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Jeremy:  Thanks for the advice.  Since you brought up the kind of LCD Display, I was (and still am) on the fence about which way to go...

I think a graphical LCD would be great, esp. because I could program in my (or any other) firedepartment's logo and text and have that display on boot up, however, I'm not looking to go into buisness producing this sort of thing (not yet anyway). Also, other than using color for logos, I have no real interest in using a color LCD - the text would always be black on a lite color or vice versa - with one possible exception that might make it interesting (besides color logos):  that would be for having text show red when there is a problem, such as when the vehicle voltage drops too low for continued operation of the strobes.

On the other hand, a text only LCD would suit my needs just fine for the time being.  They are (I'm assuming this) simpler to program - correct?  Not that I shy away from programming.  I have a lot of experience in VB and VBA, and some in C++.  Working another language wouldn't hurt me - though it might take longer for me to figure out what I'm doing.

Oh, the final reason I'm trying to do this, is my current switch panel is 8" wide x 2" tall x 8" deep.  It occupies a big portion of my vehicle's realestate underneath my steering column (putting it up on top of the dash was proving to be problematic with the 12+ 14, 16, and 18 gauge wires.).  With a digital controller circuit, I could move all the high amp stuff and wiring into the engine compartment and use relays or something similar powered from the outputs of the chip, and use the small footprint and smaller external data/commnications wring that a digital controller would require to pretty much put it anywhere I want.  What is the best way to go about doing that?  I realize I need a certain voltage coming from the chip to "switch" the relays, but each realy needs to be able to handle at least 15 amps for the simpler LED strobes, and 30 amps for the 6-head strobe kit.

Another thought I had on this too... I would want an enclosure for the entire project that would be not much larger than the LCD and the buttons and also still hold the cirucuit board.  I'd like to have an etched/backlit panel for the buttons so that you could see them and their function in the dark.  Any ideas on where to get this done? I've looked high and low, and every place I've found, charges hundreds of dollars for this and also, most of them won't even consider designing something for a single run on one panel.

Again, thanks for your help with this.  I'll send pics when I start really getting into this project.  Oh, and I did start a "project" page.  I'm not sure if I need to give you permission or anything but there are files posted there that might help you understand what I'm trying to do.

I have attached two files also, that I think might help understand what I'm doing/trying to do.

Thanks!

Marc

Attachments:

	Strobe Kit Electronic Controller.pdf
	7ButtonSwitchWireDiagram.pdf

Marc,

I'd definately go with a monochrome LCD, at least to start.  It will be easier to program, use less wiring, and be a lot cheaper.  You can always upgrade later.  As long as its backlit, I tihnk it will be more than sufficient for your needs.

You should be able to move the high amp stuff into the engine compartment without an issue.  You can run 22 or 24 guage wire from the arduino to the control line of the relays, which should be sufficient.

A good option for the enclosure might be laser cutting.  You can get it done in acrylic for relatively cheap now: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/749

Hi

My father has had a free PV system installed on his roof.

He's complaining that he cannot understand at any given point whether he's consuming his 'free' energy or energy from the grid or a combination of both.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Power is not my forte!

David

Hong,

Microphone inserts do not produce a big enough signal to do what you want without amplification.

There is an example of a VU meter, that amplifies the sound signal from a mic in my book: http://www.arduinoevilgenius.com

Simon.

Have you seen the new Capacitive Touch "shield" the for the TI MSP430 Launchpad?

The announcement and info is here on this page.

I would llike to know who makes a similar "shield" for the Arduino.

looks a very nice chip William. May be worth making a shield with it as a project?

Ally

Jeremy,

I'm a newbie here, so please direct me to another forum if that's more appropriate.  I have one simple question, that I'm afraid will grow into many more questions:  Can you describe an easy way to port Arduino code into the AVR Studio 5 for debugging?  I'd settle for simply moving the elf file over to AVR studio after the compilation is completed by the Arduino IDE, but I'm sure someone can offer a better say of accomplishing this.

Thanks,

Dan

Jeremy,

Can you suggest the easiest way to use AVR Studio 5 to debug Arduino code?  Is it sufficient to copy the elf file that Arduino places into a temp directory, and then use that for debugging?

Thanks,

Dan

Well, I don't think you could port it directly...  The arduino language is not C.  You'd need to just rewrite your code in C in AVR studio.

Hi Jeremy,

I not very good in the coding. So I would like some one to help me to start something.

Best Regards,

Terry

terry_lee80@hotmail.com