Circuit Cellar’s June issue is now online, outlining DIY projects ranging from an automated real-time vehicle locator to a GPS-oriented solar tracker and offering solid advice on bit banging, FPGA reconfiguration, customizing the Linux kernel, and more.
A persistent problem typically sparks the invention of projects featured in our magazine. For example, when the campus at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, had a growth spurt, the local transit authority provided a shuttle bus to help students who were rushing from class to class. But ridership was low because of the bus’ unpredictable schedule.
So a college engineering team constructed a mobile application to track the bus. That system inspired the cover of our June issue and complements its communications theme.
The three-part system consists of a user’s smartphone running a HTML5-compatible browser, a base station consisting of an XTend 900-MHz radio connected to a Raspberry Pi single-board computer, and a mobile tracker including a GPS receiver, a Microchip Technology PIC18F26K22 microcontroller, and an XTend module.
The Raspberry Pi runs a web server to handle requests from a user’s smartphone. The user then receives accurate bus arrival times.
Also aligning with June’s theme, we present an article about implementing serial data transmission through bit banging. You’ll gain a better understanding of how serial data is transmitted and received by a microprocessor’s hardware UART peripheral. You’ll also learn how bit banging can achieve serial communication in software, which is essential when your embedded system’s microprocessor lacks a built-in UART.
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Recognizing a rapidly unfolding communications trend, this issue includes an inventor’s essay about how the presence of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in the latest mobile devices is sparking a big boom in innovative hardware/sensor add-ons that use your smartphone or tablet as an interface. Other communications-related articles include Part 2 of a close look at radio-frequency identification (RFID). This month’s installment describes the front-end analog circuitry for the RFID base station of a secure door-entry project.
In addition, we offer articles about adjusting your FPGA design while it’s operating, modifying the Linux kernel to suit your hardware and software designs, tools and techniques to boost your power supply, digital data encoding in wireless systems, GPS orientation of a solar panel, and an interview with Quinn Dunki, an embedded applications consultant and hacker.
The June issue is available for membership download or single-issue purchase.
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Circuit Cellar's editorial team comprises professional engineers, technical editors, and digital media specialists. You can reach the Editorial Department at editorial@circuitcellar.com, @circuitcellar, and facebook.com/circuitcellar
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