Andys Workshop

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Bluetooth Low Energy and the STM32WB55 MCU
Oct 10, 2021 · original
I’m a subscriber to ST’s regular email newsletter and though most of it isn’t interesting to me I did notice that in one of the recent editions they were promoting their wireless range of STM32-based MCUs. As a big fan of the STM32 this caught my eye and co-incided with some ideas that were spinning around in my head for new wireless projects. The series of MCUs in question is the SMT32WB55 and so I went off to familiarise myself with what ST were offering. It turns out that these are very flexible wireless devices. Operating in the 2.4GHz range they are capable of implementing any protocol that ST has decided to provide a wireless stack for, which at the time of writing includes BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee and Thread. The cost of this flexibility is ease of use. These ICs do not provide a simple high-level programming interface that hides the underlying protocols from you. They’re very
Fixing the USB microphone mute button click
Aug 6, 2021 · original
In my previous article I documented the design and build process of my USB microphone based around an STM32F446 MCU. If you haven’t already read it then it’s probably worth catching up now before reading the rest of this article so that you have the necessary context. The problem I’ve been using the microphone for a while now and never really noticed that there was a noise issue with the hardware mute button until I recorded a sound file using Audacity that featured me coming in and out of mute. The noise issue is caused by my poor choice of hardware button: These buttons are cheap PCB mounted momentary press-release buttons that have an audible click both on the press and the subsequent release. Unfortunately, because the button is located close to the INMP441 sensor the click is very audible. Click here to listen to the problem . I come out of mute at the start and go back in at the en
A USB microphone for online meetings
Mar 13, 2021 · original
Here in the UK the new reality of working in the IT business over the past year has been that we’re all at home working remotely over virtual desktop connections and for someone engaged in software development this is a setup that works well. Having to commute 90 minutes each way into London every day on the train is not something I’ll ever miss. Team meetings are still an important part of the day though and that meant digging out and dusting off my old webcam, a Logitech something-or-other that works fine in every scenario except when I use it through my company’s Citrix-hosted virtual desktop. The video is fine but the audio frequency on the VDI is mismatched to the actual frequency on the physical device. I sound like Mickey Mouse on helium. This is a well-known problem and the solution is to change the frequency on the VDI, which requires administrator level access. And that is neve
A development board for an STM32G081 MCU
Jul 8, 2019 · original
I’ve been an avid user of ST’s F0 series ever since it was launched. The 48MHz Cortex M0 is almost always the perfect MCU for every project that I tend to build and it’s so easy to program and debug that, for me, it’s the default answer to ‘which MCU should I use for this project?’ So when I noticed that ST had launched a ‘G0’ range I just had to have a closer look. What’s the difference? In short, there’s a Cortex M0+ core at the heart of the G0 series instead of the M0 that’s in the F0. To find out the difference between the M0 and the plus we have to visit ARM’s website . Cortex M0+ block diagram There’s a slight increase in performance and an optional Memory Protection Unit (MPU) that the RTOS guys may get excited about but really there’s not much else in the way of additional features. The headline claim made by ARM is a further decrease in the already class-leading power consumptio
How to use a 4k TV as a computer monitor
Mar 24, 2019 · original
I like big, high resolution monitors. The bigger the better. I can’t understand how so many young developers and engineers seem to be content to peer into the tiny screens on their Macbooks that offer only a few visible lines of code in perhaps two simultaneous columns, with any web-based reference material in a window hidden behind the main IDE. I never use a laptop unless I’m forced to by circumstance and much prefer a desktop with the biggest monitor I can lay my hands on. For the last few years I’ve been quite content with my 27″ AH-IPS display, a Crossover 27qw which is basically a reject LG panel repackaged and sold off cheap by Korean entrepreneurs. My 27″ Korean monitor It was and still is very nice but for the last year or so I’ve had my eye on an upgrade and last week I finally did it and am now the proud owner of a 43″ Sony Bravia TV doing duty as the highest quality monitor w
Directly driving a 7-segment LED display with the STM32
Oct 28, 2018 · original
Seven segment LEDs are an extremely cost effective way to add a large, bright and very readable numeric display to your project. Displays similar to the one pictured above can be had for as little as 50 cents each on ebay in the common heights of 0.56″, 0.36″ and 0.28″. You can choose anywhere between one and four digits in the same package. They’re referred to as seven segment but really they’re eight because each digit comes with a little decimal point down at the bottom right. Configuration The multiple digit packages utilise a wiring configuration designed to minimise the number of pins required to drive it without having to embed any logic at all within the package. If you count the number of segments on, for example, a three digit display you’d quickly realise that a simple configuration that exposed each LED on its own dedicated pin would require (8 * 3) + 1 = 25 pins on the packa
Process automation: another RTD sensor board
Feb 11, 2018 · original
In a previous article I described the design and build of a temperature sensor board based around a high precision LTC2986 part from Linear Technology. The project was successful so you may be wondering why I’m bothering to design another board when the LTC2986 probably cannot be bettered by any other fully integrated part on the market. Well, I have no clear answer except that with a pile of left over parts from the LTC2986 board BOM and seeing that the Maxim MAX31865 RTD-to-digital converter is quite cheap compared to the LTC2986 then why not? I could always justify it to myself by calling it a backup unit in case something goes awry with the board I’ve already built. So without further ado and before I talk myself out of it, let’s get on with the design. The MAX31865 The MAX31865 is a single-sensor, fully integrated resistance-to-digital converter requiring very few external parts to
Process automation: temperature sensing
Sep 2, 2017 · original
My previous article documented how I designed and built a PCB that hosted three relays and a triac that could be mounted inside a PC case and connected up via the USB bus for host control using simple commands. The relays and triacs board That board is of course the output part of the system, responsible for executing the decisions made as a result of reading the inputs and executing control algorithms. Today’s article will document the development of the temperature sensors board used to sense the environment and provide the inputs to the system. Temperature sensor technology The first decision that I need to make is which technology to use for sensing temperature. I need a working range of 0 to 100 C and an accuracy of better than 1 C within the ranges of 60 to 70 C and 18 C to 22 C. The first of those ranges covers where brewers mash their grains and the second range is where fermenta
Process automation: relays and triacs
May 21, 2017 · original
In my previous article I discussed how I intended to convert an old PC into a controller that I could use to automate the temperature control required to ferment and conditional beer. If you haven’t already read that introduction then I’d encourage you to do that so you know what it is that I’m trying to achieve. This article will give full details of the first board that I’ve built, designed to fit inside the PC and control relays and triacs. Design The heaters, fridge and fans that control the temperature in my brew fridge need to be switched on and off and that’s what this board is designed to achieve. As you can see from the diagram the main features of the board are: Three relays for basic on/off switching. To solve one of the issues with the STC-1000 controller I will use 16A, name brand relays for maximum reliability. A triac. This will give me the ability to do phase-angle ‘dimmi
Process automation: building a process controller
Apr 30, 2017 · original
Not a lot of people know this, but I brew my own beer as a hobby; and I’m not talking about the murky coloured astringent tasting dodgy brews of yesteryear. The beer I brew is probably best described as craft ale. I do the whole process, much like a brewery would. I design recipes, crush my own grain, culture yeast, adjust water chemistry and most important of all I control the temperature of the process at every stage from beginning to end. When I get it right, and it took about a year to nail the whole process then the result is a crystal-clear ale that you’d be happy to be served down the pub. Many parts of the brewing process require you to set and hold the temperature of the soon-to-be-beer at a particular level for a set amount of time. At the beginning of the process there are stages known as the ‘mash’ and the ‘boil’. Both of these stages, the mash in particular, require careful

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