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Low Cost Telemetry Device- LTD
The ATmega8 microcontroller-based Low-Cost Telemetry Device (LTD) is an efficient telemetry keyer. The LTD measures the voltage levels of up to four analog channels via its on-chip 10-bit ADC, converts the measurements to numbers, and then sends the data in Morse code to an external transmitter and to an attached RS-232 terminal. It can be set up either by the RS-232 terminal, in which case, a character string, such as transmitter ID, can can be sent, or it can be set up with only jumpers to ground. Parts count is very low, in part because the ATMega8's internal clock is used for timing.

Jeff Heidbrier came up with the idea for this project, built the prototype, and colaborated with me on the design of the LTD and this documentation.


Downloads
Download the AVRStudio assembly source (HTML format): morbcna.html
Download the AVRStudio Hex (Intel Intellec 8/MDS format): 050219A.hex

Project Overview



Photo 1. The Low Cost Telemetry Device is composed of an ATMega8, a
serial interface, and some decoupling components. A crystal is not needed.

OVERVIEW

The Low Cost Telemetry Device (LTD) provides a low cost, minimal parts count Telemetry keyer using an Atmel's ATMega8 Microcontroller. The LTD sends data by measuring voltage levels of up to four analog channels via its on-chip 10-bit Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) and converting them to numbers and sending the measurements via Morse Code. There are two signal outputs - one is a binary Morse Code signal such as would be used to key a Continuous wave (CW) transmitter, and the other output is tone modulated and could be used to drive a small speaker to the audio input of a transmitter.

Options allow setting code speed to 25, 10, 5 or 1 word per minute, 1 kHz or 500 Hz tone, and measuring 1, 2, 3, or 4 analog channels. The options maybe set with jumpers or with and EIA-232 terminal, and in the case of setting it up with a terminal, a text string of up to 80 characters maybe sent along with the data. Terminal settings are 9600 Baud, no parity.

Thoroughly Modern Morse
Morse code , now over 150 years old, has long since faded from use by Coast Guard, Navy and other Military Services in favor of modern communications modes usually carried over microwave or Satellite links.

So one must ask , why use Morse code when we have things like Bluetooth or 802.11 to send data? The answer is simplicity and reliability. When Samuel Morse demonstrated the Telegraph to Congress in 1844 it was clear that one of the key features of his device was simplicity. Only later would the use of RF demonstrate it's robustness in poor RF conditions. Besides it's reliability, good signal to noise ratio and simplicity factor, Morse code has one more feature that makes it thoroughly modern: the ability to be decoded by human ear.

Morse Code still has millions of Amateur Radio fans around the world who swear by it's ability to "get through" when RF conditions are poor. Although no longer used as the defacto communications mode it is still required knowledge by military Special Forces and some Amateur Radio Operators licenses.

In the special case of Amateur Radio use, the data identification string can be programmed into the controller to provide proper ID or other supplemental information when using the device as a repeater controller or automatic keyer. For example, Amateur Radio Operators can use the LTD as a Contest Keyer by turning the analog to digital channels off and entering a text "CQ" message.

The range of uses also includes amateur rocketry and unmanned balloons, repeater station operating parameters, manufacturing process parameters, or liquid levels such as those in fuel tanks or water courses.


Teaching a Micro to Tap Dance -Hardware Overview

As mentioned above, the simplicity of hardware was a prime concern for this project, so naturally a single ATMega8 Microcontroller would do the honors (see figure 1). This chip was turned into a smart Morse code operator while making use of the chips Analog to Digital conversion feature. For this project the 28 lead PDIP version of the device allows for 4- channel 10-bit ADC input operation as easy prototyping.




Figure 1. Functional block diagram of the LTD. All blocks except the optional EIA-232 buffer are on the ATMega8.

The controller firmware, which is described in a separate section, contains routines to scan from one to four 10-bit analog input channels and send the measurements by Morse Code as determined by either jumper settings, or parameters set with a serial terminal and the parameters stored in the chips internal EEPROM. When the parameters are set with a serial terminal, a text string of up to 80 characters may be optionally sent along with the measured voltages.

If operation is not set up with a serial terminal, operation is determined by the setting of hardware jumpers to ground (the chip has internal pull-up resistors of about 50k Ohms.), and one special jumper will force the jumper selections to override any previous setup information stored in the on-chip EEPROM.

Here are the jumper selectable settings.

Default Operation (PDIP Pin 11)
When this pin is grounded, operation is determined solely by the jumper configuration, meaning that all parameters stored in EEPROM will be ignored, though those parameters may still be edited if an EIA-232 terminal is connected.

Tone (1 Khz.500 Hz) select (PDIP Pin 5)
The state of this pin determines whether the Morse Code Tone output frequency is 500 Hz or 1 kHz.

Open = 1 KHz tone
Grounded = 500 Hz tone

ADC channels selection (PDIP Pins 4 and 5) The states of these pins in combination determine whether 1,2,3, or 4 ADC channels will be measured.

Pin 5     Pin 4      Channel(s) measured
Open      Open       Channel A only
Ground    Open       Channels A and B only
Open      Ground     Channels A, B, and C only
Ground    Ground     Channels A, B, C, and D

Morse Code Speed (PDIP Pins 27 and 28).

Pin 28             Pin 27         Morse Code Speed
Open               Open           10 Words per minute
Open               Ground         1 Word per minute
Ground             Open           5 Words per minute
Ground             Ground         25 Words per minute

The 1 word per minute code speed is intended for very low speed computer-to-computer radio communications where the signal-to-noise ratio is very poor.

Note that grounding Pin 11 and leaving the other pins floating will result in only analog channel A being repeatedly measured and sent at 10 words per minute, with a 1 kHz tone.


The Circuit



Figure 2. Adding only a power supply and the optional EIA-232 buffer allow all of the chips features to be used.

The LTD circuit is pretty much an ATMega8 running with its internal 4 MHz clock, along with a power supply and an optional EIA-232 buffer. In the simplest implementation, the EIA-232 buffers may be omitted and operation set only by grounding selected pins.

Unused inputs on the ATMega8 are held high by the chips internal pull-up resistors to prevent the pins from floating between logic levels, thus potentially saving a few milliwatts of power dissipation.

The RXD input also has an internal pull-up resistor, so that if a discreet transistor EIA232 buffer is used instead of the MAX32, a pull-up resistor would not be needed on the RXD input.

Construction

The LTD was wired and soldered on a pad-per-hole perforated prototyping board made of

AVR2004 Entry A3692 Page 6 of 62

FR-4 epoxy, using simple point-to-point wiring techniques. All semiconductor devices are socketed except for the 7805 5-volt regulator.

A 9 volt Bunny battery supplies DC for the device. Several two-position PC board terminals provide the 4 analog inputs, the battery DC input, and the regulated 5 volts DC for connection to off-board devices. A DB25 (25 pin D connector), which is the interface for the serial terminal, is elevated above the board using standoffs. See Photo1.

Example Application

This Project demonstrates LTD in a practical application using a Temperature sensor , the LM34Z. This device provides Precision Temperature to voltage conversion for input into the LTD.




Figure 3. Block diagram of simple stand-alone Morse Code thermometer.

The temperature voltage converter, made with a National Semiconductor LM34 and a National Semiconductor LMC7111 operational amplifier provide the LTD with a voltage proportional to current. Every several seconds, the LTD measured the analog voltage and sends a signal in Morse Code that corresponds to the air temperature. For example, an air temperature of 23.1 degrees centigrade would result in 232 being sent in Morse Code. A block diagram of the demonstration system in shown in Figure 3, and a photograph of it is shown in Photo 2.

A example of how to use the KEY output of the LTD to drive a SAW-based transmitter is shown in figure 4.



Photos 2. The temperature sensor circuit board only requires three conductors to connect to the LTD board -+5 volts, the sensor output, and ground.





Figure 4. Example of drivinga SAW-based transmitter.


Endless Opportunities
An option that could be added is a squelch function, by which, channels below some preset threshold would not be sent.

A real time clock could be added so the LTD would send data at specific times, or allow for conditional telemetry, or to time-stamp for logging purposes. One could imagine an application in which the LTD is connected to a door switch, and upon opening the door, the LTD would send the Morse Code message: DOOR OPENED AT 10:15 PM.


Firmware Overview for Low-cost Telemetry Device

The firmware allows the operation of the chip (number of channels to scan, code speed, etc.) to be determined by either setting it up via an ASCII terminal that stores operating parameters in the ATMega8s on-chip EEPROM,. or by jumper selection. In the case of jumper selection, an additional jumper allows the jumpers to override any setup information stored in EEPROM, thus assuring that the chips operation can be programmed without the use of a terminal, even if it had been previously set up using a terminal.



After power-on reset or after being restarted, the chip detects the presence of valid terminal



setup information in the EEPROM (The initialization sequence is illustrated in the Start flowchart, above). If valid setup information is present, it runs a program that controls the operation of the chip based on that setup information. If valid setup information is not present, it runs a program that repeatedly scans the jumpers and controls the chips operating sequence based on the settings of the jumpers.




Above is a screen shot showing the ASCII output during startup. The firmware version (morbecon040516D) is displayed, followed by the setup parameters stored in EEPROM, followed by the first analog measurement. If a text string had been programmed, it would have appeared just before the first analog measurement. The text string, if present, and the analog measurement (C200 in the example above) were also sent in Morse Code.



The program that controls chip operation based on the jumper settings (this program is illustrated by the Default Main Loop flow chart, above) runs through sequence of checking the jumper settings and setting up the selection of A/D channels, the Morse Code speed and tone pitch, then measuring the A/D channels with 10 bit resolution, converting the analog data to decimal and then sending the data as Morse code and also to the serial output as ASCII data. Once each cycle, the UARTs receiver buffer is inspected then emptied. If an carriage return (ASCII $0D) is found in the buffer the analog polling and sending cycle in stopped and control is passed to a program that allows setup by the ASCII terminal.



The program that controls chip operation based on settings stored in the on-chip EERPOM (this program is illustrated by the Main Loop for Programmed Operation flow chart, above) runs through sequence of setting up the operating parameters, measuring the analog channels that are to be measured, and sending the measurement results. Similar to the default program, the Main Loop for Programmed Operation also checks for a carriage return in the UARTs receive buffer and switches control to a program that allows setup of chip operation by the the ASCII terminal.



The measurement of up to four analog channels, based on settings store in the EEPROM is illustrated in the MeasureAndSendProgVolts flowchart, above. The process for settings stored in EEPROM differs from the analog scanning and output under control of the jumpers in that when using EEPROM stored parameters, any of the four channels can be arbitrarily enabled in any combination, while under jumper control, only one of the following combinations are allowed, according to the following table:

Bit 3 Bit 2 Measure
1 1 Channel A only (ADC 0)
0 1 Channels A & B (ADC 0,1)
1 0 Channels A,B & C (ADC 0,1,2)
0 0 Channels A,B,C & D (ADC 0,1,2,3)



A simple editor allows editing of operating parameters, as shown in the flowchart above (titled Options Editor) and the screen shot at the startup of the editor, below. All commands are a single character in length. Text strings of up to 80 characters may be entered using a simple line editor.


(Above) Screen shot of menu in editor.





The flowchart, SendMorseASCII illustrates the process by which ASCII characters are converted to Morse Code. The hex value $31 is subtracted from the ASCII character to create an index into a table. Thus, the index created from ASCII A ($41 hex) would be $11 hex. Some ASCII characters do not have Morse Code equivalents, and are silent. Silent characters are coded as 0b00000001, which results the sending loop terminating before sending any Morse Code.

The Morse Code is bit-banged out of PORTB, bit 3 and the tone modulated code is generated by toggling PORTB bit 2 during interrupts. The toggling that generates the tones is gated by an internal flag that is set during a dot or dash. The code the bangs out the Morse Code is illustrated in the flowchart titled SendCodedCode.

The basic unit of Morse Code timing is a dot period, and all other timings -dashes, inter symbol , inter character and inter word intervals are multiples of the dot period. The dot period is timed by the firmware by setting the 16 bit timer and waiting for it to overflow. The reason the timer is used to time the dot period rather than using a timing loop is so that the interrupts for the tone (which can occur at either 2,000 or 1,000 interrupts per second) do not affect the dot period.





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Contents ©2004, 2005 Richard Cappels and Jeff Heidbrier All Rights Reserved. http://www.projects.cappels.org/
First posted in February, 2005. Basis for this content was published in Circuit Cellar AVR 2004 Design Contest results.

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