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Hi, It's not a Black and White situation, there will be lots of Grey in between. But I would define a Micro Controller as being "small" with all the major functions including memory on a single chip and NOT particularly intended for "Number Crunching". The PIC(axe) is a good example, as its...

Hi, Yes, "Phantom Powering" is a gotcha for ALL pins on a PIC(axe), so you also need to be careful with Serial Communications, etc.. The only exception is the Programming/MR "Input Only" pin (which may have its own issues). The "Electrostatic Protection" diodes (rated up to 20 mA) connect...

Hi, Actually it's Odd numbers that (might) need to be avoided, because all the Factors of 65535 (iterations per cycle) are Odd (14 of them). But of course two odds make an Even so it won't often be an issue. Probably not relevant to this particular thread, but I've recently updated my RANDOM...

Hi, Not really. Perhaps most MicroControllers (which is what PIC{axe} really is) or MicroProcessors are still 8-bits, but today most MicroComputers would use 16 , 32 or 64 bits. But the Byte remains the main unit of data storage. Why 8 bits? I don't really know, but it's a "convenient" number...

Hi, ? ...The "Lowest" voltage a PICaxe can measure is zero volts, giving an ADC output value of 0 ! If you mean the Lowest (or Best) "Resolution" (which is NOT the same as "Accuracy") then with a 3 volt Reference, the nominal Resolution with READADC10 would be 3000 / 1024 or just under 3 mV...

Hi, Often when responding to questions concerning Random numbers in the Active Forum, I link across to this thread, so perhaps it's time for an Update. The need to accurately emulate the RANDOM command in PE5 is probably now very rare, so I am changing the emphasis onto ensuring that the...

Hi, Welcome to the forum. You might struggle to get a definitive answer because most members don't program with Flowcharts and probably don't have a SRF005 or a PICaxe-18 Project Board (me included) to test the hardware. It's generally recommended to post your complete Program (in Basic) and...

Hi, Ah, quite an "unusual" application which may affect the options quite significantly. Thus the "boxcar" proposal in #19 might be more relevant, but doesn't need a "Time of Flight" sensor; a simple active IR detector should be sufficient**, or going to the other extreme, it could use a GPS...

Hi, Yes, it looks as if that should work, although it seems "unnecessary" to switch the top end of the LEDs. Also, it looks as if the 10 ohm resistors and the LEDs will all need to be rated to at least 1 watt each (and the power supply to around 10 watts). Cheers, Alan.

Hi, The majority of Active Sensors will probably have a "TTL" type of output which should be fairly easy to transmit over 10 metres or more. You might even locate an 08M2 {LE} PICaxe at each sensor to transmit its data over a "one wire" data bus and greatly simplify the connections and the...

Hi, Agreed ! Since we are considering 20 sensors, my motto would be KISS (Keep It SimpleS). Trying to "hide" transmitter/receivers in trackside buildings, etc. just seems like too much (unnecessary) work and cost. Also there can be a lot of IR in daylight which might still "saturate" a (40...

Hi, I totally agree that the OP should test one sensor before building 20 ! But I suspect that a sky-facing Retroreflective sensor might be even less reliable (and more difficult to hide in the track) than an ambient-light "shadow-detecting" sensor. In another thread the OP has proposed a...

Hi, Electronically, the DPScope-SE and the PCB-Scope are almost identical and use exactly the same software. The DPScope-SE was built into a box with BNC connectors (for standard 'scope probes) and a different type of USB connector, so the PCB-Scope was about half of the price. Incidentally...

Hi, Yes, the "ADC" part indicates that the pin has an internal connection to the ADC module. The number indicates the "Channel" number which "should" be used in the READADC or READADC10 command, not the Port.Pin number. In practice the compiler does "understand" the Port.Pin number, but NOT...

Hi, The link to the datasheet in the PICaxe Store appears to be broken, but it is HERE. I don't know the exact details of the board but the FETs are inverters and might "fight" any resistor bypassing them. Better to remove the FET(s) [EDIT: Ah, I see you said that] and/or disconnect the...

Hi, By high power (board?) do you mean a PCB with an extra "driver" chip? Those chips are usually "Open Collector" (and inverting) so you probably need to remove the chip and put a link (or links) between its relevant input and output pins. If that seems to be the problem we can probably help...

Hi, Indeed, generally I woud prefer to write an "Equation" or "Formula" to convert an Input value to an Output value, rather than "conditional" statements. But at the moment here, constructing the "Formula" looks to be very difficult, if not impossible: In descriptive terms the function...

Hi, So you just want to use the COUNT command to count servos pulses and detect a "problem" (when the count is zero) ? Is the servo output only THEN required to move another Servo? I can see no problem if the program ONLY reads a COUNT value in a loop (although there might be better ways to...

Hi, Yes indeed, that is very do-able, probably even with the humblest 08M2 {LE} PICaxe and up to at least 100 times per second. :) It must be remembered that the RANDOM command (and any FSR based system) is only "Pseudo Random", but it is only necessary to understand its "Limitations", and...

Hi, Yes, there is a slight "hole" in the original specification. It's clear that the OP requires all 16 combinations (noting that one is "No LEDs Lit"), but it's not stated how a change from one combination to the next is to be identified. Most times it will be obvious and a "blank" (all OFF)...