August 26, 2009 (1 hour):
Met as a team after
class to discuss preliminary project proposal.
August 27, 2009 (1 hour):
Finished writing
preliminary project proposal. Was unable to submit due
to website error. Received rough draft of project block
diagram from David.
August 28, 2009 (0 hours):
Submitted
preliminary project proposal.
WEEK 01 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Submitted preliminary project
proposal. Began work on project block diagram.
Weekly Work Total: 2 hours
Project Work Total: 2 hours
August 30, 2009 (4 hours):
Met as a team to
make rough draft of block diagram. Also installed Ubuntu
on everyone's computer using VMware. David gave
overview of embedded Linux and the capabilities of the
ARM9 processor and Hammer board.
September 1, 2009 (2 hours):
Team meeting to
prepare for in class presentation of Project Specific
Success Criteria (PSSCs). A PowerPoint slideshow was
created.
September 2, 2009 (1 hour):
Team meeting to
discuss hardware (block diagram) and packaging. We also
looked for motorized faders.
September 3, 2009 (0.5 hours)::
Team meeting
to complete the final project proposal.
September 4, 2009 (1 hour)::
Installed
VirtualBox on laptop to evaluate as possible alternative
to VMware Server.
WEEK 02 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: PSSC and project proposal
finalized. Virtual Ubuntu installed on laptops.
Weekly Work Total: 8.5 hours
Project Work Total: 10.5 hours
September 7, 2009 (2 hours):
Team meeting: decided
to use DSP processor for audio processing, while ARM will
run user interface. Also discussed disign constraint
analysis and changes to project's block diagram. Ordered
two Atmega30A's in DIP packaging. EDIT: should arrive
on September 11.
September 9, 2009 (2 hours):
Team meeting. Met
Chuck; checked out tablet PC and set up lab station.
Worked on seting up tablet: it needed security updates
badly and lacked antivirus software.
September 10, 2009 (2 hours)):
Calibrated tablet's
battery and continued installing needed updates. Also
installed Atmel's IDE on the tablet.
WEEK 03 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Acquired tablet pc, added DSP to
design, ordered Atmega32's for prototyping.
Weekly Work Total: 6 hours
Project Work Total: 16.5 hours
September 13, 2009 (6 hours):
Atmega32A arrived
over the weekend - prototyped one to try and get the
programmer to work...it didn't.
September 14, 2009 (3.5 hours):
Suceeded in
loading an LED-blinking program to an Atmega32a...
but AVR gcc only supports the Atmega32. Not sure if this
will cause problems or not. May need Chuck to order
a different compiler.
September 14, 2009 (4 hours):
Team meeting:
researched alternatives to the ATmega32A, partly for
Design Constraint homework but mostly because we now
know that we need I2C and the ATmega lacks this
peripheral. Found a suitable PIC, but had trouble
locating a vendor. Updated the Block Diagram for our
project.
September 15, 2009 (0 hours):
Met with Chuck
Barnett, who shared knowledge of I2C software library
for Atmel chips. This could save us time, since we
already have sample ATmega32A's. Plan to look into this
later
September 15, 2009 (3 hours):
Team meeting:
helped with Design Constraint Analysis and researched
AVR-GCC's I2C library. It looks like this might work...
September 16, 2009 (2 hours):
Research on I2C for
Atmel chips...turns out they have I2C, but call it TWI
because of patenting issues. Also found App notes on
interfacing TWI with I2C. I should be fine...
September 17, 2009 (3 hours):
Got ATmega32A to
blink LEDs. Would have gotten it to work earlier, but
Dev. board had LEDs sinking current instead of sourcing
them, so they alternated bright (off) and dim (on).
Once I breadboarded the ATmega everything made
sense.
September 18, 2009 (1 hour):
Got RS-232 to
work with ATmega32A.
WEEK 04 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Getting the Channel Control
Microprocessor to work.
Weekly Work Total: 22.5 hours
Project Work Total: 39 hours
September 20, 2009 (5.5 hours):
Acquired sample
code for ATmega ADC, and used it to make ATmega32's ADC
work. I can now display the position of a fader as a
percentage of scale.
September 22, 2009 (5 hours):
Got ATmega32's PWM
to work. However, was unable to get stdio input functions (scanf)
to work, so I have yet to make a cool test program.
September 23, 2009 (3 hours):
Team meeting:
prepared for team presentation and soldered breadboard adaptor for
breadboard.
September 24, 2009 (2 hours):
Team meeting:
ordering parts, including ATmega32A's in QFP package.
September 25, 2009 (2 hours):
Further testing of
ATmega32's PWM: I now have a robust library for PWM and ADC modules.
Worked further on scanf, but still can't get it to work. Also
attempted to install PADS on team's tablet, but could not get
reliable internet connection.
September 26, 2009 (1 hour):
Posted question
about ATmega's scanf on Sparkfun's website.
WEEK 05 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Ordered parts, got PWM, ADC, and
other elements of motorized fader control to work.
Weekly Work Total: 18.5 hours
Project Work Total: 57.5 hours
September 27, 2009 (3.5 hours):
Got H-bridge to
work. Coded a function to control fader position. Will test it
later.
September 30, 2009 (8 hours):
Team meeting:
made schematics in PADS for all circuits. Almost done with them at
end of meeting. Also installed PADS on team tablet.
October 2, 2009 (2 hours):
Testing ATmega to
find out how to best prevent H-bridge burnout during programming.
Our current circuit will cause the H-bridge to be destroyed during
programming of the ATmega because of the way its GPIO pins go high
when code is flashed. Also organized ATmega code into different
files for each peripheral.
WEEK 06 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Prototyped H-bridge control circuit,
schematic work in PADS.
Weekly Work Total: 13.5 hours
Project Work Total: 71 hours
October 4, 2009 (4 hours):
Wiring connector for
Hammer board's display. Researched how to implement an ISR on an
ATmega32A.
October 5, 2009 (2 hours):
Helped check pcb
footprints and did pcb tutorial for PADS.
October 7, 2009 (9 hours):
Schematic design for
main board, component selection.
October 8, 2009 (13 hours):
Outlined pcb report
(HW 6). PCB work on mainboard.
October 9, 2009 (2 hours):
Finished PCB report,
and rechecked mainboard PCB before submitting.
WEEK 07 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: PCB report, PADS work.
Weekly Work Total: 29 hours
Project Work Total: 101 hours
October, 13 2009 (1 hour):
Work on H-bridge
circuit...stil trying to figure out the best way to implement two
directions in code.
October, 14 2009 (2.5 hours):
Team meeting:
worked on design review presentation.
October, 15 2009 (1.5 hours):
Team meeting:
finished design review presentation. Also discovered that my
ATmega prototype circuit will no longer function. It may have
been altered by mistake when moving it to and from lockers.
WEEK 08 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Design review.
Weekly Work Total: 5 hours
Project Work Total: 106 hours
October, 19 2009 (2.5 hours):
Ordered what may be
the last batch of parts. Trying to make sure we have everything
in time to verify footprints before sending PCBs to fab. Also
researched getting an Interrupt Service Routine working for the
ATmega32A's...I still haven't found information on how to do
this.
October, 20 2009 (3 hours):
Worked on pcbs. Team
meeting: figured out what parts we still need.
October, 21 2009 (5.5 hours):
Worked on pcbs.
Submitted to FreeDFM, but got many errors. A sizable amount of
errors were from an error with our vias. They were 1 mil too big.
October, 22 2009 (6.5 hours):
Finished pcbs.
Submitted to FreeDFM. Susanne was fixing the last error(s) when I
left. By the end of this day, there were no errors.
October, 23 2009 (2.5 hours):
Submitted pcbs for
fab.
WEEK 09 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Finished work on PCBs and submitted them
for fabrication.
Weekly Work Total: 20 hours
Project Work Total: 126 hours
October, 26 2009 (2.5 hours):
Team meeting:
began working on software narrative homework. I spent time doing
research on ATmega32A's interrupt structure to figure out how to
code a periodic interrupt while still leaving all four PWM channels
available to control servos.
October, 29 2009 (1 hour):
Team meeting:
worked on Software Narrative homework.
WEEK 10 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Research on ATmega interrupts and team
homework.
Weekly Work Total: 3.5 hours
Project Work Total: 129.5 hours
November, 2 2009 (2.5 hours):
Team meeting:
parts inventory.
November, 3 2009 (4 hours):
Research on patent
liability and preparation for team presentation. Also helped finish
parts inventory and ordering, and taught Susanne how to solder.
November, 4 2009 (2.5 hours):
Finished patent
analysis homework assignment.
November, 5 2009 (5 hours):
Debugged ATmega32A
prototype channel-interface circuit (programmer and chip were fried)
and began work on TWI hardware.
November, 6 2009 (3.5 hours):
Developed
programming strategy for ATmega32A Interrupt Service Routine.
Helped Levi and David solder.
WEEK 11 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Patent liability analysis/homework was
completed. Worked on ATmega32A interrupt service routine
Weekly Work Total: 17.5 hours
Project Work Total: 147 hours
November, 8 2009 (3 hours):
Began programming TWI
using sample code I found online and then ported to the avr-gcc
compiler (with David's help).
November, 9 2009 (5 hours):
David and I finished
testing TWI (I2C) and also got an Interrupt Service Routine to work
on the ATmega32A. Bi-directional communication works, and the
beginnings of register updating is in code as well. Yippee!
November, 10 2009 (5 hours):
Met with David to
continue work on the ATmega32A TWI code. We got the fader motor
working in both directions, and the LEDs in the pushbutton works as
well. The LED bar graph is coded, but does not quite work
correctly. It seems that somewhere in code there is a hex value
that is incorrect.
November, 12 2009 (3 hours):
Continued working
with on ATmega32A code. I figured out how to fix the LED bar
graph - it was an incorrect hex value being assigned to a port, as
I suspected. However, David and I discovered some issues with the
fader not responding to all commands over I2C. He thinks it's
because of the I2C interface, while I kind of thought it was because
of the fader code itself. This remains to be determined.
WEEK 12 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: ATmega32A interface is mostly done!!! The
I2C, fader, LED bargraph, and pushbutton LEDs are coded. The RPG
and pushbutton are left, as well as reliability improvements.
Weekly Work Total: 16 hours
Project Work Total: 163 hours
November, 16 2009 (3 hours):
Added code for RPG
to the Chanel Interface, and tested it with David's help. He
made some modifications to the fader's PWM routines as well.
November, 20 2009 (3 hours):
Added pushbutton
code to channel interfaces. David helped. It took a while to get
the register correct, as it needs to be in a certain format for
David's code to parse it correctly. It didn't quite work right at
the end of the day.
WEEK 13 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: More work on the Channel Interfaces was
done this week. David and I got the RPG to work, and almost
finished the pushbutton. Its register needs some work, because it
contains bits for the integrated LEDs and the button itself, and is
buffered. That makes it tricky.
Weekly Work Total: 6 hours
Project Work Total: 169 hours
November, 23 2009 (9 hours):
David discovered a
major problem with the audio pcbs, and we worked to greenwire a
solution. At the end of the day, five channels (out of eight) were
rewired and tested - and this is the analog portions only. In the
process, we discovered that two of the pins of our ADCs were
supposed to be disconnected, so we clipped them off before soldering
them to the boards.
WEEK 14 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Rewired and tested preamplifier circuits
for five channels that were incorrectly routed on pcb. Also rewired
the other three channels, but they were not tested when I left for
Thanksgiving Break.
Weekly Work Total: 9 hours
Project Work Total: 178 hours
November, 29 2009 (4 hours):
Completed code for
master atmel and effects atmel. Also wired harness for master
faders and effects fader. Also helped Levi wire additional faders
a little bit, until he got annoyed with my shaky hands. Still need
to test code for master and effects atmels - will do this tomorrow
with David.
November, 30 2009 (5 hours):
Programmed Master
and Effects atmels today with David - the master faders almost work,
but David hasn't yet written the code to test the Effects faders.
Also worked on Final Report. It still has a ways to go, though.
December 1, 2009 (5 hours):
Helped Levi with
wiring harnesses. Worked on Final Report.
December 2, 2009 (5 hours):
Helped David with
wiring harnesses. Worked on Final Report and User Manual.
December 3, 2009 (4 hours):
Worked on Final
Report. Found the parts list spreadsheet that was done by David
and Susanne (long ago) and started populating it. I am still missing
the final block diagram.
December 4, 2009 (2 hours):
Today David
and Levi discovered a major problem with the H-bridge circuitry on
the Channel-interface boards. We were biasing the MOSFETS
incorrectly, so they were leaking current. We did not notice this
during the prototyping phase because the power supplies in lab are
current limited to 1.0 Amp. To fix this requires a BJT level
shifter from 0-5V to 0-9V. I began making these today, but will
have to finish them later.
December 5, 2009 (10 hours):
Worked on Final
Report. Found the parts list spreadsheet that was done by David
and Susanne (long ago) and started populating it. I am still missing
the final block diagram.
WEEK 15 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: I finished the code for the Channel
Interfaces, and made a first draft of the code for the Master and
Effects faders, but testing/debugging for them is not complete.
I also began working on a solution to a problem with our H-bridge
circuitry, and made the necessary proto-boarded circuits.
Weekly Work Total: 35 hours
Project Work Total: 213 hours
December 6, 2009 (8 hours):
Today I continued
making BJT level shifters for the Channel-interface boards. It is
tedious work. There are some 20 copies of this simple circuit that
must be made on protoboard...not fun! I made most of them today, but
there are more to be done. Oh well.
December 7, 2009 (5 hours):
David needed more
fan-out for the SPI lines from the Hammer, and asked me to make
a buffer from a pair of inverter chips. I did that, but I don't
think it helped resolve the problems he was having. I also looked
back over my notebook and realized that somewhere David and I fixed
the pushbutton register so it works, but I didn't put it in my
notebook. The reason I remember this is that David had to fix a
small pushbutton error today. I also spent time finishing the BJT
level shifters for the H-bridges.
December 8, 2009 (4 hours):
With the Hammer out
of commision and a new one on its way, I spent time working on the
Final Report.
December 9, 2009 (13 hours):
Worked with David
to complete the testing on the Channel Interface boards. At the
end of the day, they worked, but the effects fader did not, and
the Left and Right main faders had a glitch when fader-lock was on.
It's close enough to demonstrate a PSSC, perhaps.
December 10, 2009 (6 hours):
To be honest, I
remember that I spent time in lab today, but I don't remember what
I did. I think I worked on more wiring harnesses for Levi, and'
helped Susanne with the Final Report. I also provided moral support
for David, because at this point I don't really know what he's
doing with the DSP.
December 11, 2009 (7 hours):
Spent some of my
time today making sure that the presentation was ready for the
bonus presentation, and also seeing to it that my notebook was up
to date on my flash drive...I'll upload it when I get time. Worked
on the Final Report some more as well. As a group, we did our
presentation, but only after David spent hours trying to get stuff
to work reliably. The channel-interface boards keep locking up
randomly. He and I spent time working on the ATmega32A TWI code to
try and find a solution, but it was still not working 100% error
free at the end of the day.
WEEK 16 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: I spent the week fixing errors with the
H-bridges by making BJT level shifters and modifying firmware to
provide GPIO pins to switch the H-bridges on and off when needed.
I also helped David debug some of the I2C errors he's been having,
but I don't think a solution to that has been found yet. Good news
that we demonstrated 3 PSSCs this week, so I know we'll pass the
class. Yippee!
Weekly Work Total: 43 hours
Project Work Total: 256 hours
December 13, 2009 (4 hours):
Worked remotely on
documentation due on Monday. At the end of the day, the Final
Report was almost ready to be looked over by David and Levi: only
the summary was left to be written.
December 14, 2009 (6 hours):
Finished all
documentation and submitted it. Uploaded notebook from flash drive...
and realized that it looks like I did a week or two all at once.
Oops.
WEEK 17 SUMMARY
Accomplishments: Finished documentation and uploaded my
notebook to the web. Final report was finished and turned in. So was
the Senior Design (ABET) report. Now all that's left is the final
presentation.
Weekly Work Total: 11 hours
Project Work Total: 256 hours