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<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/system/syndication/rss.xsl" media="screen"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Forum - Recent Threads</title><link>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum</link><description /><dc:language>en-US</dc:language><generator>Telligent Community 12</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2017 12:15:16 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum" /><item><title>is there any programmable counter for counting pulse and giving signals on specific no of pulses</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/31936?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Sun, 29 Oct 2017 12:15:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:ef9a5da7-5b7a-4970-8be5-8635e06cab30</guid><dc:creator>sapkotaasim</dc:creator><slash:comments>5</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/31936?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/31936/is-there-any-programmable-counter-for-counting-pulse-and-giving-signals-on-specific-no-of-pulses/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;i want to make a device for counting the no of pulses and to give signals on some specific no of pulses and i am a starter and teach me without the use of ardunio&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Keil uVision and PSoC5LP</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/23725?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 16:34:38 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:89026d83-5ce0-4144-a7a8-0657d302e5d2</guid><dc:creator>Kilohercas</dc:creator><slash:comments>15</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/23725?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/23725/keil-uvision-and-psoc5lp/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hello,&lt;br /&gt;since i destroyed PSoC4 dev kit, i need to be able program my GUI controller as well as 6000lm PSoC4 controller with Keil.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;So far so good, i was able to install keil, export project from PSoC creator to keil uvision, but i can&amp;#39;t programm it. ( i attached my project, maybe some one&amp;nbsp; you can spot potential problem ? )&lt;br /&gt;When i try to flash program, it says :&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Contents mismatch at: 80000000H !&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Verify Failed!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Error: Flash Download failed&amp;nbsp; -&amp;nbsp; &amp;quot;Cortex-M3&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;i flowed all steps from Third-Party Tools User Guide.pdf, but i get same errors and code is not running.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;if i disable verify option, i get it program, but no activity on led &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/contentimage_5F00_2.png"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/contentimage_2.png-16x16.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=IjhjirGr8JqqlUHjyDZqoN0zKPN7NSlpKYxC0QH8znQ%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=immm8yUNN4xlSuAM2SajLg==" style="max-height: 16px;max-width: 16px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="migration-injected-attachments"&gt;&lt;div style="font-weight:bold;margin:15px 0 5px 0;"&gt;Attachments:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;table style="border:0;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&lt;span class="_se_attachment" id="attid_https://www.element14.com/community/api/core/v3/attachments/126723"&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/CY8C5868LTI_2D00_LP039.rar"&gt;community.element14.com/.../CY8C5868LTI_2D00_LP039.rar&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td width="160"&gt;&lt;span class="_se_attachment" id="attid_https://www.element14.com/community/api/core/v3/attachments/126724"&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/Third_2D00_Party-Tools-User-Guide.pdf"&gt;community.element14.com/.../Third_2D00_Party-Tools-User-Guide.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;td&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:80%;"&gt;Third-Party Tools User Guide.pdf&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Any ideas on how to count pulses and shut off a PWM</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/44525?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Sat, 14 Dec 2013 18:46:02 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:6ec832cd-3126-402b-bcc3-f8fb0ec61133</guid><dc:creator>PaulMakesThings</dc:creator><slash:comments>21</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/44525?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/44525/any-ideas-on-how-to-count-pulses-and-shut-off-a-pwm/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;TL;DR version: How do I count pulses with programmable digital and use the count to shut off 5 PWMs. The count to shut off and the frequency of the PWMs would have to be set in software for each iteration.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I&amp;#39;m trying to figure out a good way to use programmable digital of the PSoC 4 on the pioneer kit to do coordinated stepper moves. Setting up a PWM module was pretty easy, I just need something to shut it off after a set number of pulses. The black box description is this, the software sets the pulse frequency for several modules, 5 in this case, with the timing already calculated so that they will finish their pulses in the same amount of time, then it starts them at the same time, then they all shut off when they&amp;#39;re done and signal (probably via interrupt) back to the software that the move is done and they are ready for the next. I&amp;#39;m thinking the architecture would use one PWM module as the master, if there are not timing glitches they would all finish together, it would stop them, and interrupt that the move was done.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;So far I have found that I can easily set a PWM module for a certain frequency from the software, but I&amp;#39;m not sure how to make a counter shut it off. The algorithm is pretty simple for these moves, you have a known speed in pulses at which each axis can move given the electrical and mechanical limitations of the system, given the number of steps required for a move on each axis and that speed you can find which one will take the longest, and divide the number of pulses for all the others to make them happen in that amount of time. At that point most controllers just use timers to generate and count those pulses, I&amp;#39;d like to figure out a nice efficient way to do it in programmable digital. I think it should be pretty simple if I can just figure out how to count pulses with a counter, then I would have it trigger an interrupt and stop the PWMs when the target is reached, can someone show me how to do that? I&amp;#39;d also be interested in other hardware architectures that can do this.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;As a note, this is for the smarter life challenge, I&amp;#39;m not really worrying about my competitors seeing my code. If I win I want it to be by making the coolest project, not because they got stuck.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Thanks for reading&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>SmarterLife Challenge - Cypress and the Garden Gnomes</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22851?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Mon, 09 Dec 2013 06:27:02 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:a9dfac3e-fa24-4cbf-a051-8014ae4644d1</guid><dc:creator>marsmen</dc:creator><slash:comments>1</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22851?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22851/smarterlife-challenge---cypress-and-the-garden-gnomes/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Last week I was invited to visit Cypress Semiconductor. I live about 20-25 minutes drive from their Lynnwood location.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Living in the Seattle area, I&amp;#39;ve worked with former Cypress employees at other jobs. I even meet one employee through sailing. As small as the world is, I&amp;#39;ve even been drooling over a sailboat for years which is owned by some of the other employees (I got as far as even getting denied financing last year to purchase it, banks don&amp;#39;t like boats). And they all know each other.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;There is a lot to be said about corporate culture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;As we read through the blogs and the projects written by Cypress employees, we form opinions. I&amp;#39;ve been forming mine for a long. I&amp;#39;ve always been really impressed by the Cypress people I meet. Very smart people. Very down to Earth people. Aside from that, I only had one brief professional exposure to Cypress. Always very polite.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;When I got the invitation, I felt like I was going to Oz to meet the Wizards.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I was.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Gagan and Greg both gave me tours. I got to meet a lot of people. Many knew those I&amp;#39;d worked with at other jobs. I felt in good company. Cypress was far more than I ever thought.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Every job I&amp;#39;ve ever had, I&amp;#39;ve always been looked at semi-freakishly. I&amp;#39;m an engineer (physics major) and I love engineering and science. It is my work, my passion, my life. Even though I&amp;#39;ve worked in some seriously nerdy places, I&amp;#39;ve always been the outcast because I create projects at home, think outside the box, find solutions and add a hint of art. I&amp;#39;ve started to create a home wood shop. I&amp;#39;ve built a massive electronics lab (by home standards). I love to design and build things. Anything. I&amp;#39;ve a degree in Precision Machining and in Science. I&amp;#39;m mechanical, electrical, and I dabble in programming.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;At Cypress, I found those who do what I do. Engineering is in their blood, as it is in mine. The home hobbyist as a career. The diversity in skills is the ultimate as it yields a diversity of solutions. They are diverse in their skills, in their backgrounds. They are creative problem solvers and have made and will continue to make great contributions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;At Cypress, I found creativity and engineering at it&amp;#39;s finest.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;At Cypress, I found I was no longer alone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Gagan and Greg, thank you so much for taking the time to formally introduce me Cypress Semiconductor. The friendship shown and encouragement in my project refueled the dimming LED of hope I had begun to develop in my project. The welcome and friendliness, the array of projects and technical paths, the encouragement of engineering solutions and creativity is a very impressive corporate culture.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Cheers!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>SmartLife Challenge: JLynch - Two week catchup.</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22825?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Fri, 06 Dec 2013 03:52:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:171d69d4-b8f0-4e58-9d0e-d62d4ab7a943</guid><dc:creator>marsmen</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22825?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22825/smartlife-challenge-jlynch---two-week-catchup/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;My apologies, totally meant to post last week. Thanksgiving got me distracted.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;What should have been posted last week was some success in reproducing project 45 with stepper-motor control. Using the code from the webpage and not the 50 project zip file made a difference. Also, used the same Arduino Motor controller board. Didn&amp;#39;t use the exact motor, but we still got it to work. I was a little surprised that the Arduino had more &amp;quot;stuff&amp;quot; on it that the L298N kit I&amp;#39;d ordered from Amazon. With that success, now comes the question of ability to development my own motor control for my specific project. We still struggled with the thermistor control, project 41.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;For this week, a big shout out to Victor S for his assistance in troubleshooting and verifying part of the issue we had project 41. We had everything looking just like the project, but for a wire not mentioned (which is all it ever takes). In all the data sheets I&amp;#39;ve read, I&amp;#39;ve not come across this wire, but of course in rereading the data sheets, I found were this was. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Data sheet reading is juggling. Like so many other things, there are multiple publications of the on topic of interest and they are all 80-90% which makes reading through each one tough. This solution is &amp;quot;spelled out&amp;quot; in this doc: CY8CKIT-042 PSoC 4 Pioneer Kit Guide_001-86371_0B_V.pdf. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;One observation, using the PSoC 3/5 Temp Kit shows the reference resistor on the ground side of the voltage divider whilst the thermistor is on the Vdd side. The kit data sheet shows this in the schematic and has some formulas to go with it. However, looking at the Thermistor Code Component icon, the resistors are swapped. I&amp;#39;ve been working a separate battery protection circuit and the design is to have the thermistor on the ground side of the VD.&amp;nbsp; When reviewing the code for the PSoC 4 in project 41, the top design schematic shows the thermistor ground side, but the labeling is thermistor top side. The code icon shows the thermistor ground side. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;In our duplication of project 41, although the comms and buffer had issues, with thermistor top side, we got 3020 = 30.20C and with thermistor on ground side, we got 2500 = 25.00C which is more believable (although my apartment is 22C). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;In the Temp Kit doc is a reference to applying an external voltage to the VD. When we did this, we say the value increase (don&amp;#39;t remember what), but I&amp;#39;m guessing there is some scale in the background that is causing this shift as the VD is about ratio and it shouldn&amp;#39;t matter if Vtotal is 1V, 3V, or 5V. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;So, after a couple hours of head hitting with the thermistor, we busted out the PSoC 3/5 CapSense Expansion Kit, put pencil to paper for network names, connectors pins, and created a beautiful diagram and wired it up. Then...we hit the code.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Cheers!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;div class="migration-injected-attachments"&gt;&lt;div style="font-weight:bold;margin:15px 0 5px 0;"&gt;Attachments:&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;table style="border:0;"&gt;&lt;tbody&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&lt;span class="_se_attachment" id="attid_https://www.element14.com/community/api/core/v3/attachments/123327"&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/CypressThermistorBlog2.PNG"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/CypressThermistorBlog2.PNG-15x200.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=0nYPxMrCrGevB94Qj1OpWVllLGLwZB3n3MjoSyj3ujg%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=fYUFYONkIhLXYUZ4D2BpUA==" style="max-height: 200px;max-width: 15px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&lt;span class="_se_attachment" id="attid_https://www.element14.com/community/api/core/v3/attachments/123328"&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/CypressThermistorBlog3.PNG"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/CypressThermistorBlog3.PNG-15x200.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=PZHcm9nAatWUh1UJO3xGa0%2F6%2BO8FlaNM%2Bk7IytDzoZQ%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=ySG97SvymcmLleW8mckwUw==" style="max-height: 200px;max-width: 15px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;tr&gt;&lt;td colspan="2"&gt;&lt;span class="_se_attachment" id="attid_https://www.element14.com/community/api/core/v3/attachments/123329"&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/cfs-file/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/CypressThermistorBlog4.PNG"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/CypressThermistorBlog4.PNG-15x200.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=qKNLUEw%2Ba88JNIu2s4hl1Z2s5U4avWhlmlpvcX8wehY%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=HRv6MvIgJfKVFN8y4w0uFA==" style="max-height: 200px;max-width: 15px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;&lt;/tbody&gt;&lt;/table&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>SmarterLife Challenge - A not so smarter way.</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22574?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Thu, 21 Nov 2013 06:25:46 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:06554dd9-5727-4ca6-a141-816d4587324d</guid><dc:creator>marsmen</dc:creator><slash:comments>2</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22574?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22574/smarterlife-challenge---a-not-so-smarter-way/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Today involved a lot of fumbling and flailing. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I have some L298N ICs for stepper motor control, but found some great kits that made development easier and went with those. I also purchased an Arduino Stepper Motor Shield which is used in Project 45 of the 100/100 challenge (it has an L298P). Neither worked. I got the same result with both setups (which actually in some sense is a win showing it isn&amp;#39;t a HW fault but a SW one). It was a massive let down. In going through the Project 45 code/layout I found one of the pins on the PSoC 4 didn&amp;#39;t go to the correct labeled path. This should be a bug, but for some reason is not. I also verified the pin to the Arduino and that some pins on the PSoC 4 kit are called out to the Arduino board, but Arduino doesn&amp;#39;t actually connect to them. Serious disappointment to watch the Project 45 video, read the literature and not get the same results. Also, went through the logic and never saw it make sense per the L298 logic sequence. I could come up with an alternative that would work, but Project 45 code/layout and Arduino don&amp;#39;t match up. That may be why the thing doesn&amp;#39;t work, is because the logic and layout doesn&amp;#39;t work.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Found a similar issue with Project 41 for thermistor. Without experience, I wouldn&amp;#39;t have right away looked at the system and identified it not able to work without voltage across the voltage divider. The documentation and the code do not reference setting this up. Attempting to add this also proved difficult. There wasn&amp;#39;t an immediate obvious way to pull 3.3VDC from the PSoC 4 pin to another pin. Part of the advertisement for PSoC is that you can connect any pin to any pin externally or internally, but reviewing the list of pins to do this, several were missing. I&amp;#39;m guessing there is some place to unlock something and really hack and break.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;In the same Project 41, they reference opening up the Bridge Control Panel. This wasn&amp;#39;t obvious, but once found and open and connected, it never read the info and displayed it to the graph. We identified a UART output pin, scoped it and saw it talking, but the BCP didn&amp;#39;t have any clear way about displaying its&amp;#39; data (or even collecting it). Without the voltage on the voltage divider, the graph still should have been outputting something even though it would be gibberish. The graph remained blank.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;These two projects aren&amp;#39;t the first that I&amp;#39;ve seen like this. I&amp;#39;m not sure if others have just gotten lucky and don&amp;#39;t want to admit it, but some postings where code is requested, people won&amp;#39;t furnish it and in some of the setup instructions, things are blatantly missing. It is very apparent that what is published doesn&amp;#39;t match what is produced. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;As negative as all that sounds, it is still very enjoyable. I love the creator layout/design interface. I&amp;#39;m proud to be a part of this competition and enjoy working with the hardware. &lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/16x16/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/contentimage_5F00_1.png"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/contentimage_1.png-16x16.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=FPdgcU5nl53M2bVpfceaHUoG4PfmGuxUntWhyLwA9Oc%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=zGEM7pHL10Vt71gae75OdA==" style="max-height: 16px;max-width: 16px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Smarter Life Challenge: More than geolocation for the car</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22541?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Sat, 16 Nov 2013 01:15:25 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:c6776365-1cbf-4c2d-b5a2-b7a192ea0cef</guid><dc:creator>camuyano</dc:creator><slash:comments>1</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22541?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22541/smarter-life-challenge-more-than-geolocation-for-the-car/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;This has been a good week with it&amp;#39;s ups and down. During this week I have been working with three areas for the project.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;SDCard interfacing:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hardware:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Arduino Wireless SD shield. It contains a MicroSD card slot.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Micro SD card 2G FAT formatted&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Software&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Code from &lt;a class="jive-link-thread-small" href="https://www.element14.com/community/thread/25517/l/psoc-4-pioneer-kit-community-project050-sd-card-example"&gt;PSoC 4 Pioneer Kit Community Project#050 – SD Card Example&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Progress&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I was able to write data to the SDcard by using the code from &lt;a class="jive-link-thread-small" href="https://www.element14.com/community/thread/25517/l/psoc-4-pioneer-kit-community-project050-sd-card-example"&gt;PSoC 4 Pioneer Kit Community Project#050 – SD Card Example&lt;/a&gt; . The code works however I found that in my setting it works only on a full power cycle of the board but stop working if the board is rebooted. It gets stuck initializing the SDCard for some reason. I have been researching about SPI and SDCards, comparing code from several sources but with no luck. For now it can be used and I will use the code since it works, I may do my own SDCard board circuit so I can do an on demand power cycle for the SDCard to check if it works constantly.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Ultrasonic sensor:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hardware:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; HC-SR04&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Attiny85&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Software:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; AVR sample&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Progress:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;In this specific area I have modified my original idea. Since Ultrasonic sensors are always spitting out a value, I thought this might consume a lot of resources from the PSoC and also I would like this to be compatible with different sensors. So I will be implementing a co-processor for the ultrasonic sensor. The Ultrasonic sensor will be manage with a small AVR, the Attiny85.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/356x261/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/3060.contentimage_5F00_45873.png"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/3060.contentimage_45873.png-356x261.png?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=i0W6CJrq19hz1YH8jWQ81v5XiVggju7OpJdVRaJ%2FXSo%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=SHgFc+o5hKjAuqam1/w0hw==" style="max-height: 261px;max-width: 356px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;By using an Attiny85 I can be constantly measuring distances of objects and provide intelligence to the sensor. For example i can send a serial message from the PSoC to the Attiny with a distance threshold and receive from the Attiny85 an interrupt to log the data at that moment. Also by using this, I can latter on add a different sonar sensor without changing my PSoC code, just adding a simple smart component to the sonar sensor.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Wireless:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hardware:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Adafruit CC3000 Wifi&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Sofware:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Writing my own code&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Progress:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;This turn to be a very hard one to crack. It is suppose to be very simple since TI provide the libraries for the CC3000 chip. I only needed to do is to implement the SPI functions to have a full driver from the PSoC to the chip. After spending last weekend on this, I put this at a side so I can do progress with other areas and will get back to this latter on.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;This has been my progress on this week, today is not over. I will be getting to burn the code on the AVR and do some soldering. Tonight goal is to have the board build and tested. The main component of my project is a GPS which was on backorder but next week it should be getting to me. Since I have code for the SDCard and Bluetooth from last week. I should be able to my first coordinates and plot them into a map. This will be very exiting on getting some coordinates in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Smarter Life Challenge - JLynch Projects 11/11 Update</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22508?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Tue, 12 Nov 2013 05:26:02 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:d74b8862-2f81-418e-8523-3d31faeceeae</guid><dc:creator>marsmen</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22508?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22508/smarter-life-challenge---jlynch-projects-11-11-update/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Today more parts arrived. I received my first Newark purchase last week (jumpers, wiring bits, etc). So, I was excited today to receive the Temp Kit extension and the CapSense Expansion Kits. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I&amp;#39;m a bit disappointed to learn about the Temp Kit. Literature stated that it was needed in order to have thermocouples work. Very disappointed that it is only a simple off-the-shelf part that I wouldn&amp;#39;t need if going with any other temp sensing device. So, ultimately, the answer is no, you do not need this kit. I&amp;#39;m not sure if this is a Cypress ploy to make some money on these kits or what? C&amp;#39;est la Vie. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Overall, I do really like the PSoC 4 and Creator. I do feel empowered and I do feel free to…create, to my hearts content. It feels good to know I don&amp;#39;t have to be an expert but only have a drive to learn and explore. The documentation is enough to keep going. The flexibility in design is pretty awesome.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;So, with CapSense working, LEDs flashing, and now temperature being measured, next up, working on PWM output controls and optical sensor feedback.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Need help with watchdog</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22497?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Sun, 10 Nov 2013 13:41:43 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:fdda3bfe-74e9-413a-8427-dacbe50b6beb</guid><dc:creator>bose</dc:creator><slash:comments>4</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22497?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22497/need-help-with-watchdog/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hello,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I have a question regarding the watchdog timer in PSoC 4.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;As per the documentation there are three counters:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Counter 0 &amp;amp; Counter 1 = 16bit driven by ILO 32Khz and can be cascaded&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Counter 2 = 32bit driven by ILO 32KHz&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I wish to use the Counter 2 to generate a 2Second wake-up Interrupt from deep sleep for the PSoC4.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;And Counter 1 + Counter 0 for the WDT Reset at 5Seconds.which would reset the microcontroller in case it fails to clear the counter 1 &amp;amp; counter 0.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;However no where I could find any information on the cascade scheme of the counters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Kindly help me out on this.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Warm Regards,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Abhijit&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Does anybody know if this can be a problem?</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22478?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Wed, 06 Nov 2013 02:22:45 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:b4869daf-746b-49bf-9677-8fe001a2558f</guid><dc:creator>camuyano</dc:creator><slash:comments>3</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22478?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22478/does-anybody-know-if-this-can-be-a-problem/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I am just starting to work with the PSoC 4. It is very interesting, and feels as a professional device. While running my sample codes I notice two resistors in the board almost touching each other. Wonder what they are for and if this could be a problem latter on. Just know I have only run the Cap+RGB led sample and it is working perfect. So I do not see any problem so far with those resistor touching if it is the case.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Has anybody else seen this situation? Seems like they moved a little while soldering. Included two pictures, one with just the resistors and the other with a green rectangle showing the area.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Comment if anybody knows what those are for.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/583x357/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/0576.contentimage_5F00_45808.jpg"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/0576.contentimage_45808.jpg-583x357.jpg?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=cwQ%2FAIIP1khyILGZuixOOMyMYW2W4XX5cEiWCnfEZog%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=pqBE1O3F354/bXIUE34XUA==" style="max-height: 357px;max-width: 583px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/620x465/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/8171.contentimage_5F00_45809.jpg"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/8171.contentimage_45809.jpg-620x465.jpg?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=QvDnJ6hYj0BtWf1H%2BFyeCuDTQtcB%2FBA5rjGrTw3SNWQ%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=D/MsXMXjcu6Y/hvX+0W7bQ==" style="max-height: 465px;max-width: 620px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Happy Halloween!</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22463?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Thu, 31 Oct 2013 23:03:26 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:0c1b5baa-969e-42da-b44c-503de5b3c303</guid><dc:creator>cy.gul</dc:creator><slash:comments>0</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22463?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22463/happy-halloween/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Happy Halloween to everyone!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Learn how you make a controller for the &lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://www.adafruit.com/products/420" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;adafruit 16x32 RGB LED mini-billboard&lt;/a&gt; with your PSoC 4 Pioneer Kit!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Check out &lt;a class="jive-link-message-small" href="https://www.element14.com/community/message/84683/l/psoc-4-pioneer-kit-community-project060-psoc-4-mini-billboard#84683"&gt;Project #60 here.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/620x620/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/0763.contentimage_5F00_45765.jpg"&gt;&lt;img alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/0763.contentimage_45765.jpg-620x620.jpg?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=A3zNk6bwyMz8IPNeuofcA%2BXLSIB91tQ0tjedRT1%2FD8g%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=DFFbh6lWqaexVHxwQX7Wmw==" style="max-height: 620px;max-width: 620px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/resized-image/__size/620x620/__key/communityserver-discussions-components-files/111/8267.contentimage_5F00_45766.jpg"&gt;&lt;img loading="lazy" alt="image" src="https://community-storage.element14.com/communityserver-components-secureimagefileviewer/communityserver/discussions/components/files/111/8267.contentimage_45766.jpg-620x620.jpg?sv=2016-05-31&amp;amp;sr=b&amp;amp;sig=D0CtYNXrsEvC0uboAr2JE%2BCDb8Pzajcn8UMPtLFkZls%3D&amp;amp;se=2026-07-19T23%3A59%3A59Z&amp;amp;sp=r&amp;amp;_=Kx5xo5vXTrFpxqK9x2AdLw==" style="max-height: 620px;max-width: 620px;" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Introducing the UnCoStat entry in the PSoC4 Smarter Life Design Challenge</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22447?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Tue, 29 Oct 2013 00:18:08 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:7b917767-cdb3-4351-a085-891296d6603c</guid><dc:creator>steveturner</dc:creator><slash:comments>1</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22447?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22447/introducing-the-uncostat-entry-in-the-psoc4-smarter-life-design-challenge/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hello e14 community. My proposal for the design challenge is for a smart thermostat, but that sounds really boring, so I call it The UnCoStat for The Unnecessarily Complex Thermostat!. I have been thinking about the ideal thermostat since our 20 year old programmable thermostat broke last spring. We bought a new one, but neither my wife nor I am completely happy with it. I have looked at a lot of other thermostats but nothing is exactly what we want. Once I started contemplating what the ideal thermostat could be I started coming up with lots of features I&amp;#39;d like to see. The PSoC4 Smarter Life Design Challenge happily coincided with the thermostat problem swirling around my brain. Last week I found out I had been selected so now I am on the hook to actually do something.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;The desires driving the UnCoStat are:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Easy programming. Our old t-stat had lots of buttons so you could display and change any individual program in a few seconds. The new t-stat (and most non-touchscreen units I&amp;#39;ve found) require cycling through all the programs every time a change is made. The UnCoStat will have several buttons on the front face and will be able to change any program or setting in as few button clicks as possible.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Humidity Control. Often air-conditioning is used as much for humidity control as temperature. When the dew point is above 60°F most people find it uncomfortable, regardless of the temperature. The UnCoStat will regulate humidity or dew point within certain temperature bounds or vice-versa.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Zone Control. The UnCoStat will connect to remote sensors and be capable of controlling temperature based on average, extreme or a subset of temperature reading. So, for example, it will use the bedroom temperature from midnight to 6:00am and living room temperature during the day.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Vacation Hold. The UnCoStat will have a vacation setting with either a fixed set point or an alternate program that can be invoked for a period of time or until a certain date and time.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Remote Control. The UnCoStat will report status and accept programming commands remotely.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Data Logging. Both my wife and I are data junkies.&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I have not worked out exactly how I am going to accomplish all of this, but I think that is part of the purpose of the design challenge. I&amp;#39;m not a great blogger,but I will do my best to document the journey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;As a little background I am a 20+ year electrical engineer working in automotive powertrain electronics. I&amp;#39;ve done just about every job in the design process, but always consider myself a circuit designer in my soul. A few years ago I decided to refresh my software skills. I learned a bit of Python (&lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://python.org/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;http://python.org/&lt;/a&gt;) through classes at Udacity (&lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="https://www.udacity.com/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.udacity.com/&lt;/a&gt;) and MIT Open Courseware (http://http://ocw.mit.edu/) and played around with Arduinos (&lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://www.arduino.cc/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.arduino.cc/&lt;/a&gt;). &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;I discovered the Cypress PSoC family (&lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://www.cypress.com/psoc/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank" title="http://www.cypress.com/psoc/"&gt;http://www.cypress.com/psoc/&lt;/a&gt;) through the FreeSoC Kickstarter campaign (&lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://freesoc.net/" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;http://freesoc.net/&lt;/a&gt;). It looked interesting so I got one. It sat on the shelf for several months until I was working on a battery charger and tester and was frustrated by the slow PWM frequency in the Arduino. I wanted continuous current without huge inductors. I looked around and discovered that PSoC Creator made it dead simple to output a PWM signal even at 100KHz or higher and do everythign else I wanted (LCD display, high precision ADC etc). I switched over to PSoC and I haven&amp;#39;t looked back. I really like PSoC Creator. The most amazing thing was a few weeks after I downloaded PSoC Creator I got an email for a survey about it. I had used it enough to develop some opinions and put them in the comments. To my surprise about a week later I got an email from an engineer at Cypress who had read my comments and addressed them. This was not a form letter reply. This was genuine customer service. He offered work arounds for some items, told me some of the issues were being addressed in PSoC 3 release and even the issues that would not be addressed he clearly understood my position.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;So now I am committed to the UnCoStat. I either need to make it a reality or gloriously fail in the attempt.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>Smarter Life Challenge Project</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22416?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Thu, 24 Oct 2013 17:02:11 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:10343e49-bcd6-4c19-99d9-3acb88e7cc6f</guid><dc:creator>Kilohercas</dc:creator><slash:comments>5</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22416?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22416/smarter-life-challenge-project/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;Hello, i recently find out, that i was chosen for this challenge, and i just want to share idea for project. And see what element14 user think about this, is it too easy and i should do something more complex, or it should be one good project&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;As for this moment, i have idea to make reflow oven for electronics part soldering. Since at home i am working with 0201 resistors/capacitors and using FBGA package for processors, and FPGA designs, i really need something more than &amp;quot;hot air gun&amp;quot;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;So for start, i should find nice looking oven with IR heating. Control mechanism should be flat, and it must have knob. I will remove all electronics from inside and make my own.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;Now comes fun part:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;I will use &lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://youtu.be/eUg27cu6eFY" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;recently reversed engineered capacitive touchscreen&lt;/a&gt; with IPS LCD for user interface. So user could change all parameters about reflow process, preheating, heating, max temperature and so on. At the same time working in tandem with knob and touchscreen user could change time and temperature of each reflow process step ( because different IC&amp;#39;s use different profiles, and profiles usually are at the bottom of datasheet). It will have animated reflow process graph to show temperature inside heating chamber, elapsed time, remaining time, start stop buttons and so on. You get the idea.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;For temperature control, i will use PID controller programed on PSoC chip . Temperature will be sampled by two different thermocouples, so i have precise temperature measurement at all time. But i will use pwm for heating control, so i can get very fine temperature control without fluctuations caused by turning heater on/off.( I will not use simple relay approach as many people had used for this purpose). Also i will add high temp fans inside heating chamber, so i can improve heat transfer, and minimize temperature gradients inside heating chamber.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;"&gt;This is my idea, but for me it is a bit simple, i want to do something more complex (but this is what i need at the moment to get my life smarter) &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item><item><title>PSoC 4 Smarter Life Design Challenge</title><link>https://community.element14.com/thread/22208?ContentTypeID=0</link><pubDate>Mon, 30 Sep 2013 19:50:16 GMT</pubDate><guid isPermaLink="false">93d5dcb4-84c2-446f-b2cb-99731719e767:f6b746c6-4512-4fcc-9df2-5069a52aa66f</guid><dc:creator>cy.gul</dc:creator><slash:comments>20</slash:comments><comments>https://community.element14.com/thread/22208?ContentTypeID=0</comments><wfw:commentRss>https://community.element14.com/challenges-projects/design-challenges/smarter-life/f/forum/22208/psoc-4-smarter-life-design-challenge/rss?ContentTypeId=0</wfw:commentRss><description>&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Many of you may have noticed the annoucements for the PSoC 4 Smarter Life Design Challenge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;The challenge is officially open for enrollment!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Do you have unique and creative ideas that will help make your life smarter, convienient, and more fun? &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;We&amp;#39;re very exicted to see what the community can create with PSoC 4 using all the 100 projects we&amp;#39;ve posted here!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;There&amp;#39;s also some exciting incentives in this design challenge:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;The grand-prize winner will be flown out to Germany to hang out with Cypress and element14 at the largest embedded tradeshow in the world - Embedded World 2014.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Selected finalists will all receive free PSoC 4 Pioneer Kits and $500 vouchers to buy additional hardware from element14 retails sites.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Other prize winners, including a community-voted prize winner will get vouchers for $1500 to element14 retail sites&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;...and so much more!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;Details here on the roadtest page: &lt;a class="jive-link-external-small" href="https://community.element14.com/roadTests/http://www.element14.com/community/roadTests/1195" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.element14.com/community/roadTests/1195&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;a href="https://community.element14.com/roadTests/http://www.element14.com/community/roadTests/1195" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img alt="http://www.element14.com/community/themes/images/cypress/startlogo.gif" class="jive-image" src="https://community.element14.com/e14/assets/legacy/cypress/startlogo.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;padding:0px;"&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style="margin:0;"&gt;Hurry - enrollments close on October 13th, 2013!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="clear:both;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description></item></channel></rss>