Download cable length

[rq3]

Has anyone any experience with extending the AXE027 download cable? I've made a roughly 2 meter long extension with the appropriate 3.5mm socket on one end to fit the AXE027 plug, and a 3 pin Molex KK at the other to fit my circuit board (which will be buried in my refrigerator). The extension is twisted 28 gauge wire (Ground, SerIn, Serout), and will allow the socket to be accessible while the fridge door is closed (with the three wires squeezing under the door gasket).

The board download circuit is the standard 10K/22K resistors. Thoughts?

Thanks,
Rip

 

[inglewoodpete]

I have used a 3-metre 3.5mm-to-3.5mm extension lead in combination with an AXE027 lead to program a PICAXE mounted in a cabinet high on a wall. The arrangement was reliable for programming the PICAXE as well as transferring data to and from it.

The cable was made of figure 8 audio grade shielded wire.

 

[erco]

Probably not a problem at 2 meters. I've used a 48" regular audio extension cable on occasion with my homemade Goeytex-inverted SiLabs CP2102 cable, which is ~24" long. IIRC that is a shielded cable (shield is grounded) so if you experience any trouble with twisted conductors, try shielded cable.

EDIT: IWP beat me to it, he must type faster than me.

 

[fernando_g]

EDIT: IWP beat me to it, he must type faster than me.

Its called the time zone handicap.

He is at UTC+8, and you are at UTC-8.

 

[inglewoodpete]

EDIT: IWP beat me to it, he must type faster than me.

I knew there had to be some benefits to living on this side of the world .

You can go to bed now, gents - the morning shift has arrived!

 

[lbenson]

I have very much appreciated this facet of the forum. I can ask a question late at night here in Atlantic Canada, go to bed, and wake up to answers from Australia and New Zealand. The sun never sets on picaxe chips.

 

[rq3]

Many thanks to you all! I'll give it a try tonight. With a new design it's nice to have a warm and fuzzy feeling about new things, before freaking out and trying to fix things that aren't broken.

 

[rq3]

The 2 meter AXE027 download cable extension works just fine. Scope probing during the download looked very clean. The picaxe is happily driving two optoisolated solid state relays, each switching a 250 watt load.

 

[Circuit]

The 2 meter AXE027 download cable extension works just fine. Scope probing during the download looked very clean. The picaxe is happily driving two optoisolated solid state relays, each switching a 250 watt load.

Always good to hear of a successful project; may I ask which opto-isolated solid-state relays you are using?

 

[rq3]

Always good to hear of a successful project; may I ask which opto-isolated solid-state relays you are using?

Teledyne LS24D16C. Rated for 240 VAC, 16 amps. I'm switching a 120 VAC motor at 1.4 amps, and the relay temperature rise is only 4 degrees F, even with no heatsink.