EngIP

Thanks for the replies guys. I've used a cheapo PID controller I had lying about, which is giving me +/- 0.5 degree C error, which is more than sufficient. Implementing the control on a 430 would have meant doing all of the ancilliary work, such as power supplies to the chip (240V AC down to 4V DC), interfacing GPIO to real world devices (alarm relays, contactors and the SSR), and building a HMI into the system - interesting from a personal point of view, but time consuming from the commercial viewpoint. My oven hasn't got any desireable features yet (timer, power consumption monitor,

I've used Altera chips at Uni, but I think (as @@jpnorair said), the decision is more VHDL/Verilog than which chip/board. The QuartusII software is quite nice, and Altera provide online training information which is very useful (Altera University I think they call it). I just started getting into it as time was running out, but it's so mindblowing when you start to grasp the capabilities of the chips - Writing a VGA driver that uses less than one percent of a chips resources was staggering to me (then again, I'm impressed by the "browning" button on the toaster so don't let my enthusiasm

@@yyrkoon - To my untrained mind, heating is heating, be it a pizza oven or a furnace (well, maybe not a furnace). Like you said, only the profile changes really. In the powder coating case, the profile is as simple as "get to setpoint, stay at setpoint for 15 - 25 mins". The items being heated might weigh 100kg/200lbs, and the oven is 6ft x 6ft x 8ft, so this isn't a fast responding process. The only things to really worry about are overshoot and excessive oscillation around the setpoint, but deviation of 5 degrees is acceptable. 200 is the max temp required, and I know my current set

@@yyrkoon - This isn't a reflow oven, it's a curing oven for powder paint (powder coating) - I've dry run it up to 200 centigrade, the elements perform fine (though I'm going to add another 9kW to ensure continuous operation, giving me a blistering 27kW of heating elements). IR is no good for my application, though it is used in powder coating. @@spirilis - This is the thing - I'm sure I could get a working PID control loop (or PI) with the 430, but I'm not convinced it's the best route forward when I can steal my Eurotherm 2408 from the existing oven. The price of the thing suggests it'

I'm currently in the middle of an oven project (those with good memories will know I started something similar about 3 years ago!). It's using electric heating elements and thermocouples for the temp. sensing. I'm liking the thought of a complete MSP430 controlled system, giving me masses of flexibility with control options. On the other hand, a bespoke PID controller will have significantly better control algorithms, and probably better temperature control. Then there's a third option - use a PID controller to control the heating elements, but use a supervisory 430 to handle displays

Time based is what I'm going for, all I want to do is see how well it can perform. As a minimum spec, I'd say <3m accuracy in open field conditions would suffice. I did originally intend to integrate various other factors in, such as predictive algorithms, signal strength etc. - but it would have forced my hand with the project, whereas I want to keep it as open as possible (then suggest an application once I've determined the capabilities). I hear what you're saying with frequencies, I'm hoping I can get a proof of concept with my 869MHz system, then suggest lower frequency/higher po

Good stuff, thank you! I'm happy to ignore the algorithmic side of things, there's people who can do a far better job of that than me. My interest lies in the distance measuring - TOA, TDOA etc. I guess there's a limit to the cell sizes, but 1/50 @ 20m cells is very impressive! My application is distance measurement in high multipath environments, restricted to the narrow bandwidth and power available in the license exempt spectrum (ISM 869MHz). That said, I can transmit at 500mW in the 869.4-869.65 band. which should be enough for my purposes. I'm avoiding "special hardw

Just to ask this again, in case you missed it - I'd love to know how you went about it and how well it performed. Of course this is an open question - anyone with ideas or experience please chip in. Sorry for the thread-jack OP, but I think it's in the same area as what you were asking, but if you'd rather I can start a seperate thread.

To what resolution/accuracy, and for what environment? I'd be very interested in anything you can share.

I'm attempting something similar, but using RF only. As has been suggested above, the trilateration aspect might be best implemented on a more suitable device than the MSP430 (though I'm sure it's not impossible).

Thank you! I did think it strange, but the code example I was using just used the '=' operator, so I blindly followed. Again, thanks, all is working as expected now

I want to "clock" how many cycles it takes for my code to get from line x to line y. Could someone please advise me on how to set this up. I've tried TACTL = TASSEL_2 + ID_0 + MC_0; // Set up source (SMCLK), divider (1), timer halted TACTL = MC_2; // Start timer in continuous mode __delay_cycles(2345); // Do stuff x=TAR; // Copy timer register into x TACTL = MC_0; // Stop timer As it stands, x always has a value of 0. Obviously I'm missing important code, but I don't know what. Code examples I've see

You need the contrast pot. If you haven't got the contrast set, you'll either see all black squares or all clear. If you don't have a pot handy, you could use 2 equal resistors, lead 1 of resistor A to Vcc, lead 1 of resistor B to Gnd, and the other leads of the resistors connected together at the contrast input. You might get lucky

Also, if it's just the one or two you're after, TI will supply you with a free sample - find the product page and request a sample from there. As advised above, go for the MSP430G2553 - it's the daddy of the valueline chips. Personally I'd get a new 1.5 Launchpad - it comes with a G2553 and one other decent spec valueline chip, and you get the redesigned layout which allows for the jumpers to be rotated for hardware or software uart.

Plenty for me to chew on there - thank you