hi.... project woes

[georgek86]

hi....
am a 3rd year engg student.....have no practical exp with micro controllers till now.. knows a bit about 8051 series and programming... ... i need to find a good mini project... preferably using microcotrollers... we have been asked to avoid repeats from those done by our seniors...and that neutralizes some good 40 to 50 projects.....someone please help me by suggesting a few good projects... or by providing links to archives............
hope to get redemption through this site.....

 

[HarveyH42]

Tough request, as most people here don't know what kind of projects your seniors have done. 40-50 projects... we hate to play 'guess-and-reject', much more productive things to do with our time. We build projects too...

Since you are learning the chip, and in school, I'd suggest a project that challenges you a little. Think about things that interests you, and maybe something you could use.

I just start with microcontrollers (Atmel) last December, but have two complete projects (need to revise the PCBs). Use search here, for your chip, remember several post, but don't use it myself. Google search engine will give a bunch of links. I know there are several site that are dedicated to your 8051.

Oh, don't let some replys you get discourage you here, many are a little touchy on the homework subject. Most don't mind helping with work in progress, just don't like walking students through it, and having to explain every little detail,

 

[ericgibbs]

hi,

What line of work are going into when you complete your studies ?

If you can give us an idea, which line of engineering you have in mind, we could probably suggest a range of projects.

As Harvey says, if 40-50 are not acceptable, it limits our options.

EricG

 

[georgek86]

hii

hmm...
the education sys differs from place to place...u would be tempted to fly to india and kick my butt.. if i tell u what am going to do after engg... u c different place, different scale of development, different socio economic situation and hence different aspirations... i really liked the idea of electronics and communication engg when joined the course..but the course lacked exposure to practical side... its difficult to retain what u have learned if ur not applying it somewhere....and in few weeks time.. software companies will come to campus and we would become next gen india's cheap labour... but i shouldn't complaining something is better than nothing.. it pays much more than most of the government jobs..and is increasing every year..and one day it might not be that cheap afterall...
please don't feel that u have wasted ur time making the post.. i have decided to make pretty good use of remaining 3 semesters.....have decided to venture in to the practical side..
i know that the normal method is to first learn about few mcs then start doing simple projects..then try out ur ideas and those u happen to come across... but for me it won't work that way.. from no practical exp with mcs... i would have to start on my mini project...i should not have mentioned (40 to 50 projects).forget that feel free to post any circuit...am searching with google hope to find a project soon... then i would need help only if i come across any glitchs.. ................ i have come across one named ....REAL TIME MULTIPLE DEVICE CONTROL ..it uses AT89C52 and DS12887 RTC.... and can be programmed using a phillips tv remote.. up to 24 devices can be switched on and off at precise timings,considering day and month... my tutor told me that the RTC part can cause trouble.. and i too feel that its little too much to be for ur first project...will attach details soon...

 

[HarveyH42]

Forgot to mention one very good resource, Atmel's website. There are dozens of App notes you can download, some code samples. Helped me understand a few things I was struggling with.

Don't sell yourself short, you would be amazed at all you can do, if you try. I didn't learn assembly in school, taught myself on a 6502 computer in the '80s. Hadn't done much programming since moving up to a 286, but surprisingly I haven't had much trouble programming the MCU. Mostly configuring register bits for device features. Haven't been in a classroom since 1984.

 

[3v0]

Allow me to climb up on this handy soapbox.

To some degree I do not understand why you and other students post here looking for projects.

Are you missing the inventor gene ??? Most good engineering students have projects they were working on and a long list of ones they would like to do.

If you have a hobby build a controller related to it. Trains, planes, or rock collecting, You can come up with your own unique project if you think about it.

Appnotes and advice can help but you need to find your own inspiration. Dream, scheme, invent, plan. Then if you run into a snag we can help out.

In the end learning to think is the most important thing you can learn in school. The guy who learns to think can do most anything, others like machines can do only that which they were programmed to do.

 

[gramo]

PIC micros a very easy to learn, and you don’t need to use assembler to develop your programs, there are many higher level and extremely powerful and efficient compilers such as Proton+ out there.

Perhaps this could help you delve into the micro world

 

[georgek86]

hii

things have improved..... i have decided to design an automatic stepup/stepdown transformer.. input range 90v -250v.... output 230v...the switching done by microcontroller... my tutor suggested tiny15... got its datasheets... but decided to do programming in c....(only assembly lang i can understand is that of 89c51)... please help..
i'm new to emdedded sys programming.. i know c programming...but i did it the standard way using editors...
i have avr studio4... can anyone post any link to tutorials to embedded c...(better if refering to tiny)
i don't know how references are made to actual inputs to microcontroller while programming in c...any simple embedded c program as an illustration will also be of great help.....