== TEAM 5-0 NEWS == === some parts 20k Potentiometer - 3329P-203-ND (LCD contrast control) 3 Ohm Resistor - OF30GJE (LCD backlight switch resistor) 20 Ohm Resistor – PPC20W-1CT-ND (LCD backlight switch resistor) Black On/Off Switch - 508PB-ND* (LCD backlight switch) Red Momentary Normally Open - 502PB - ND (We need at least 4 of these)** SIP Resistor (1K) pack - 4306R-101-102LF (This is for the momentary switches. It is bussed so you can just make one connection to ground, the rest need to go to switches separately.) TLV272 dual op amp - 296-12671-5-ND (We are ordering a dual, but we only need one OpAmp at the moment.) (Buffer for voltage divider for measuring battery voltage) Molex Connection for Momentary Switch - WM3214-ND - 1 of these goes to ground, the other four go to 5V. This needs to be on the side of the board. Molex Connection for LCD Switch - WM3211-ND - this needs to be connected to the two resistors for the LCD backlight ---- sensor data webpage: http://www.allegromicro.com/sf/0706/index.asp === (1/27/07) (MJG + MN) === *It turns out there's already a way to know if the alternator is charging the battery--the battery warning light! We can count this as, at least, one issue resolved--all we have to do now to get through this step in our logic is to find the warning light's port on the car and hook it to our circuit... *State of charge of the battery is a touchier issue. The best way to do it is to measure the specific gravity of the battery, but there doesn't appear to be a reliable method of measuring SG electronically (such that a microprocessor could handle the measurement). There are a variety of methods using voltage, current, and ambient temperature to measure this, but the overhead complexity is pretty onerous. We'll discuss this with Dr. Schafer and Dr. Sauer to get a little more guidance and decide where to go from there. === (1/26/07) (MJG) === Jason--I don't think so, at least not the ones in the Fitz cluster; the Learning Center PCs have them, but I can't find any other ones. Marty and I ran into this problem the other day when we were revising the software schedule. We should see if we can get a software license. UPDATE (5:42 PM) -- Team Software is meeting at 1 PM, Saturday, to start taking stock of options with the microcontroller and to evaluate how best to measure battery levels on the car; Team Hardware, please add your time when you get a chance. === (1/25/07) (JMK) === Do any of the cluster machines even have Microsoft project anymore? I have been on 3 machines and it is not on any of them! How is one supposed to update project stuff if the program is not anywhere? Any help would be appreciated.-JK === (1/24/07) (MJG) === 00 In order to cut down on e-mail volume between group members, I am keen on moving more group communication / announcements over to the Wiki space. I included another sample entry above to give an idea of how this should work, with more recent entries going above. Come on, people, let's try it out... 00 Is anyone else having problems uploading files to the FTP space? I wanted to clean up our attachments and get all the memos online but I don't have permission, for some reason, to put files on the FTP space. 00 The MS Project file was updated on 1/24 to better reflect how Team Software (Mike and Marty) thinks the project will develop, in light of a better understanding of how the software will "work." 00 We have been in contact with the Police Department to get a better idea of device priority in our police car, and Matt Chlebowski is currently working to get us the information we need. We should have all the necessary information soon, hopefully by our first group meeting. 00 The weekly group meeting for Team 5-0 has been set for /*Fridays at 1:15 PM*/ (meet at Schafer's office or EE Boardroom). The originally proposed time of 1:30 was pushed back to allow some buffer time for Dr. Schafer to get to Intro. to EE Lab.