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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Which Micromite?
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| Phil. Newbie  Joined: 20/11/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9 |
I still haven't chosen a MicroMite. Explore 64 comes nearest but leaves lots to do. I want to log GPS and depth and display the result in real time. So, two serial inputs, one SD card and a graphic display. Easy. I can do this with 8 bit PICs, just with a two line LCD display. I have four versions of this (!) so why would I want another? Well MMBasic & PIC32 is the future for me and a graphic display of surveying progress would be fun. So a slimmed down assembly with a backpack on a graphic LCD, MMBasic Plus pre installed would be excellent. Then I can fit it in a waterproof box with a GPS module and write a simple(ish) basic prog. Only I can't seem to find the right parts. Explore 64 leaves me joining it to a colour LCD which is on a steep part of my learning curve and a lot of effort, strikes me. But could be wrong. Any ideas friends? |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9750 |
I seem to recall that Silicon Chip did a MicroMite Plus Backpack. It might have been a Geoff design, or a Peter(matherp) design, but I can't remember. That gives the MM+ feature-set, along with a graphic LCD. I think it still used an SPI LCD. I will have a hunt through my SC issues to see if I can find where it was published. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| SteveA Regular Member  Joined: 10/03/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 48 |
'The Micromite Plus LCD BackPack' - November 2016 page 64 - 73 I've built two of them, they work well. The only small difficulty is soldering the smd PIC and USB socket.  The LCD/touchscreen plugs into the raised headers on the left and right. Any additional electronics you need can be mounted underneath, the processor pins are brought out to the top and bottom rows of pins. Note that the touchscreen has a SD card socket, so I don't use CON9 on the pcb. Here in the UK, I think EPE also did a series of articles about it. |
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Chopperp Guru  Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1106 |
Hi Phil I purchased the SC uMite Plus LCD BackPack (Nov, 2016) several months ago & have only just finished assembling it. I do not have a real purpose for it as yet. Just wanted to see what all the fuss was about with the newer 'Mites.  (I do have others).You will need good magnification & a fine tipped soldering iron (and a clean workbench) to assemble it. (Says all this in the instructions). It also needs a good clean 5V power supply. I had much fun trying to get mine to go properly, particularly the USB connection because my USB PC supplies were bit below par & couldn't handle the LCD backlight above about 10%. I've updated mine to the latest firmware release from Geoff (day or two ago). Seems to go OK. The SC Website shows a fairly recent release. Just finished checking that the appropriate outputs go high when set. All good. Did previously have one LCD pin that didn't. It would be worth while having a look at it. Pretty resilient. Accidentally shoved 12V up one of the Console pins tonight & it survived. (oops) SC changed pin numbers around a bit which makes things a bit awkward when following examples etc in the manuals. ChopperP |
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| SteveA Regular Member Joined: 10/03/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 48 |
I had that problem too. I found using a short USB lead with thick copper cores helped, I think it was voltage drop caused by resistance in the cable. |
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| Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1106 |
SteveA beat me too it Totally agree with that, SteveA. Can you elaborate on how you mount extra stuff? I've got mine socketted onto a big bit of a strip board ATM (with power supply) for testing etc until I decide what to do with it. Be room underneath for some stuff as you mentioned. ChopperP |
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| Phil. Newbie Joined: 20/11/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9 |
Thanks chaps. Looks a big lump with capabilities I don't need. And lots of assembly to do, and comes without TFT that must be sourced separately. But might be the best option. If our rotten weather continues I might have plenty of spare time. Attached might be an image of my last effort which used a PIC32 USB storage module. All the hard work done for me though the file formatting was unusual!  |
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| Chopperp Guru Joined: 03/01/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1106 |
Phil, Interesting looking set up. The SC kit comes with the Touch LCD panel if that's what you are worried about. ChopperP |
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Azure Guru Joined: 09/11/2017 Location: AustraliaPosts: 446 |
The MM LCD Backpack, MM V2 LCD Backpack and MM Plus LCD Backpack are great designs for Colour LCD Panels. Working with the colour screen is very easy and can be a nice option for a professional looking user interface and is useful to use colours to flag, highlight and differentiate things. Once you get used to using the touch interface you will not look back. In most cases you will be able do without operator switches but still allow the operator to select options (software controlled) and present different screens as needed. You can always leave off anything you don't need, but to be honest there is not that much spare on the LCD backpacks. From you previous project, if you can program in assembler for the PIC's to talk to the peripherals you want you should find it easy to work with MM Basic. If you get stuck the user manuals and the posts here on the back shed are great resources. The community here are a great bunch and always eager to help reasonable requests. Not sure what your after but WhiteWizzard on this forum can supply parts in the UK. Good luck and get building. |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 872 |
Hi Phil, I'm interested in your project. How do you propose to get the depth? NMEA off a depth sounder or SeaTalk or??. A MM LCD BackPack would probably be OK depending on how much data you really need to keep. I have a project that plots 10 plus days of hourly barometric pressure readings with no SD card. I believe you can use the SD card if you are clever. It has two comms ports. It is all through hole and easy to build. The MM plus LCD backpack is the same physical size (2.8" 320 x 240 screen). It does use SMD but is so capable. The SD card works well, four serial ports etc. The beauty of either is that once built they are easy to test ideas via breadboard before launching into a circuit and a box. Cheers, Andrew |
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| Phil. Newbie Joined: 20/11/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9 |
Andrew, you are right. The MM + LCD backpack with SD looks the best bet. Can buy it assembled. Just need the LCD. Best source? I use Cruz Pro ATU120A active depth transducers. Very good. For a laugh you could look at our club's website www.benfleetyachtclub.org and follow the link at the bottom of the first page to the PDF's showing local charts. That's what I use this stuff for. Even a photo of me with some very early equipment! |
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| SteveA Regular Member Joined: 10/03/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 48 |
I tend to breadboard new ideas, then once I'm happy with them I transfer them to stripboard or sometimes homemade pcbs. So I end up with a stack of 3, lcd on top, micromite in the middle, my circuit on the bottom. I interconnect the boards using pcb headerstrips and pins, just like the ones the lcd connection uses. The boards are held together with long screws and nuts, it makes for a cheap and remarkably robust solution. |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 872 |
Phil, I checked out the sites and now I understand. Yes the MMplus will enable you to store plenty of data, upto 64Gig, of Lat, Lon and depth. I guess you correct for tide height vs time too?? (Picking off NMEA 0183 is easy enough and I have managed to crack SeaTalk (1) via Y&BWF YAPPs). The displays are good enough for you to plot where you have been if you don't have a chartplotter/graphic GPS. As Ajure says, White Wizard on this forum can help you source MM goodies and even customise gear. I have four backpacks from Silicon Chip and they all included the LCDs - 2 are in use and 2 are on breadboards for developing ideas. (Edit : the latter have 28 pin DIL ZIF sockets to program multiple copies of a program but this is less important now it is so easy to program the MM in situ). Andrew |
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| Phil. Newbie Joined: 20/11/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9 |
Andrew. You got it. It is really quite hard to follow the MM story with Pluses and Versions and Backpacks and Updates. I even started a spread sheet with options against what I wanted. I kept finding more options and gave up. Need to buy parts (eg LCDs) from different sources that may not work or be compatible. Pin options on the backpack circuit board probably the same as Explore 64(?) So I am nearly there. Just launched my boat. Planning to survey an area tomorrow before the season gets going and my club mates run aground and express opinions in the bar! Might not be building MM for a bit! All the best, Phil. |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
I gather there is a gps and a separate depth sounder, each producing separate NMEA files (?) which begs the question, how is position tied to a particular depth reading ? Does the boat system somehow instigate the files? Boat data systems have not been described much - I think many members here would be interested in more info !! |
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| Andrew_G Guru Joined: 18/10/2016 Location: AustraliaPosts: 872 |
Hi Chronic, I'm assuming Phil's setup is based on the now-dated but still widespread NMEA 0183 system. Typically each sensor would send its "sentence" of data say once a second (4800 baud), some less frequently, and a central hub combines these into a single stream of sequential data to be displayed by instruments and/or captured to file. The GPS "RMC" sentences include the UTC date and time as well as location (Lat and Lon) hence the ability to correct for tide height vs time. The more modern systems just use a higher speed networked approach. There are several proprietary systems (eg the Raymarine SeaTalk one I referred to above) but these typically include an NMEA output option. On a yacht the sensors contributing to this data stream would include GPS, water depth, wind speed and direction, compass heading, water speed and water temperature. (As well as this, at higher baud rate, the more recent AIS (automatic identification system) gives location, speed, direction (cargo, destination . . .) data for equipped vessels in the vicinity.). If one Googles "NMEA 0183 Protocol" there are some good descriptions. Cheers, Andrew |
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| Phil. Newbie Joined: 20/11/2017 Location: United KingdomPosts: 9 |
Hi chronic, Andrew. Yes you got it Andrew. I chug around in my boat with the depth sounder over the back and record serial sentences fron both GPS and the depth sounder, combine them in a single sentence and save to micro SD card. Later, on a PC I can calculate tide height from the time and subtract depth. This gives mud height over datum. Then plot a screen with coloured blobs for different depths and join the dots in a paint program. Sort of automated manual process. Works well enough. I surveyed a troublesome area last week and confirmed it hadn't changed much but was still troublesome. We went away for a long weekend and came back passing a fellow club member stuck fast on the sandbank I had been surveying. He lifted off on the tide later but it looks as if my services are still needed! I skipped a few refinements in the above discussion but you get the picture. I will post the result when I have it but it is getting off topic by quite a long way! All the best, Phil. |
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