No video today but I have been working on the code and have added some new features.
It is now possible to install a jumper across pins 19 and 20 on the I/O header (with the display removed) to enable a serial terminal mode. When the terminal mode is enabled the display and push buttons get turned off, and pins 10 and 11 on the header function as RX and TX lines. There is one small issue that I will talk about later in this post. Here is a quick screenshot:
Now what can the terminal mode do? It’s still in the early stages but it already supports several commands. Currently the commands include reading the current temperature (“t”), setting desired temperature (“T”), reading the current temperature set point (“s”), reading the current PID constants (“p”,”i”,”d”), setting the constants (“P”,”I”,”D”), set display to Celsius (“C”), set display to Fahrenheit (“F”), and print all values (“v”). These commands are all working and allow using the controller without the LED display board.
The one letter commands were chosen for a couple reasons. The major reason is adding lots of strings to be displayed on screen takes up memory fast and I want the space free to include additional features in the future. The other reason is the one letter commands should be easy to remember and use. With my use of the terminal so far this has been holding true. In the future the simple serial terminal could allow a nice PC based application to be written to allow tuning the temperature controller. That’s beyond the scope of the project right now, but the serial option now makes that possible.
I spent time this past week updating the board schematics and layout to fix a few minor issues and add a few things. Mostly, I added vias that would allow 3.3V, GND, and some of the more important signals to be tied into. I also added a place for a small transistor to replace the opto-isolater on the board. This will allow the Triac to be removed and an external relay to be switched. There is no space for the relay on the board, but I added solder points to make it easy to wire one off board. These changes will make it easier for myself and others to modify the board for other uses. One that was mentioned to me was controlling a mini-fridge to use in home brewing, especially lagering. This is something I would actually like to try since I do brew my own beer. I won’t have time to try this for a while, but the temperature controller will be a good fit for controlling the mini-fridge.
Coming up, I want to add functions and commands to set the temperature to Fahrenheit or Celsius, save the new settings to the internal EEPROM, and add code to the LED display to allow the variables to the changed and saved. Now that the code for the serial communication is working the other features should progress nicely.
Now the small issue I mentioned before with the serial communication, the PIC24F08KA101 the project is based on doesn’t have 5v tolerant inputs and there isn’t going to be voltage level shifting included on the board (no space for it currently). This means that the serial port on the PC side must use 3.3V signals to safely communicate with the temperature controller. Thankfully there are several options that make this easily possible.
The one I use and recommend is a Bus Pirate. The Bus Pirate is a small board that makes working with different serial communications protocols much easier. The price is very reasonable and maybe even cheaper than a “name brand” serial port adapter. For the serial terminal I’m using the Bus Pirate in the USB-to-Serial bridge mode so it acts like a USB serial adapter.
Another option is a FT232 chip setup to work at 3.3V. Sparkfun has a breakout board that it set to work at 3.3 volt and would be perfect to use with the temperature controller. This is a good option if the board is going to be left inside a project. If the terminal is only going to be used to setup the controller the Bus Pirate mentioned above is a much more useful tool but either option will work just fine.
I also wanted to mention my kickstarter page again. If you are interested in this project and would like to get your own board(s) please take a look. With enough support I will able to do a production run of the boards and get them to someone like you.
Thanks for following the project and enjoy your day.
Karel
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