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Arduino microcontroller
Experimenting with the Arduino microcontroller to perform some small tasks in the Aircraft.
![]() http://joesrv12.com/Builder%20Log/bl_42_11.htm Has anyone used this in a their aircraft. Joe dallas |
I have a handful of them with various stages of code done for a variety of tasks in the airplane. One of the setups is for evaluation of temperature, pressure and flow at various points in the cowling. Another is to show status of a few systems and to control the smoke system (programmed pulses, etc.).
I also built and wrote a whole new (and much more reliable) pilot-controlled runway lighting system based on the Arduino Uno. It's been operating at the airport here for a few months now, works great. These are some nifty devices and capabilities are pretty much what you can dream up, and learn to code. It does take time away from actually building the plane though hah, so I have set that stuff aside for now. |
I have come to expect innovation from Joe. That is one interesting 12!
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under cowl monitoring
Greg, would be great to find out more about your project. I'd also like to put in more temp probes under the cowl, and having pressure would be really interesting (I think!).
Do you have more details about what you are doing? I have not yet experimented with an arduino, and would be happy to get any hints. I'm considering just buying a bunch of stuff, but also fear it will take time from my build project, since I do love to code. :) |
Have built several Arduino based projects that I have used in my airplane.
Some examples: Remote AOA indicator that decodes the serial stream from an EFIS and drives and LED display. PMag ignition monitor that decodes the serial stream from the PMag and drives a LCD display. High speed serial logger that logs the serial streams from an EFIS to an SD card. Built my own Arduino AOA computer. Got it working but never perfected it since Garmin added the G3X at which point I did not need it anymore. The Arduino line seems to be a great platform for these kinds of task. The brand name hardware is solid as a rock and just works. If the code is solid, they will run with amazing reliability. |
Arduino Magic
Thank All
I hopped that I was not going down a road never traveled. I am having a lot of fun writing code and surprised to see it work so well. I have never used C or C++. I have used RBace , DBace , Foxpro and SQL and C in not that much different. My website www.Rvbuilderlist.com is SQL which I have neglected since I started building a Plane. Thanks Again Joe |
Hey Joe, since you are installing the Arduino into your RV, consider using an Arduino Nano. Much smaller and with the same functionality as an Uno.
Save the Uno for prototyping your ideas. |
I have just finished a flap, trim system for my 7A. I purchased the arduino mini pro a month ago and taught myself programming, many thanks to the source of all knowledge, " YouTube "
I use an Infinity grip and backup switches on the panel Built in safety's: Flaps auto raise over 100 knots Flaps will not lower over 100 knots Trim/ flap motors will stop after 10 seconds continuous, takes 7 seconds for full flap travel Trim speed slows down over 100 knots Reverse switch movement will stop trim/flap motors immediately Normal functions: Each momentary activation of flap switch will move flaps and trim to next programmed position. If flap switch gets a double activation within 1/2 second, will move to full up/down If flap switch is held for 1 second will go into manual mode, the flap & trim will stop on release.( this was designed so a cessna driver can operate the system ) Two trim schedules to cover trim with and without passenger. Next project is to incorporate a lidar sensor so I can get an altitude readout as I approach the runway... 50, 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 retard, thought that might be hilarious, especially if I can transmit it over the radio. Trouble is the lidar cost $US200 ( about $CN10,000 , or thereabouts at current rates). Of course there is one practical safety advantage to this, our runway is very narrow and poorly lighted, knowing how close to the runway will help in making sure the nose wheel is up on touchdown. Airspeed info is coming from the GRT HXr, had Greg ad this feature, in programming discrete outputs select "airspeed" then at the bottom enter the airspeed you require. Although the discrete outputs are not in their literature they do still exist, by memory I am using discrete output three which is connector "B" pin 10. |
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Was watching the CIA mini space shuttle do a perfect 10 auto landing on YouTube. Now my GRT HXr will fly me down to the runway, if there was some way I could use the arduino to flare........hmmm. |
Aviation-grade Arduino Controller
I've been heads down developing an aviation-hardened Arduino compatible controller.
This project started when I was discussing the procedure for a go-around in my Harmon Rocket with my wingman (Power up, stick forward, flaps up, trim down, call tower). He mentioned that I should just build a gizmo that would do the flaps and trim for me. Since I was already flying behind an auto-trim controller that I developed several years ago, I took this challenge on and reprogrammed the controller (in PIC assembly language) to implement this function. Everything worked out and now I have a single button push to dial in my flaps and trim. It even measures acceleration and runs the flaps all the way up if it predicts that I may exceed VFE in the go-around. I realized that many others may want a similar gizmo in their aircraft, but I wanted to move to the Arduino platform for ease of developement. The Arduino stuff is great, but it doesn't do a lot without adding on or designing custom shields, power supplies and packaging. The aircraft electrical and RF environment is pretty harsh. In fact, most of the avionics devices I have designed have most of the cost and circuit board area devoted to protecting the device from the environment (60 volt load dumps, reverse polarity, overvoltages on inputs, strong RF...). So I developed an aviation-hardened Arduino compatible board called the Falcon-AVR. The prototype has just finished Beta trials (one was replicating the auto-trim controller (1600 lines of C code), the other a marine instrument application). I have just implemented a board revision so that I can easily add-on WiFi or BLE or I2C modules, and support 28 Volt operation. My intention is to go 100% open source on this design. See this link for complete documentation. My intention is to provide blank circuit boards (plus a Digi-Key parts list) to interested folks. There are are assembly options, so some hardware smarts are required. Send me a p.m. if you are interested. Photo of initial proto below. Cheers, Vern |
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Vern, maybe you can help me. I need to protect the arduino H Bridge from back emf when I use the backup flap switch. Usually a diode is installed across the DC motor, however, our flap motors are bidirectional. Any thoughts ?
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On the Falcon-AVR, I chose to use relays to drive the flaps (or lamps or pumps) because they can be 'hostile' loads. Instead of catch diodes, I used a bidirectional Transzorbs, but the principal is similar. V ![]() |
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In my setup the arduino activates an Elecrow H bridge that then feeds through a relay to the motors. On the NO side of the relay is a manual flap/trim switch so I can still operate the flap/trim if the arduino fails. With the arduino off, when I operate the flaps with the backup switch, on release of the switch the LCD display attached to the arduino momentarily flashes. It seems the back emf is going through the relay NC side and through the bridge and into the Arduino. So I need to stop the back emf on both leads to cover up and down flap operation Could I connect a MOV across the flap motor ? |
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I don't write anything to the PMag other than the command to put it in serial streaming mode so it can be monitored. Here is the old thread that was created back when I was building it.... http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ighlight=p-mag |
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To prevent this, you have to have isolated power, which is a challenge with semiconductor motor drivers. A MOV or a Transzorb won't prevent back feed because you can't fine tune the clamp voltage accurately. I would try the 4 diodes but to a completely separate 12V and ground. You may also try schottky diodes so that the catch diodes in the MOSFETs don't engage. This should do the trick. Edit: further reflection says that your Arduino must be powered at all times. The lack of circuit isolation is a challenge to overcome. It's what I meant by 'aviation hardened'. There are a lot of little gremlins when using the Arduino stuff in an aircraft environment. V |
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More Arduino avionics
It is great to see experimental aviation going beyond rivets!
Here is the stuff I've been working on if anyone interested Arduino based EFIS: http://experimentalavionics.com/efis-19264-ver-1-2/ Some video here: https://youtu.be/emqc_vi7-Rg ... and here: https://youtu.be/oVMNnUio5Sg EMS: http://experimentalavionics.com/engi...gement-system/ Cheers, Oleg |
I am by no means a software guy, and it's been a few years since I last messed very much with hardware. Seems these microcontrollers have really leapt forward in both their capacities and their reliability.
I'm running an AF2500 engine monitor and would really like to be able to capture its data on an SD card. Since I'm hoping for first engine run sometime soon (soon, in aviation terms, means this year, maybe... LoL), I'd like to be able to capture data from first engine start, but don't want the labor of messing with product development to get in the way of the labor needed to get ready for that first engine start. Verns "packaged" product looks like a good idea. Now if only I could figure out how to use pre-developed code (like Brantel's serial data logger code) to load on the board. Or maybe there is already a pre-packaged data logger available that would suit this purpose? |
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Love it, is there anyway to wifi to the display screen. Thinking of the new iLevel BOM system where all the sensors etc are in a wing mounted unit and info is wifi'd to the in cabin display Peter |
Falcon-AVR group buy
I'm organizing an order for the Falcon-AVR final version pcbs. These are 4-layer boards and I'd like to get 20 boards ordered and in the hands of Arduino fans within a month. http://vx-aviation.com/documents/Falcon-AVR/
I already have three people signed up for blank boards. If anyone else is interested, please send me a PM. Thanks, Vern |
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Nice work BTW. |
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Here is a design I did in 1982. All of the stuff in the foreground are environmental protection. I did the all of the card design, thick film hybrid design, some of the chip design and we used new fangled devices call PALs (ref 'Soul of a New Machine'). We were the largest consumer of surface mount devices in North America. ![]() Yup, 1982... sigh. BTW it's an 8-channel LS/GS trunk interface card... you can still buy them today. V |
Pixel C tablet with Garmin Pilot
Has anyone used a Pixel C tablet with Garmin Pilot.
I would like to use it for the right screen and the size is perfect. Joe Dallas Quote:
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Here's a breakdown of the options: 28 Volt, field configuration (includes case, primary input protection, etc.) $68 14 Volt, field configuration (includes case, primary input protection, etc.) $57 28 Volt, lab configuration (no case, only secondary input protection) $52 14 Volt, lab configuration (no case, only secondary input protection) $40 I would recommend starting with the lab configurations, then adding components as required by the application to get to a customized field configuration. The costs were derived from Digikey's low volume pricing. Careful shoppers and those who buy in quantities can probably reduce the cost by 50%. I'm still trying to get a group together to share the cost of a pcb order. PM me if interested. |
Falcon-AVR demo program
Here's an example of a simple C program (Arduino sketch) that shows how easy it is to process Dynon or Garmin serial information using the Falcon-AVR here.
This program displays: HDG IAS ALT AOA on a 20 x 4 LCD screen as a 'backseat' display. The ALT is corrected altitude using the barometric pressure setting. It took about an hour to write, which is pretty good because 'C' is relatively new to me (... I remember FORTRAN...)! I cut it down from a 1600 line program (auto-trim controller) just to demonstrate the function. I have a graphics display module that would be very cool to use for virtual instruments, but that's a different project! V |
Gosh......
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'Soul of a New Machine' - excellent book that all engineers/managers should read.
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We were also involved in the early days of the PC development because IBM was our partner. I still have the original user manual for the PC printed in fan-fold format. I wonder if it's worth money? My group also designed the world's first video DRAM, which was built by Motorola for us. We were so uninspired by the IBM PCs graphics capability that we developed the VRAM. In the end, we didn't use it, but it was a good idea. Right about then, the Apple Lisa was coming out so we decided that developing our own computer was not the best use of resources. ...sigh... |
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(I've owned a couple dozen of them; at one time I was probably the most prolific exporter of Lisas to Japan. Long story, but those machines fed my family for a few months when I was between jobs. And yes, I know the Mac was the next step and was at least marginally more successful.) |
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The graphics are still a work in process. Unfortunately, the very cool display (Gameduino 2) is no longer available. It has a GPU which makes it easy to display moving images and jpegs and sprites. Looks like a 4D Systems display may be a choice for future effort. I'm still looking for some more prepaid group-buy orders for the Falcon-AVR circuit boards. I need a total of 20 prepaid orders to cover the costs on the next board run (which is north of $600 for the 4-layer blank pcbs). PM me for more information. Here's the link to the Falcon-AVR documents.. If i can't get a group buy together, I will refund the prepayments and just run a couple of more protos for my own needs. I'll be finalizing on July 1. |
Update on Falcon-AVR order group buy
Some good news and some not so good news.
I am less than a week away from making a decision on the group buy of Falcon-AVR printed circuit boards. I'm a little short of the minimum quantity of boards I need to order, so now is the time to get ahold of me (via PM), or (ahem) pay your PalPal invoice! I am not making any money on this, and will probably have to subsidize the purchase by $100 or so! Now the good news: I have completed the design of an option board that allows a Teensy 3.2 to directly plug into the Falcon-AVR instead of the ATMega 328. This will increase computing speed by about 10x and allow much larger programs to run on the board. More information on the option board (aka Talon-AVR) will come in July, but it also includes a second hardware serial port for more throughput when using add-on boards (for example BlueTooth and WiFi). Thanks to everyone who has supported this project so far, I hope more can join in. Vern |
Falcon-AVR group buy minimum quantity achieved!
Thanks folks! I have released the pcb order to manufacturing based on my MOQ of 10 boards. I was hoping for 20, but c'est la vie.
It will take about 10 days for me to receive the boards. Give me two weeks to completely assemble and debug one board to verify the design before I begin shipping the blank pcbs out to my backers. The good weather may get in the way. I will be verifying both 14V and 28V [actually 60V] versions. Oh... I will also be verifying the Teensy 3.2 version....! |
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I'm happy to send more money to help ensure your share of the cost isn't too outrageous. How much more do you need per board to make the numbers work out? |
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Vern |
Tape-out
In the vernacular of the semiconductor industry from the last century, when a database file is released to manufacturing, we called it 'tape-out'.
In my case, it was just pushing buttons on my Cad software, but the result is the same... manufacturing will take about 7 days, shipping to me (in Canada) a few more days, then I'll perform verification. I'm also checking out a 'desktop' configuration that strips your the Falcon-AVR down to a glorified Uno-like device which can then be upgraded to the 'lab' or 'field' configurations later on. The whole point is flexibility, which is why it's all through-hole. As I mentioned previously, there will also be an applique board that will allow a Teensy 3.2 to plug in for those who like more horsepower. This will be available in August. In addition to the horsepower, it will also support a second hardware serial port for higher performance WiFi or Bluetooth support. I have already tested Bluetooth connections that allow a 9600 bps connection between a Dynon EFIS and the Falcon AVR. I need to run this interface at 115,200 bps, but that takes a bit more effort. If the moderator is watching, perhaps we can move this discussion into its own thread... V |
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