But Where's the Source Code for the Microcontrollers?



I mentioned somewhere else in these writeups that the microcontroller code is fairly basic. In fact, I had to compile it 32 different times, once for each chip. Right now, there is no way to re-address the chips, short of recompiling and reprogramming.

One of the first variables I declared in the program is 'Address,' which of course corresponds to each unit's DMX address.

So if I were to post a compiled hex file, it would be stuck at an arbitrary address.

I think I'll modify it so that if a non-zero start code is received, the chip knows to set it's address to the next byte after the start code. That would make it very easy to program the pixels in the field.

The '628 has enough free I/O lines that I could have used DIP switches to set each address. But the goal in the back of my mind is to eventually have the entire system running on 12F529 or smaller chips. So some sort of dynamic addressing scheme is definitely needed.

Plus, the Max patch would easily accommodate setting non-zero start codes from time to time.

Hmmmmm.

- John

Posted: Fri - December 23, 2005 at 09:10 PM          


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