[TowerTalk] Ameritron RCS-4 question

[Charlie Gallo]

On 9/27/2011 Al Kozakiewicz wrote:

> I have a lifetime supply of 70's vintage TTL.  Until I discovered
> the PIC, I probably would have done what you suggest with a BCD decoder chip.

Yep, probably how I would have done it too

> I personally think the Arduino is an oddball device, though it is
> open source and already assembled.  The PIC has a very large user
> base and the basic IDE and assembler are free.  Supported high level
> languages like C and VB are not free. For simple combinatorial logic
> and sequencing, I found the assembler sufficiently easy to learn.

It is - I'm a professional coder, and PICS are not hard, BTDT, got the paycheck - I was thinking arduino more for "it's easy for the readers to learn to reprogram it" (would even think of a Netduino because of that) 

The BIGGEST issue, parts wise. is the RCS-4 isn't using logic levels inside, the control signals are 1/2 wave AC+, 1/2 wave AC-, full wave AC, and None (think of each 1/2 wave of the AC as a bit) - and it's NOT really that well regulated, and you DO need to pass the power to pull the remote relays - this pretty much means NOT using a solid state device to do this, but small signal relays (use double pole, and you can use the 2nd pole for the front panel LEDs)  The problem is, looking at Mouser, you're gonna end up paying about $3/relay, and you need at LEAST 3 (if not 4, and make it easier for the unwashed masses to understand)

Given the fact that I really don't expect the end user to know assembly (heck, for that matter, don't expect them to understand the C++ arduino code/C# netduino code), the BCD chip and jumper method would probably be best for a commercial product/wide spread USE product for a QST article, where using an Arduino would probably make for the most interesting "article" for QST (not worrying about sales/cost on the project end).  I was thinking if we do  it, it's more a "here is a cool new thing, the Arduino, and here is something useful you can do with it"

The decision would go to decoder and jumpers for a commercial product (and probably go through the effort to use all solid state vs relays) to make it "idiot proof" (well idiot resistant, there is no such thing as idiot proof)



-- 
73 de KG2V - Charles Gallo
Quality Custom Machine-shop work for the radio amateur (sm)