Miro's Blog

Idea The goal of this project was to explore using a numeric LED display with a microcontroller (MCU). To make it more engaging, I decided to create a wall clock that displays time both digitally and analogically. I chose the Atmega16L MCU for its 26 I/O pins—12 for the numeric display, 12 for the 2mm LEDs, and 2 for the buttons. The clock features two buttons: one to add hours and another to add minutes. The 2mm LEDs around the edge represent seconds, while the numeric display in the center shows hours and minutes. Display I sourced my display from eBay without a datasheet, but the pin configuration is typically similar across different displays. The four 7-segment digits are controlled by 12 I/O pins—each digit consists of 8 segments (7 for numbers and 1 for the dot). The remaining four pins are used as grounds for each digit. To illuminate all four digits, the MCU must rapidly switch between them. Timers Timers are fundamental counters in microcontrollers. The ATmega16 features two ...

What For Christmas, I treated myself to a Touchboard from Bare Conductive. This board features an Atmel ATMega32U4 microprocessor, 12 analog inputs, and 20 digital pins. Being part of the Arduino family, it’s compatible with the Arduino IDE, which makes it a versatile tool for various projects. The Touchboard comes with a unique conductive paint called "bare paint," which, when used with the analog inputs, allows you to create touch or proximity sensors. First Impressions When I first experimented with the proximity sensor, using it to adjust volume felt almost magical! I was impressed by the precision of the proximity detection. The SDK provides around 10 examples to get started, and the libraries are straightforward, allowing you to accomplish a lot with just a few lines of code. The board supports both MP3 and MIDI sound effects. MP3 files can be updated on a microSD card, while the MIDI mode offers over 100 musical instruments. Switching between MP3 and MIDI requires conn...

Introduction   In this article, I'll dive into hardware programming by working with a microcontroller (MCU). Having no prior experience with MCUs, this post will walk you through my learning process and project development. Getting Started   Based on a colleague's recommendation, I decided to use a USB-AVR programmer compatible with Atmel AVR microcontrollers. I ordered the USB-AVR programmer, an ATmega8L microcontroller, some resistors, LEDs, and a breadboard. For development, I prefer using IDEs due to their features like syntax highlighting and integrated build tools, which save time and resources. I chose Eclipse for this project. Setting up Eclipse for AVR programming involves installing the following libraries: gcc-avr : Compiler for Atmel AVR microcontrollers. binutils-avr : Cross-compiling version of GNU binutils. gdb-avr : GDB for debugging AVR binaries. avr-libc : C library for GCC on Atmel AVR microcontrollers. avrdude : Tool for transferring hex files onto the micr...