NatureTM

I've been using the scroll wheel normally in CCSv4. Are you running mouse software like logitech setpoint or something for a touchpad? I know some of them have settings like, "scroll the window under my mouse even if it isn't focused." Maybe it could matter if CCS opens a hidden window or does something weird like that. :?:

Wow RobG, that's a lot of good stuff. Do you work with this kind of thing on a day-to-day basis? I'd already started implementing your first schematic before checking back to see your later posts. It's a good fit for me as it requires the least amount of changes to my existing hardware, and doesn't require me to buy any new parts. I worked on it for an hour or two, but most of the time was spent de-soldering my previous work from the perf-board. I didn't leave myself enough room for the diodes. I've already got some msp430 code for it, so I'll check back in when I get the hardware

Don't you read simpleavr's sig? Haha, yeah, I actually thought of that. The fact that it's written like it's coming from a caveman doesn't help either!

Hey Rob, thanks for such a well-thought-out and complete answer. You raised a lot of good points and gave some good ideas. I guess the 2-switch short kills my original idea, even if I changed the transistor logic. The schematic you gave looks good. I think I'll either try that, use one of your other ideas, or maybe look around for other proven methods. Kindof a bummer. I should have used a breadboard first.

Man, I noticed my hardware is different from the schematic I've been staring at. I have that 1K resistor on the other side of the 2K2 resistor, by the base of the last transistor. This deserves an updated schematic, but I can't tonight. Don't worry about this thread for now. I'll get back to you tomorrow when I fix the discrepancy. Sorry.

I didn't try that, but according to the datasheet the recommended voltage range is 2V - 6V. I also have verified the signals from the johnson counter are advancing normally, even while the button is pressed.

Here's an interesting thread about this issue: http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/t/60157.aspx I guess it boils down to the fact that binary representation isn't oficially supported by the C language. A couple of solutions are offered by the thread. One is that header file with all the defines already made, the other is a macro. I'm not an expert on compilers, but I'd think the header would do the job fine without wasting cpu cycles.

I posted this in another thread: When I posted that, I had the hardware built but hadn't tested it yet. I guess I skipped the all-important breadboarding step. Anyway, it doesn't work. Here's the schematic: http://naturetm.com/files/img002.jpg I hooked up my brand new logic analyzer, and saw that when I hit a switch, the output to the microcontroller stayed low. I expected it to only pulse low for the duration that the johnson counter was powering that particular switch. My EE skill is pretty poor. I need to finish calc III before they'll let me learn it I guess. I'm h

If it's what I'm thinking, then a schematic would be both useful and complicated. I say you add one. Crap, I'm not getting it to work right. :-/

Those differences in current consumption were pretty significant. Good find. It would be pretty useful to someone who was testing the current consumption of their project while still developing it on the launchpad.

Well, I might as well tell how I'm supporting up to 100 switches with my Renesas design contest project. I've got 2 johnson counters. The first is clocked by a timer clock. The second is clocked with the first JC's carry output. First, let's say I have only 10 switches and one JC. The JC's 10 outputs connect to each of the 10 switches. The other side of all the switches are tied together to one output, which is connected to a uC input pin. As the timer counts up, the timer clock output connected to the JC increments which switch gets power. If a switch is pressed, the uC gets a sign

Or hack a Nokia phone cable for serial? (~$1-2 on eBay) Good call, Doc. I forgot about that. I just bought 2 from eBay. http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-DATA-CABLE-CA-42-CA42-CD-NOKIA-7260-6101-6100-/290425651135?pt=PDA_Accessories&hash=item439eb7bfbf

Yeah, I got one around Christmas. I've only used it a little as I have too many other things going. I think it will make a nice dev board, but its mobility is pretty weak. Down the road, I'd probably like to add treads if I decide to use it as a robot. It may also take a bit of time to familiarize oneself with uC/OS. If you're like me and haven't used a microcontroller operating system before, you should plan on doing some reading.

You could use an FTDI chip that does usb to serial. I've bought breakouts with them from sparkfun, but you might be able to get a better price if you dig around.

Hey, Dr Jefyll. I scanned over your site. I'll have to give it a better read when I get the chance. It looks like you've had your hands on a lot of sexy hardware, from commercial radio transmitters to IBM mainframes. Nice to have you in the forums!

I did buy that cable. I think I need 4 of them for 32 channels, so I went on dealextreme and bought some test clips. If I need more channels, I'll try making my own cable. I don't know how justified I am in buying this, I just really wanted it. I might end up choosing projects just so I can use it.

Does __delay_cycles() just insert nops? If so, it really would have cleaned up my tv output code.

So I bought this logic analyzer: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9857 It seemed like a steal to me. I was just wondering if anyone has ever used one, or if anyone had any opinions about it. Wait, that was a lie. I think I'm just excited and wanted to brag. Still, what do you think? If it saves me a couple long nights of tweaking and guesswork, I'll be happy. I think it'll make a good learning tool too. I hope free day doesn't make it take a month to ship.

How is that book? I haven't cracked mine yet; haven't even looked at the terms of the "$1000" license we won. Eh. Parts of it make me say, "that's really clever," or it shines some light on some other related topic about OS'es I was wondering about. The rest of the time it's like reading a technical document. Sometimes, the authors of books like this try to use some humor or analogies to make it an easier read. This guy didn't. There were several times I wanted to skip using the OS altogether. There's a fair amount of extra coding involved with using it. Now that I've read a

hahaha. Nice one!

Hey, that's interesting. I've been reading the uC/OS-III manual recently. This reminds me of how it deals with interrupts. It would be neat to implement priorities and communication between processes too. I guess you might now have much RAM or flash left over for your actual application if you did all that though.

Hmm... That's a 32-bit 80Mhz floating-point processor. Doc, your bench would be so much cooler if you had one.

I took a look at the schematic and it's supposed to be that way. They're both pulled high through a 47k resistor. Why? I'm not sure. It looks like the pins are connected to some internal peripheral pins labeled SOMI1 and SIMO1.

I gots me some! Thanks!

Hi