Busy Year

Sorry its taken so long to post an update. I’m very busy at the moment with my PhD and I’m about to move house again.

Although I do have a couple of updates to post, I simply don’t have the time to write any detailed posts, but heres an outline of things to come:

Word Clock

I’ve decided to scrap the current word clock circuit. The I²C communications to the real time clock (RTC) only seem to work provided I don’t add any other functions to the microcontroller and I have a feeling that when it comes to getting the master/slave protocol to work with the other microcontroller, I’ll have even more trouble. I’ve decided to redesign the circuit, based around 64 pin surface mount PIC with a built in RTC. This will vastly simplify the design, although it does mean learning surface mount soldering.

CNC

In addition, I’ve got all the parts for my CNC z-axis (stepper motors, linear bearings etc), I just have to build it. I’ve also designed and built the stepper motor driver. I just need to find time to test this and blog about it. I’ll try and post a video of the motors moving when its done.

I’ve not forgotten about this blog, or my projects, I just need a few spare days to catch up on my to do list.