Hvac control and Feedback System 0 Group 2 Steve Jones Mathew Arcuri Elroy Ashtian, Jr
Testing 5.1 Explorer 16 Development Board
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- 5.1.1 Communicating with ARM
- 5.2 Safety Considerations
- 5.3 Equipment
5 Testing5.1 Explorer 16 Development BoardSince most of the components of our entire system are developed by Microchip® Company, one obvious aspect that was realized was that we needed a development kit for testing and experimentation of the proposed design. The development kit needed to provide all of the sub systems and components functions for accurate testing and development. The Explorer 16 Development Board was selected and appears to be fitting for this iteration of our project needs. Further the output from the boards will be tested on lights to make sure that the output signals are going through. The Explorer 16 Development Board by Microchip® provides a low cost, modular development system for 16-bit microcontroller families. This board supports both the PIC24 and dsPIC33F microcontroller families which we will be using in the system for our Main Control Unit and Remote Sensor unit. The development board will be the main testing device for our system. This Microchip® Explorer development board offers many great features and capabilities that will us with testing, prototyping and development of our system modules. The development board operates with a direct 9V DC power input, which it then powers down to the +3.3 V and +5 V needed to run our devices being tested. An LCD display on the board allows the tester to see real time results when programming the different modules on the board. Push button switches onboard are used for inputs and resets by the designated. There are also LED lights for various testing uses as well, which will come in handy when running most of our debugging and testing. On the Explorer board are socket and edge connector for PICtail card compatibility. With both wireless modules we are utilizing in the system, we have chosen outline the PICtail daughter boards in the sections below, these components were the key aspects that contributed to choosing this development board. The high level block diagram in Figure 47 below illustrates the main connections between the integral parts and components. 
Figure High Level Explorer 16 Development Board Block Diagram (Reprinted with permission from Microchip®) The Explorer 16 Development board's primary functions are debugging and testing code for desired functionality of the system. A 6-wire In-Circuit Debugger (ICD) connector is included on the board to allow connection to be established with the MPLAB ICD 3 software included with the development kit. The MPLAB ICD 3 is a programming and debugging module made for beginning users to provide real time debugging, high speed programming and a ruggedized probe interface, perfect for protection against over voltage and current situations. Two preprogrammed high-performance 16-bit digital signal controllers included with the Explorer 16 Development Board are a dsPIC33FJ256GP710 and a PIC24FJ128GA010. These included controllers were great additions to the kit since our main microcontroller unit is under the dsPIC33FJ256GP710 family. The Plug-in Modules (PIM) option on the board is an essential feature that allows for expansions to the main functionality provided. The secondary microcontroller is not included with the development kit, so having Microchip's® PIM options for the other PIC families are essential for our project. For the secondary microcontroller, we need to use the 100-pin Plug-in Module (PIM) for our PIC24F04KA201 for testing purposes. Microchip® has developed a PIM with a 28-pin PIC24F16KA102 sample device which can be used with the Explorer 16 Development board. This sample PIM is in the same related family as the PIC24F04KA201 which is the module we are going to use for our design. 5.1.1 Communicating with ARMIn our system testing for feasibility of communication between the main controller unit and the high level controller unit will be done using the Explorer 16 Development Board. The connection between the two units will be done through serial communication. The Explorer 16 board and the beagle board which contains an ARM microprocessor will be connected using a serial cable to both devices' RS-232 transceivers ports to allow for the passing of data of which will be used to send user inputted entries from the LCD screen display connected to the Beagle board to the Explorer 16 board to validate the accuracy of data transfer before final implementation on the actual hardware. Furthermore we will be experimenting with UART and Wi-Fi should they prove to be better methods of communication. 5.2 Safety ConsiderationsOne issue that must be acknowledged and prevented while designing and implementing our system is electrostatic discharge (ESD). ESD happens when electric current flows between two objects at different electrical potentials. These unwanted currents of ESD are the main culprit to electronic equipment damage. To prevent ESD from affecting all of our electrical parts and components, we will be implementing some plans to protect ourselves and the project from this nuisance. Grounding all conductive materials, objects and developers directly interfacing with the electronic equipment during the prototyping, developing and testing phases of the project is the best way to prevent ESD. Anti-static wrist straps are the most cost effective method to prevent ESD. We have two ordered plus an additional two from the group members owning anti-static wrist straps themselves. 5.3 EquipmentTo observe and test the behavior of our HVAC control system and its subsystems we are going to use the available devices that are readily available to us whether in the Senior Design Lab or other available labs. If some of the instruments are not there for us, we can always buy them from an independent vendor.
Oscilloscope allows signal voltages to be viewed on a x-y coordinate system. Even though the oscilloscope shows voltages on the y-axis any other quantity can be changed to represent values such as current. Oscilloscopes are useful because it can display the shape of a particular wave. Each waveform can measure and present various characteristics such as amplitude, period, and frequency. Oscilloscope can also show are the pulse width and rise time of two distinct occurrences.
A function generator is an electronic test tool used to make electrical signals or waveforms. Function generators create waveforms such as a sine wave, square wave, triangle wave, and saw tooth wave.
An ammeter will be necessary for our HVAC control system because it will measure electrical current in a circuit. The device uses a moving coil with a needle which reads the amount of current being generated by the circuit. As the needle points more to the right the current will start to increase in amperage.
A breadboard is used as a construction setup or base for where we place integrated circuit chips in order to connect wires to different I/O ports. It will be used to test the integrated chips so that they are working according to our provided data sheet specifications. A solder less breadboard will be applied as a prototype to test and observe the behavior of components such as LEDs, diodes, resistors, capacitors, and inductors. We will have one large breadboard and two medium sized bread boards.
A multimeter is an essential tool to use for our project because it can measure voltages, currents, and resistances. This electronic tool can be measured either with analog or digital circuits. Multimeter are also useful in figuring out the electrical problems in wiring systems and power supplies.
Computer simulation is used as a preliminary basis for schematic layout design and printed circuit boards. It will tell us as designers where every components should be placed and how much current and voltage is necessary for these particular parts.
A soldering gun is a tool that is used to join loose wire connections in a circuit or network. Along with a soldering gun, solder thread is needed to tap out or heat solder filament.
For the initial testing of the ARM microprocessor we will need a keyboard and mouse. The touch screen does not provide a touchscreen keyboard in Linux terminal as there is not GUI operating system functionally operating. To configure the device and build the Linux distribution properly we will need a mouse and keyboard.
For the setup and configuration of the ARM microprocessor per the setup instructions we need a computer running Linux (preferably Ubuntu) that will be able to communicate via RS-232 to the ARM microprocessor as well as format a flash memory card in a Linux compatible file format. The computer also then serves the dual purpose of being able to put the operating system on the flash memory card as it can read and write that file format. Directory: seniordesign -> sp2011su2011 sp2011su2011 -> Group 5 Spr-Sum 2011 seniordesign -> Senior Design II paper seniordesign -> Remote Touchscreen-Controlled Defense Turret Senior Design Documentation Courtney Mann, Brad Clymer, Szu-yu Huang Group 11 seniordesign -> Flight Performance Data Logging System seniordesign -> Amphibious vehicle seniordesign -> T-100 Watch Dog (Autonomous Security Vehicle) seniordesign -> Ehvac: Wireless Modular Multi-Zone hvac controller Group b javier Arias Ryan Kastovich Genaro Moore Michael Trampler seniordesign -> Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Download 0.56 Mb. Share with your friends:
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