Re: Lamont info and Fail Safe
Posted by:
Peter Heid (IP Logged)
Date: March 22, 2002 08:53PM
<HTML>A microcontroller can easily sense the current level of a pump, high or low, and respond accordingly by slowing the motor or killing the flame. Many inputs can be combined to provide a fail safe from multipule directions. A thermal couple can be directly hooked to a microcontroller as well as pressure sensors and many others. The desired output is modified in software, reguardless of the hardware used. A very high current drain would be 0.100 amps and stand by is only 0.000007 amps. To sense 4 critical inputs may require only 10 or 15 discrete components and total cost might run 50 bucks after the $200.00 outlay to program them your self. They can be programed in an abreviated form of the basic language from your desk top computers printer port in minutes. No assembly language, no heavy electronics calculations and the chips cost from $3.00 to about $15.00 depending on the features. Most are reprogramable a minimum of 1000 times, plenty of room for mistakes and modifications.
As the cost keeps droping on microcontrollers, expect NOT to see them everywhere, they are hidden in everything. Soon when you bring your groceries home, the mocrocontroller in the 2 litre bottle of coke will inform your fridge or pantry of its arrivial and register its self on the fridge or pantry inventory schedule automatically. This may go so far as to appear on a LCD panel on the fridge, indicating entry date, amount left, expiration date and so on, even creating a shoping list automatically. No more opening the fridge to see whats inside. If you think I am dreaming, go buy a talking greeting card. When you do, you will be holding more computing power in your hand than existed in the whole world before about 1960. Also, for the last 20 or more years the density of IC chips has doubled every 6 months, as predicted, and the end is not in sight.
If anyone wants to learn more I can recomend a few good books.
Peter Heid</HTML>