Hello Everyone,

I am so lucky I stumbled on to this forum, my brain is numb form all the information I have read here Thanks!

I'll try to keep it short so here is what I want to do. I want to light my motorcycle with LED's. I know there are sites that sell the packages already
but I want to learn more about electronics / Micro controllers too.

I have searched these forums and haven't quite seen anything like this, had some neat other projects that were somewhat similar though.

So I am pretty sure a uC is going to be used, I have the Stamp2 kit but would not mind learning PIC or AVR. I have done some C coding in the past and not to shabby with perl or Unix shells. If you could direct me to a nice starter kit in either one I would be thankful.

Now I already have a couple thoughts on how to get this completed.
I know it's going to be a 12 - 14V power supply and I was going to put together 4 - 6 LEDs on a circuit board and seal them with hot glue / silicon

I figured the main circuit with the uC would be by the battery and have cable connects for the LED Packs. I have also thought about a wireless control to switch programs if that is not to difficult. But a switch would work as well.

I'm not sure if the LED packs should be all one color (4 red) or 2 of each color (2 red, 2 blue, 2 green and 2 purple) I do believe you could really get some nice lighting effects though with multi color packs. I'm open to you idea's and suggestions here, I would like to keep it simple.

I would have 1 pack shining on front wheel, one pack shining on front of engine, 4 packs (1 on each side) of the top and bottom of engine and 1 pack on back wheel and 1 on back of engine for 6 packs total. I guess the size of the packs would be 4 - 6 LED in a series setup, or 8 with multi-color.

So which uC would be easy and inexpensive for me to do this? I will need a programmer as well. I'm not sure if I will need more circuit parts for fading / chasing the leds.I am also not sure if the power should come from the control unit or if it should trigger a triac / SCR built into the LED pod.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

Tallan

 

The easiest method to fade LEDs in or out is probably using a PWM signal from a microcontroller. My limited experience is with PICs. Some PICs have PWM a module(s) built in so that will not be a problem. For example the 16F88 has one module, but most of the 18F series have at least two. Another option if you wanted more is to 'bit-bang' the pins to do a software pwm.
If you have experience with C, there are more options for the 18F series, such as Microchips C18. There is also mikroC, which is the one that I use for the 16F and 18F.
I know I didn't give you a lot of information, but I hope I least gave you some things to research. Good luck.

 

Hey Superbrew,

Thanks for that info, I want to get a schematic drawn up but I am not familiar yet with the PIC chips. I have been looking at the specs though so thanks for narrowing it down for me.

Is there a nice programmer you could recommend for these? I could build my own but wouldn't mind buying a nice one. I have many other idea's I would like to pursue but I am still a novice so my free time now is spent reading / learning.

Thanks again,
Ted

 

Wow,

I had no idea what I was getting into but just looking at all the 18F chips is
amazing. Ah I guess it's because I'm a noob! I'm enjoying it and am sure I'll have more questions soon. I am looking forward to the day I get this all going!

Thanks again Superbrew,
Ted

 

It is pretty impressive what these little chips can do. As far as a programmer, I would definitely recommend a development board that will allow you to reprogram the chip without having to remove it from the board. A lot of programmers have a ZIF socket which allows the the chip to be removed and replaced very easily, but even this can be a pain for a newbie like myself who is constantly changing the chip because of one or two lines of modified code.
I have this programmer - Kit150- but it is not easy to use with the 18F series of chips. In fact it took me about 2 months to get it going with 18F. It has worked fine with the 16F. I am waiting for delivery of this dev board- easypic5. I am doing a touchscreen gauge system for my car.

 

Hey Superbrew,

Well the brain is numb yet again but I am getting closer. Do you think I could use a 16F chip? I saw a nice starter kit that pretty much comes with everything but it is a bit pricey at $200.

Man your project sounds really nice, I look forward to seeing how it goes for you. Thanks again for all your help.

ted

 

If you decide to stick with the 18F and you want something simple like BASIC take a look at Swordfish BASIC SE (the free student edition should have no problem with your LED display)

__________________
Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

 

Hey Bill,

Thanks for that info, I was so impressed with the Junebug I ordered one off the ebay site. I look forward to playing with it soon. Easypic5 really has a lot to it and perhaps someday I'll work my way up to it. Well I guess that's it for now, LED's came in today so I have some pods to build now and I hope to get the programmer next eek some time.

Thanks again for all your assistance.
Ted

 

That's great, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

__________________
Bill
Smart Kits build Smart People
http://www.blueroomelectronics.com

 

hey tallan, i think im trying to do something very similar. i want to slowly chase/fade between 3 different LEDs, have you found a simple circuit to do that?

 

Hey AT,

Are you looking for PIC code or just a basic circuit?

Some for the Hello world code can be slowed down for chases but the dimming is a little more complex.

It involves PWM which is what I am currently learning. Good info on this board though so search it
and you may find what your looking for.

if it's just a circuit look at the basic circuits they have posted here already.
http://www.electro-tech-online.com/electronic-projects/

Enjoy
Ted

 

Hey AT,

Man I have just started working on it again as I now have some free time again.

Here is what I have so far high level format.

I'm using junebug and the 1320 PIC

Rev 1

will be powered at 120V

It will use Triac's for high power outlets.
Circuit will be isolated to 5V via Diodes or rectifier.

Chase rate will be variable and adjustable.

8 outputs for chases.

Rev 2

Will chase / fade or both and fade and have adjustable fadeout times.

And that's about it, unless you see something we can add to it.

I'm working the circuit currently and almost have something ready to post for review. Just checking the PIC data sheet to make sure it looks good.

I won't ask for comments yet until I have the code and circuit posted but hopefully sometime this weekend it will be complete.

Ted