due February 26

In this lab, we will learn how to create digitally-controlled devices using the LogoChip, and then interface these devices to the Handy Cricket using its Bus protocol.

Because class does not meet on February 19, this is a two-week lab.

1. Using the Getting Started with the LogoChip document, wire up the LogoChip on a breadboard, get its boot flash, then hook it up to the PC, and get bootflash to run from the software's command center.

   Hook up a beeper, configure its pin to be an output, and write a loop that makes it beep.

2. Complete one of the following five activities/experiments. Alternately, using these (or anything else) as inspiration, design your own cool project using the LogoChip. (If you choose to do something other than one of the ideas here, please check it with me first.)
   • Design a stepper motor control circuit using the LogoChip. We have 4-phase unipolar stepper motors in the lab. You may be able to run them directly from LogoChip digital outputs, but you'll probably need driver transistors. Write a program to make the stepper motor go. Implement position control (i.e., commanding the motor to rotate to a specific position) and velocity control (i.e., cause it to run freely at a specified number of clicks per second). The velocity control program should keep track of the absolute position as well.

     For reference, see the Predko book, pp. 289–292.

   • Implement a programmable display using a 5x7 LED array component. Create a multiplexed row/column scan method so that only 7 LEDs are on at one time. Create a character font so that an arbitrary symbol from the ASCII character set can be displayed.

   • Implement a driver for the DevanTech sonars that are part of the Botball kit. Have the LogoChip indicate distance to target in a standard unit of length.

   • Create the following experiment in the spirit of Harold "Doc" Edgerton's seminal strobe light work. Connect a piezo to the LogoChip, but instead of using it to produce sound, use it as a microphone. (When it receives a loud noise, it should produce a signal in the 50 mV range, which is detectable by a LogoChip analog input.) Use this to implement a clap detector.

     Then, after hearing a clap, light a bank of LEDs for a short interval (10 to 50 milliseconds or so). Now you have a system that when it hears a clap, it produces a short burst of light a moment later. (Transistor drivers may be needed to get adequate light from the LEDs, because they should only be turned on for a very brief period.)

     Finally, take the setup to a darkened area along with a regular latex balloon and a pin. Pop the balloon near the piezo “microphone” and in range of the LED illumination. You should see the open shell of the balloon being popped, before it has collapsed into shreds!

     (This experiment was suggested by Robbie Berg.)

   • Build a simple digital-to-analog circuit (DAC), perhaps using four bits and a resistive network to create a stepped range of output voltages. Load up some sampled or computed audio data (e.g., a sine wave) into the LogoChip, and write a program to spit it out at a rate fast enough to make sound. Listen to the output and look at it on the scope, and describe your results.

3. After your project is working, convert it into a Cricket Bus Device, and use the Cricket to talk to it. See the LogoChip Bus Version notes for information about how to do this.

4. Instead of paper-based write-up, create a web page or small site documenting your activities. This should include (as appropriate) code listings, schematics, and discussion of the work.