Matrix user forums

HI,
Does anyoe have a spare, used or new MIAC (PIC or dsPIC based) they would be willing to sell.
Unfortunatly they have been discontinued by Matrix and we are looking for another for our test bench.
Shipping would be to the UK.
thanks,J.

Thanks Leigh,
Good to know.

And picture is worth a thousand words!
J.

I think my frame of reference is wrong somewhere...thats the problem of not learning this stuff academically.
I'm missing something but I dont have the technical vocabulary to explain the issue clearly.
I'll have to do some more googling. J.

Thanks, yep.. Limiting resistors all in place. :) So your average PIC micro generally does not have a preference over Sink or Source? :? Have I gotten my sink and source terms confused then? I thought; If a pin can Sink current I thought it would act like a mini ground (Vss). If a pin can source I t...

If I do have status LED's attached, does it make sense to Source 5V from the Pin, grounding the other side.
The logic of the component does then tie up with the LED hardware.

I've gotten so used to old micros prefering to sink current, this alternative of high side driving feels odd.
J.

Hi, Can any one clarify the generl digital output behaiour of a 5V PIC, I've strugled to find clarification in the data sheet. :? I know there are a lot of specific bahaviour for certain pins but for a general purpose I/O pin I'm setting the pin as a digital output to drive an LED and using FC compo...

Steve, I wont forum rant...
I'll see where I got with the more structured feedback and send on if I can find it.
J.

Hi steve, thanks for your help, I'll take a look at some options but Yes, for field diagnostics a simple TeraTerm and Serial FTDI is very useful. I dont want to put a downer on the situation but ICD/ICT..that is a whole painful story on it own. forgive the quick rant! >Sadly I've spent way too much ...

I think putting the supporting files in folder below the project works, as for those advanced users who need the files can still access them but for the bulk of users the main flowcode and .hex files are still visible and uncluttered in the parent directory. J.

Thanks Steve, I suspected that. This idea brewing is on the edge of my capability TBH...but I often learn alot in the process! :) Aim. A component to help build simple VT100 compatible output, for sending out diagnostic data to a terminal. Building on the examples from Martin (Medelec), I've found t...

Hi, I'm thinking of how I could make a certain component, the idea is still very much in the planning stage as I have only just started working on how to make components! (thanks Dave!) Is it possible to have a component property with a drop down menu and be able to select from a list of the variabl...

So... I may have just found a different route to the same result and uses the same register values but this worked for me. Changes in the CCP1 Interrupt component. Enable Code CCP1CON = 0x05; //capture on rising edge of CCP1 PIR1 = PIR1 & ~(1<<2); // Clear CCP1IF PIE1 = PIE1 | 0x04; // Set CCP1I...

Hi, Looking to use this CCP method but in FC8, the sample FC does not compile correctly. With the change of compiler in FC8 (I think) could that be a part ofthe issue? the custom interupt sets register bits with a method i've not used before, is this still valid? ccp1con =0x05; //capture on rising e...

Hi, I'm no expert but check for me would be.. Have you confirmed the PIC programs, responds and is at the correct clock rate by just running the flash test, I assume you have an LED on ouput D0? Confirm you have your input signal connected to PIN 2 (AN0) of the PIC Note, the UART is sending out a th...

This is just a rough edited copy of some of my LIN Notes... supplied 'as is' No guarentees implied! 8) LIN. Good introductions to LIN https://www.csselectronics.com/screen/page/lin-bus-protocol-intro-basics/language/en https://www.ni.com/en-gb/innovations/white-papers/09/introduction-to-the-local-in...

Hi all, Attached is a FC containing two very basic but working LIN Master macros. The first just sends the header. The second sends header, data bytes and the checksum in either v1.x or 2.x versions. It utilises the PIC's embedded EUSART LIN features so not much use if your not using PIC's or your P...

Hi, Tried moving the C code to different positions as suggested but I could still induce the instability. Tried the alterate TMR reset value. I tried for both TMR0 and TMR1 in case there was a typo in the TMR0L suggestion. No improvment. :? Interestingly, to induce the instability, I need to use the...

Hi Ben, I've replicated the new problem using a spare ECIO on a EB061 base board. Trimmed down the FC to the base essentials, it does seem to be isolated to the servo Controller component. TECIV5_ServoSystem_Glitch2.fcfx To observe with a scope, I needed a minimum pulse width but anything above 1.5m...

Ahh bummer.
It now has another style of instability. Rather than the previous scatter gun changes to the pulse width;
Now a stable 2mS pulse, will randomly drop to 0.192mS...
I'll keep poking around, see if I can find a link to anything.

Thanks Ben, looks stable, I'd mark that as a solution!
J.

Ooooh.. I put that little C snippet into my original program and hardware, just before the main servo move. Looks stable so far, I'm going to leave it over lunch with the DSO monitoring for issues. fingers crossed.

Hi Ben, I'm keeping a constant Duty so I dont have a location in the FC to reset the timer counts. I'll try a few things in that direction though. I've moved the ECIO40P to a EB061 Board to removed any external hardware issues from CAN controllers etc. Edited down the FC to very little and still get...

Just working on this now... incrementally removing items from FC program untill is stabilises. Monitoiring the Servo Pulse with a DSO and persistance so I can catch any glitches. BTW, Running the Servo component on its only its own macros and with a constant value , a rock steady output. Hopefully I...

Hi, I'm running ECIO40P with; Servo Component (1 channel only) CAN component (external, channel1) UART component (software, TX only) + a few basic inputs / outputs. The servo hardware is very responsive (too responsive!) it reacts to the slightest change is control pulse. Even if the servo position ...

Thanks Martin, I've found this really useful. I was outputing general diagnositc data over UART but being able to write to specific locations on the screen has made it much easier. I tried the USB slave and it worked just fine but each time I sent a new FC to my ECIO, I would have to restart my Tera...