Silicon ChipBoat Computer modified for 4WDs - November 2020 SILICON CHIP
  1. Outer Front Cover
  2. Contents
  3. Publisher's Letter: Why is electronics male-dominated?
  4. Mailbag
  5. Feature: MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems) by Dr David Maddison
  6. Project: Eight Small LED Christmas Ornaments by Tim Blythman
  7. PartShop
  8. Project: Two Large LED Christmas Stars by Barry Cullen & Tim Blythman
  9. Project: Balanced Input Attenuator for the USB SuperCodec by Phil Prosser
  10. Circuit Notebook: Automatic hand sanitiser dispenser by Bera Somnath
  11. Circuit Notebook: Wellbeing monitor by Phillip Webb
  12. Circuit Notebook: Boat Computer modified for 4WDs by Greg Hoyes
  13. Circuit Notebook: More modified Boat Computer software by Ray Saegenschnitter
  14. Serviceman's Log: One repair leads to another by Dave Thompson
  15. Vintage Radio: RCA BP-10 "miniature" valve portable radio by Ian Batty
  16. Feature: A Rundown on New 8-pin PIC Microcontrollers by Tim Blythman
  17. Feature: The Vintage Matrox ALT-512 Graphics Card by Hugo Holden
  18. Project: Flexible Digital Lighting Controller, part 2 by Tim Blythman
  19. Feature: Electronic ‘Wearables’ and the Jaycar Sparkle Stitch by Tim Blythman & Nicholas Vinen
  20. Ask Silicon Chip
  21. Market Centre
  22. Advertising Index
  23. Notes & Errata: USB SuperCodec, August-October 2020; History of the Australian GPO, September 2020; Shirt Pocket Oscillator, September 2020; Frequency Reference Signal Distributor, April 2020; 45V 8A Linear Bench Supply, October-December 2019
  24. Outer Back Cover

This is only a preview of the November 2020 issue of Silicon Chip.

You can view 0 of the 112 pages in the full issue.

For full access, purchase the issue for $10.00 or subscribe for access to the latest issues.

Items relevant to "Eight Small LED Christmas Ornaments":
  • Tiny LED Cap PCB [16111193] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Stocking PCB [16111194] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Reindeer PCB [16111195] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Bauble PCB [16111196] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Sleigh PCB [16111197] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Star PCB [16111198] (AUD $3.00)
  • Tiny LED Candy Cane PCB [16111199] (AUD $3.00)
  • PIC12F1572-I/SN (or equivalent) programmed for the Tiny LED Christmas Ornaments (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $10.00)
  • Tiny LED Christmas Ornament complete kit (Component, AUD $14.00)
  • Firmware for the LED Christmas Ornaments (Software, Free)
  • Eight Tiny LED Xmas Ornament PCB patterns (PDF download) [16111191-16111199] (Free)
Items relevant to "Two Large LED Christmas Stars":
  • Stackable LED Star PCB [16109201] (AUD $12.50)
  • RGB Stackable LED Star PCB [16109202] (AUD $12.50)
  • ATmega328P-AUR or ATmega88PB-AUR programmed for the RGB Stackable LED Star [1620920A.HEX or 1620920B.HEX] (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $10.00)
  • Kit for the RGB Stackable LED Christmas Star (Component, AUD $38.50)
  • Firmware for the 30 RGB LED Xmas Star (Software, Free)
  • RGB Stackable LED Star PCB pattern (PDF download) [16209202] (Free)
  • Stackable LED Star PCB pattern (PDF download) [16109201] (Free)
Items relevant to "Balanced Input Attenuator for the USB SuperCodec":
  • USB SuperCodec PCB [01106201] (AUD $12.50)
  • USB SuperCodec Balanced Input Attenuator add-on PCB [01106202] (AUD $7.50)
  • Parts source grid for the USB SuperCodec (Software, Free)
  • USB SuperCodec PCB pattern (PDF download) [01106201] (Free)
  • USB SuperCodec Balanced Input Attenuator add-on PCB pattern (PDF download) [01106202] (Free)
  • USB SuperCodec front panel artwork (PDF download) (Free)
  • Drilling and cutting diagrams for the USB SuperCodec Balanced Input Attenuator (PDF download) (Panel Artwork, Free)
Articles in this series:
  • USB SuperCodec (August 2020)
  • USB SuperCodec – part two (September 2020)
  • USB SuperCodec – part three (October 2020)
  • Balanced Input Attenuator for the USB SuperCodec (November 2020)
  • Balanced Input Attenuator for the USB SuperCodec, Part 2 (December 2020)
Items relevant to "Automatic hand sanitiser dispenser":
  • Arduino sketch for the Automatic Hand Sanitiser Dispenser (Software, Free)
Items relevant to "Wellbeing monitor":
  • Arduino sketch for the Welfare Monitor (Software, Free)
Items relevant to "Boat Computer modified for 4WDs":
  • Modified software for the Micromite Boat Computer (Free)
Items relevant to "More modified Boat Computer software":
  • Modified software for the Micromite Boat Computer (Free)
Articles in this series:
  • The Matrox ALT-256 Graphics Card (October 2020)
  • The Vintage Matrox ALT-512 Graphics Card (November 2020)
Items relevant to "Flexible Digital Lighting Controller, part 2":
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller main PCB [16110202] (AUD $20.00)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller Micromite Master PCB [16110201] (AUD $5.00)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller CP2102 Adaptor PCB [16110204] (AUD $2.50)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller LED slave PCB [16110205] (AUD $5.00)
  • PIC16F1705-I/P programmed for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller [1611020A.HEX] (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $10.00)
  • PIC32MX170F256B-50I/SP programmed for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller Micromite master [1611020B.hex] (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $15.00)
  • PIC16F1455-I/P programmed for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller WS2812 Slave [16110205.HEX] (Programmed Microcontroller, AUD $10.00)
  • Micromite LCD BackPack V3 complete kit (Component, AUD $75.00)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller front panel PCB [16110203] (AUD $20.00)
  • Firmware and software for the Fiexible Digital Lighting Controller (Free)
  • Firmware and PC software for the Digital Lighting Controller [1611010A.HEX] (Free)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller mains slave PCB patterns (PDF download) [16110202-3] (Free)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller Master PCB patterns (PDF download) [16110201, 16110204] (Free)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller LED slave PCB pattern (PDF download) [16110205] (Free)
  • Drilling and cutting diagrams for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller Micromite master (PDF download) (Panel Artwork, Free)
  • Cutting diagram for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller mains slave rear panel (PDF download) (Panel Artwork, Free)
  • Cutting diagrams and front panel artwork for the Flexible Digital Lighting Controller LED slave (PDF download) (Free)
  • Matte/Gloss Black UB3 Lid for Micromite LCD BackPack V3 or Pico BackPack using 3.5in screen (PCB, AUD $5.00)
Articles in this series:
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller, part 1 (October 2020)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller, part 2 (November 2020)
  • Flexible Digital Lighting Controller, part 3 (December 2020)
  • Digital Lighting Controller Translator (December 2021)

Purchase a printed copy of this issue for $10.00.

Boat Computer modified for 4WDs I was interested to see the Boat Computer modification (April 2016; siliconchip.com.au/Article/9887) for fitting in a four-wheel drive with an altitude display in the August 2020 issue (Circuit Notebook). Some time ago, I installed the Boat Computer in my four-wheel drive and also modified the software to suit. My software strips out the navigation capability and has three screen displays. At switch on, it shows a digital speedo (useful because car speedos are almost always inaccurate) and a compass. The compass display has been redesigned to work like a marine steering compass, which I find more intuitive. Unlike the original software, the compass does not blank when the vehicle stops because a car does not swing at anchor. The second screen shows time, date and day of the week. Serious grey nomads can easily lose track of the latter, which can result in problems when arriving in town and finding the shops and attractions are shut. This information assumes Eastern Standard Time (10 hours in front of GMT). For other time zones, the variable timezone should be adjusted to the difference from GMT in seconds. The third screen shows latitude, longitude, altitude and number of satellites. The latter is to give some indication of precision. The modified software is available for download from the Silicon Chip website (siliconchip.com.au/ Shop/6/5681). Greg Hoyes, Upper Kedron, Qld. ($50) More modified Boat Computer software I saw the article about getting the altitude information to appear on the Boat Computer by Tim Blythman (Circuit Notebook, August 2020; siliconchip.com.au/Article/14539) and have added it to my program. I have made a few other modifications to it. I use mine as my primary speedometer. I have been running this for a long time now, and have it on the top of my dash. It appears just above my steering wheel and just under my normal line of vision. I have also fitted a shroud to get rid of sunlight on the screen. I am an NBN “Fixed Wireless” installer and sometimes need to know in what direction I am driving to be able to determine which direction the siliconchip.com.au tower is I need to point to (the bearing is given on the work order). My daughter also has one in her car and is often asked by friends what it does. The other changes I made are as follows: 1) I locked the baud rate for the GPS module to 9600 baud as I have found it to be the usual rate. 2) I have added a 24-hour clock on the heading screen, as my satnav loses the clock when I go into navigate mode. 3) I have included automatic backlight control. I am using a Jaycar LDR (RD3480) in series with a 56kW resistor. The LDR looks out through a hole on the back of the case, which gives Australia’s electronics magazine good light control and requires no access to car wiring. 4) I have modified the km/h reading to give the reading in 1/10th km/h resolution (the decimal place is in a smaller font). When I loaded it with the altitude changes, I initially loaded it using the V4 fonts library. But when I loaded the V6 fonts into the library, the program crashed after loading the main program. I then “crunched” the fonts file and it all loaded okay. Both these files are available for download from the Silicon Chip website (siliconchip.com.au/ Shop/6/5681). Ray Saegenschnitter, Huntly, Vic. ($50) November 2020  63