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Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:41 pm Post subject: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

At 01:20 PM 4/7/2012, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "gregmchugh" <gregmchugh(at)aol.com>



 Bob,



 Thanks for the info.



 What is the limiting factor on power to the LED's?



 I am planning to use the Teledyne LED lights that use 45 watts, so

 about 4 amps at 12 volts for each light. What changes would be

 needed to up the power capability by a factor of two. Different parts?

 Different packaging? Different connector? Heatsinks? 	


   Heatsinks. Just because a device is RATED at xx

   amps, doesn't mean that it will carry that current

   waving around in breeze . . . unless it's a strong

   breeze and maybe down around -40 or so. The parts

   as shown are good for over 10A if the FETs are

   thoughtfully accommodated with respect to getting

   rid of their heat.



   Actually, these fets might be okay at 5A with little

   or no heatsinking . . . didn't bother to run the numbers.

   But in any case, upsizing for the larger lamps is no big

   deal.



  	  Quote: 	
		  What is the frequency of the wig-wag function and how is that set

 by the components? 	


   The 1M/1uF network sets flash rate. That combination

   with the 4093's I had in the bin gave about 340 mS

   in one state and 450 mS in the others. One of the

   characteristics of the cmos-gate astable is that

   the hysteresis band is not centered between Vcc/Vdd,

   hence the peg-leg gait of the flash pattern. 



   Of course, this wouldn't hurt the serviceability of

   the device . . . in fact, folks would know who was

   inbound from many miles out by the pattern of your

   wig-wag.



   The 'fix' would be to add a resistor and diode in

   parallel with the 1M and adjust for better symmetry

   -OR- change the oscillator to a 555 timer -OR- add

   a divide by two flip-flop and double the frequency

   of the oscillator.



   The design goal was minimum parts count but with some

   additional 'silicon herbs and spices' . . . the flavor

   of the dish can be improved.



  	  Quote: 	
		   I am a software engineer so I know enough

 about hardware design to be dangerous, but I am in the process

 of learning more. 	


   Good for you! We all gotta start somewhere. My career

   got officially launched in the basement of an uncle who

   was big wig engineer for local power company. He taught

   me the early motions of soldering things together . . .

   with an iron that was the size of a billy club and took

   20 minutes to warm up!



   Hmmm . . . if you can herd the bytes around in a

   microcontroller, there are some $1 devices from PIC that

   would take care of your flash timer and push-pull outputs

   to logic level gates on power fets. Of course, other

   inputs could be used to control OFF/WW/ON functionality.



   If you're interested in getting your feet wet in

   etched circuit board layout, check out the free

   CAD package from expresspcb.com



   It might even be that the end-product can be fitted

   into this stock enclosure



 [img]cid:.0[/img]



 

  

   There's a gazillion ways to do this. Let's pick one

   that gets your juices going . . .    



 

   Bob . . .

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gregmchugh

Joined: 03 Apr 2012
Posts: 42

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 9:47 am Post subject: Re: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

Bob,



Thanks for the follow-up info.



I do like the idea of going with a micro to allow programmable

functions with a standard module/connector design. 



What is the source for the d-sub enclosure you suggested?



How much current can be handled by a single pin on the connector?



Greg McHugh

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2012 2:12 pm Post subject: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

At 12:47 PM 4/8/2012, you wrote:

 --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "gregmchugh" <gregmchugh(at)aol.com>



 Bob,



 Thanks for the follow-up info.



 I do like the idea of going with a micro to allow programmable

 functions with a standard module/connector design. 



 What is the source for the d-sub enclosure you suggested?



   got a bucket full of them . . .



 

 How much current can be handled by a single pin on the connector?



   5A but I'd parallel up two pins for each power

   path . . . there are plenty of extras. I qualified

   this process on a military targets program about

   15 years ago.



  http://tinyurl.com/7h9h76r



   for this power distribution controller



  http://tinyurl.com/8x5rssq



   for this target



  http://tinyurl.com/6myc494



   Works good, lasts a long time.



   First gate to pass is to select logic level

   FETs with sufficient current rating and make

   sure you can get rid of the heat in this

   2.8 x 1.4 footprint.



 [img]cid:.0[/img]



   Here's the schematic for this particular layout.



  http://tinyurl.com/7m56z8o



   Depending on what parts are put on, which are

   left off, what the values are and what software

   is in the uC, you can do a lot of different things

   with it . . . and probably the next generation

   wig wag.



   You game to herd byes in a PIC RISC?



 

 

   Bob . . .

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gregmchugh

Joined: 03 Apr 2012
Posts: 42

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2012 8:21 am Post subject: Re: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

Bob,



I probably should have changed the Subject line on this but I decided to leave it alone to continue

the thread we had started. It is getting away from the LED wig-wag topic...



I have thought about this a little and I think it would be worthwhile to consider the option of a general purpose

programmable module and use the LED wig-wag as a simple example application. I see three useful

characteristics for this module:



1. Functionality set in software

2. Some capability to configure the I/O circuits for each application

3. A standard module package and connector such as the one you showed using an enclosed case with d-sub connector



To be useful for a wide audience there needs to be simple learning curve for developing the software

functionality and I/O configuration. I agree that the use of a PIC micro would be the way to go based on

their ready availability, good price per performance, and availability of development tools.



In order to make it attractive for general use I would propose the following:



Software Development - The learning curve for using the standard PIC software development tools

is pretty steep for a novice and I would expect many would shy away from that learning curve. There

are some third party development tools designed to ease the learning curve but at a price of $150 and up

they are not targeted at the novice hobbyist. An attractive option is the line of PICAXE micros targeted

at the education market and easily applied to the types of applications being considered here (I don't

think we are looking at applications that require high performance embedded processing). You can

get started with PICAXE development for $25 to $50 depending on which processor and which

downloading cable you use. The PICAXE development environment is free and easy to use for the

novice with the capability to simulate the micro operation without connection to a micro. The use

of a version of BASIC designed for embedded applications makes it easy to program but there

is an execution speed hit due to the use of a code interpreter in the PICAXE micro instead of using a compiler

to generate machine code for a plain PIC. Again, I don't see this execution speed penalty as a major issue for

most applications. As you gain experience you could make a switch to standard PIC micros and

use C or assembly language. The group behind PICAXE (Revolution Education in Britain) gets funds from

selling the PICAXE versions of the PIC micro (preloaded with the program loader and interpreter) and

development boards/kits. Here is a link to the free software development environment:



http://www.picaxe.com/Software/PICAXE/PICAXE-Programming-Editor



You can find more PICAXE info at (including lots of examples and tutorials):



http://www.picaxe.com/



and there are three U.S. distributers:



http://www.sparkfun.com/categories/125



http://www.robotshop.com/search/search.aspx?locale=en_us&keywords=picaxe



http://www.phanderson.com/picaxe/



I/O Configuration - In parallel with a need for easy software development I see a need for easy configuration

of I/O interfaces to the devices outside the module. There a plenty of examples and tutorials for interfacing

the PICAXE to all types of devices and here are some examples of general purpose modules that allow

I/O configuration (usually through the provision of a prototyping area on the module):



From VX-Aviation, the Proton-225 board based on a PIC micro with a prototyping area and a package

using standard d-sub 25 pin connectors and housing which is compatible with the other products they provide. You can download a pdf description here:



http://www.vx-aviation.com/docs.html



From PICAXE there are several standard development boards that include the provision for varying levels of I/O configuration:



http://www.picaxe.com/Hardware/Project-Boards/PICAXE-08-Proto-Board/



http://www.picaxe.com/Hardware/Project-Boards/PICAXE-14-Project-Board/



http://www.picaxe.com/Hardware/Project-Boards/PICAXE-18-Project-Board/



I don't know enough about hardware design to know if the use of these types of boards or even just a prototyping board

from Radio Shack are robust enough to handle the environment of mounting in an experimental aircraft but based on the

VX-Aviation module it would seem they may be up to the job...



Anyway, this note is getting a little long so I will end it here. I would appreciate feedback from anyone who is interested

in something along these lines in order to see if my thoughts on this make any sense to anyone beside me. I am only

interested as an end user of the module and have no real interest in designing / producing any type of hardware boards.

I can handle setting up the I/O circuits on a pre-made board but I don't have much interest in board development even

though I know it is something that is not that hard to learn. Just a matter of only so many things that you can do, even

when you are retired from a "real" job. I have read and studied the AeroElectric Connection book and have a draft

design for the electrical system on the Sonex Xenos motor glider that I am building. But as I pointed out in a previous note,

like most software engineers, I know just enough about hardware design to be dangerous...



Greg McHugh

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:38 pm Post subject: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

At 11:57 AM 4/9/2012, you wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		  



To that goal, I'd like to suggest using an Arduino.


	


  This is a highly capable device but a bit of an

  overkill for things like wig-wag flashers, voltage

  monitors, etc.



  The challenge is to exploit the scope of

  projects that can be implemented in a user

  friendly package of the smallest practical

  size, cost and parts count. An already stuffed

  Arduino board has no aviation friendly i/o

  or even an enclosure for $30. I would expect

  the wig-wag flasher to be drop-in ready for

  use on an airplane and have total bill of

  materials under $20 or so.

   Bob . . .

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fvfdums

Joined: 13 Dec 2019
Posts: 1

Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:48 pm Post subject: Re: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

oh,it is a good idea.Good ideas are just for everyone to share.



--------------------------------------------------------------------



My stepper motor website:skysmotor.com - Machinery Design ? - ? Stepper Moter Development



"Necessity is the mother of invention." - Author unknown.

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nuckolls.bob(at)aeroelect
Guest

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2019 8:16 am Post subject: Next generation wig-wag controller for LED lamps

At 09:48 PM 12/15/2019, you wrote:

  	  Quote: 	
		  --> AeroElectric-List message posted by: "fvfdums" <kakaxiu9(at)gmail.com>



 oh,it is a good idea.Good ideas are just for everyone to share.



 --------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 My stepper motor website:skysmotor.com ( https://www.skysmotor.com/) - Machinery Design ? - ? Stepper Moter Development



 "Necessity is the mother of invention." - Author unknown. 	


   INTERLOPER . . . IGNORE



 

 

   Bob . . .

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