PIC can control RC servos. Putting some additional functionality in the PIC can also benefit you by reducing the complexity of the host driver software.Even basic programming skills are incredibly valuable in this hobby. Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.comInfo for simpit builders.

[tigert 0]

>Good morning, >>I agree with Dave, the MAX7219 is a good solution for LEDs >and such, but there are better solutions for stepping motors >and servos. I hope you are not getting tired of me :-)But fsbus can do all this through one serial port connector. The stepper motor stuff is still under construction though, but the servo module is finished, and apparently it works great. I am going to build it for myself to get flap and trim indicators for my GA panel.FSBus also has a pretty nice "router" software where you configure what values in FSUIPC relate to what switches, rotaries, servos, 7-segment displays, relays or leds etc..I know for many it is part of the joy to invent such things from scratch (being a fisherman I know nothing is better than catching a fish with a lure you made with your own hands) - but there are rather many who are not that familiar with electronics or programming (like myself), and just wish to have the bells and whistles working so that they can get back to the flying part of the home cockpit hobby. Maybe fsbus is a good choice for them? Also, I would imagine one will run out of ports rather quickly if one wants to do servos, steppers, 7-segments and leds all through the parallel port..?I am no more affiliated with the project than just being a happy user myself, but I find it easy to recommend since it has an open philosophy and Dirk is doing it as a hobby, and it is also rather inexpensive for all the things it can do.Best, Tuomas

[Guest]

Hi TuomasI think its good that you recommend alternate approaches, that way people get to pick-and-choose. Choice of approache is one of the most attractive aspects of this hobby, but as you point out, some of us are masochists of the worst kind!!Regards and thanksDave T

[tigert 0]

>Hi Tuomas >>I think its good that you recommend alternate approaches, >that way people get to pick-and-choose. Choice of approache >is one of the most attractive aspects of this hobby, but as >you point out, some of us are masochists of the worst kind!! Hehe :-)The truth is, without "the masochists", we wouldnt have FSBUS in the first place - I know playing with things can be very rewarding, and new things are born from that kind of exploration. So I am very happy you have active discussion going on, it is fun to follow it too. So by all means keep going :-)Tuomas

[Guest MikePowell]

Hi Tuomas,I enjoy the dialog. Have no concerns about people being tired of you.FSBUS does indeed look like a nice solution. I can appreciate his work while simultaneously pursuing and advocating yet another do-it-yourself approach. As you surmize, I look for the joy of invention myself. After years of being shoehorned into management assignments, I am now in a position to revisit and re-invigorate my technical side. Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.comInfo for simpit builders.

[tigert 0]

>Hi Tuomas, >>I enjoy the dialog. Have no concerns about people being >tired of you. Cool :-) Happy to hear that, being a newcomer to this forum, I usually do a bit more lurking before posting, but we have a very interesting pool of projects here :)>FSBUS does indeed look like a nice solution. I can >appreciate his work while simultaneously pursuing and >advocating yet another do-it-yourself approach. As you >surmize, I look for the joy of invention myself. After >years of being shoehorned into management assignments, I am >now in a position to revisit and re-invigorate my technical >side. I hear you.. this is also a way to escape work for me, being a designer - it is very much a sit-on-a-computer job anyway these days, so it feels so good to grasp a piece of plywood and the soldering iron to give balance to that. :) Building things is probably one of the primal desires for a man (or I am going through the 30-years-chrisis where one of the symptoms is a desire to collect powertools in the house, or so they say :) )Tuomas

[Guest]

Hi Tuomus,>FSBus also has a pretty nice "router" software where you >configure what values in FSUIPC relate to what switches, >rotaries, servos, 7-segment displays, relays or leds etc.. Out of interest, if you wanted to by-pass the FSBUS "router" software to control the 7-segments, lights etc. from your own application, how easy is that to do? Do you have to use the router software that is supplied with it or can you make your own?RegardsChris Brett

[tigert 0]

>Hi Tuomus, >>>FSBus also has a pretty nice "router" software where you >>configure what values in FSUIPC relate to what switches, >>rotaries, servos, 7-segment displays, relays or leds etc.. >>Out of interest, if you wanted to by-pass the FSBUS "router" >software to control the 7-segments, lights etc. from your >own application, how easy is that to do? Do you have to use >the router software that is supplied with it or can you make >your own? I dont know how Windows works with ports, but I guess fsbus opens the serial port for itself and thus you probably cannot access it from other applications while fsbus router is running. But I really dont know enough to answer throughly. Of course you can write your own software entirely to talk to fsbus hardware, but it sounds like excessive masochism :-)Tuomas

[Guest]

>Folks >>The 7219 CAN be used for output, I'm using it to drive all >my lights from gear lights through annunciators, and LEDs in >push buttons etc. I'm not sure that you would want to drive >servos or steppers from it though, given current-draw >limitations, much better to use a dedicated chip. (Although >I dont see why you couldnt use it to drive inputs to these >circuits) >>Regarding the FS code, I have it working, its beautiful to >watch the MAX update the display as you change values in FS, >I'll upload it tonight, if I ever get out of work! >>Glad you guys got the circuit working - I was worried for a >while there that I'd balls'd something up!! >>Regards >>Dave T Hi Dave,Did you finished the FS code to work with FS2K2 ?RgdsAlberto Kunzel

[tigert 0]

>Hi Tuomus, >>>FSBus also has a pretty nice "router" software where you >>configure what values in FSUIPC relate to what switches, >>rotaries, servos, 7-segment displays, relays or leds etc.. >>Out of interest, if you wanted to by-pass the FSBUS "router" >software to control the 7-segments, lights etc. from your >own application, how easy is that to do? Do you have to use >the router software that is supplied with it or can you make >your own? >>Regards >>Chris Brett Actually, now that I read this reply, I guess you can just have your other app poke directly at FSUIPC to control things, you probably can connect to FSUIPC multiple times (well, many add-ons do that and you can use many at once so it should work) Havent tried though, maybe someone can verify. It sounds possible though, but I am not a programmer and havent tried that in practice.Tuomas

[Guest dirkan]

Hello,you may connect multiple times to fsuipc, even if fsbus is running.But keep in mind, the performance goes down with each running process.You cannot connect more than one process to a serial line.Kind regards Dirk

[Guest]

Hi Dirk, I have been studying your FSbus system. For a hobby project, it looks very professional! One question: You now have a servo drive module incorporated. Could you tell me how fast the servo drive can react to flight parameter changes? I read on the German forum that you use 50Hz repetition rate of the servo PWM. (My German isn't good enough to post there) What is the flight parameter info update rate on each channel? I was thinking if it can be used to drive my pitch and roll axis motion platform,but for that it needs to be real fast and w/o delays. Thanks for your great work!Roland