Steve's Things

Since my design was accepted in terms of moving ahead on a prototype, I’ve been working first on the board design. I have decided to abandon the PIC18F2620 in favour of the 18F4685. The reason for this change over is due to the fact that the 18f2620 doesn’t have enough I/O to handle the addition of two analog channels and four I/O for RS-485 communication.

This post is more for my own edification and to help me sort out my thoughts on this issue. I suppose for the sake of following my train of thought while sitting here, I’ll outline the specifications, as I think of them.

Overall feature set:
PWM output for 6-24V DC motor.
RS-485 Out – Rec enabled
LCD out
16 key keypad in
2 temperature sensors
LED indicators for power/error
Serial out for RS-232
Input for external reflection sensor
2 inputs for timing sensors

So, thats 1+4+6+8+2+2+1+1+2 = 27 inputs

I found some nice Molex headers that are single row, .100 pitch and is latched. Typically I use the friction based header and housings but it needs to be secure inside the housing and thus I’m trying out the new set. Also I’m going to use vertical out terminal blocks in order to save space inside the unit but not necessarily on the board.

I’m also considering adding an RS-232 port along side the board.

Hopefully this will be the final hurrah!