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I recently upgraded my home control stuff to a Zigbee mesh network. I chose to use a Hubitat-C8 as my Zigbee coordinator because it was easy to set up new devices & control schemes and most importantly the Hubitat continues to operate when the internet goes down (unlike some other hubs)...

The following code can be downloaded to your Picaxe chip to quickly test your mp3 player make a directory called 01 on your SD card make mp3 tracks 001.mp3 to 010.mp3 in folder 01 note that you can make up to 99 (01 to 99) numbered folders each holding 255 tracks symbol XW = w2 ...

most mp3 players require 9600 baud & use the following format The following is used on a 20M2 chip but will work on other Picaxe variants. Note that hserout may be on different pins depending on Picaxe type. The alias register stuff shown below lets me switch Picaxe flavors easily. This allows...

hi Julian, The attached pdf is from an old 805x project that sends/receives IR & X10 codes. It's been working a long time so I guess the design is sound. Maybe you can use the portion that shows the IR transmit & receive for your project. Good luck!

It would certainly be possible to write a PC app for writing & downloading ladder logic to Picaxe chips. There would have to be a reason or need for doing that. Right now I can’t think of one. Maybe for an application with a lot of complex conditional logic (but then I wouldn’t use a Picaxe)...

If you need an accurate elapsed time counter, use the 1 second output from a DS1307 If high accuracy is not a concern, use the Picaxe TIME variable. from my very first Picaxe project (albeit not my first rodeo): https://picaxeforum.co.uk/threads/picaxe-kayak-control-project.28063/ Picaxe Kayak...

Yep, that would work. The only way to know 100% if a reset has occurred is to connect a 1-shot that must be toggled within 500mS or it will set an LED on (the main loop always runs less than that). I have changed both yak servos to a different brand & have not had another fault yet. If it...

That's what I'm thinking. I changed the servo but haven't had a glitch yet (maybe 7 years is asking too much of a servo). I also added an LED to the controller display box that toggles at the end of each main loop iteration. I'm thinking that if the Picaxe program goes off the rails, the LED...

hi hippy, Excellent info on using servos with a Picaxe! I have been running both the speed & steering on my kayak trolling motor since Spring 2015 using the PWMOUT and PWMDUTY approach with no problems. However, over the past couple of months I have seen a few (albeit rare) malfunctions...

for rock-solid servo positioning (I use for setting trolling motor steering): (use Picaxe pwmout to set update freq, pwmduty to set pulse width) (note: on my servo I used 0.8ms…2.2mS, depends on servo travel allowed) For a standard servo: given that: a servo is controlled by sending it a pulse...

Yep, sounds like RS232 should be fine. Attached an RS485 example in case anyone wants to build a 'lil Picaxe network. Y'all have a great day!

Well, I worked in heavy industry for 30 years, so here’s what I have seen work: RS232 (e.g. MAX232 +/-12v) in foil shield 1 end of shield grounded (or not). (9600baud @ 50ft usually not a problem) Tach & power supply signals in drive panels tightly twisted with no shielding. Always twist DC...

You could use a DS1307 clock chip’s RAM as an I2C handoff. That way it could be made to work with most flavors of Picaxes & would be way faster than serial. Would need a “Busy” line from OLED/LCD driver & a “Data Available” line from the Sender. The 1Hz output from the DS1307 is also useful...

hi manuka. The reference to “AX8052F100 data radio” was just to show an example of a modern 8052-based uProc as a possible host for a modernized 8052-BASIC. The “data radio” portion of the chip might not necessarily be used. A “data radio” could be used to send encrypted wireless data...

hi Flenser, I have a lot of 8052-BASIC boards left over from projects we did in the 90s, so I haven’t had to buy any in decades. We used them because it was the quickest way to do small add-on projects (barcode gens, joystick controllers for old CNC machines, etc.). It was much faster & easier...

hi erco, The thing that can be confusing when going from Picaxe to “C-like” languages is the concept of local variables. Unlike Picaxe where variables exist inside/outsite of procedures (aka subroutines in Picaxe), in “C-like” languages, a procedure (subroutine) is like a closed box: i.e. you...

For-What-it’s Worth Dept.: I am an old retired guy who worked with technology all of my life. Now, I have used C, C++, Java(yuk), etc. and it’s all good (at least sometimes). However… for most of my boating & home projects: The best solution is usually the simplest solution (hello Picaxe)...

hi erco, no experiments needed (note all this stuff is done in “Picaxe Kayak Control” app as well as PCA9685 control (very similar)) (used Picaxe pwmout to set update freq, pwmduty to set pulse width) (note: on my servo I used 0.8ms…2.2mS, depends on servo travel allowed) For a standard servo...

The link Phil gave to Dataq is spot on. I used Dataq for years in a heavy industrial environment & it can be used to record & measure just about anything (albeit we used the high-end Dataq stuff). The advantage to their Windaq software is that you can record at very high speeds on multiple...

For-what-it’s-worth dept.: My very first Picaxe project (Kayak Control System) was the hardest one I’ve done to date. My buddy (Lewis) wanted to use a Picaxe-20M2 because it had 4 PWM outputs & he said the circuit-boards would be easier to lay out. Having never used a Picaxe before, I was...