ENGINEERING PROJECT MANIA

In this article, we are going to see how to interface an RTC (Real Time Clock) Module to 8051 micro controller. There are different kinds of RTC module available in the market. We are using the most common RTC module that comes with the DS1307 IC, an LCD module and AT89S52 (8051 variant) for this tutorial. AT89S52 is a typical 8051 microcontroller manufactured by Atmel. Interfacing an RTC module to 8051 microcontroller is pretty simple. You only need to make 2 connections between the RTC module and 8051. So lets get to business! A Real Time Clock module is basically a time tracking device which gives the current time and date. RTC modules that comes with DS3231 IC have the provision to set alarms. Notes On DS1307 RTC Module Here we are using an RTC module with clock chip DS1307 based on I2C protocol (Two Wire Protocol). The module provides details such us second, minute, hour, day of week, day of month, month and year including correction for leap year. It can operate eithe

An astable multivibrator can be designed using different types of components, say using transistors (and associated components) alone or by using op amps (and associated components). In this article, we are designing an Astable Multivibrator using 555 Timer IC. If you are wondering what all are the practical applications of an astable multivibrator, lets begin by seeing a few. One of the most common application for an astable multivibrator is to generate time delays . Let’s say you want to turn an LED “ ON ” for 1 second and keep it “ OFF ” for 0.5 seconds, then an astable multivibrator is the best circuit you could use to build this application. Unlike the monostable multivibrator, this circuit does not require any ex­ternal trigger to change the state of the output, hence the name free-running. Before going to make the circuit, make sure your 555 IC is working. For that go through the article: How to test a 555 IC for working An astable multivibrator can be produced by adding

We need faster tools and media to prove our ideas, and this is where ready-to use modules like Smart Wi-Fi enter. Fig. 1 shows the top side of Smart Wi-Fi module. Fig. 1: Smart Wi-Fi module Fig. 2: Block diagram of the introduction of Smart Wi-Fi The module is low-cost and versatile; all a developer needs is a USB cable and it is ready to work. For software developers, working with hardware is always a pain, and this is one of the biggest reasons why many ideas never exit a computer. Smart Wi-Fi enables making a product quickly and reliably. With open software resources and hardware data, moving to the final product after the proof of concept is also easy. One of the major aims for writing this article is to show the versatility of this product and show how quick the development can be. In this article a few tests with Smart Wi-Fi are discussed, which show the applicability of this module for development of the Internet of Things (IoT) products. Fig. 3: C

The lost plane finder introduced here is a little on board beacon, also known as lost model alarm/crashed aircraft beacon, which helps you find a crashed or downed radio-controlled plane. The concept is to get an alert from a piezo sounder if there are no signals from the associated radio-controlled transmitter. Usually, the radio transmitter provides a set of pulses every 20 milliseconds, which, in turn, sends the radio receiver a separate pulse to each of the servos at the same interval. In this circuit, an alarm will sound when the radio receiver no longer receives the set of pulses from the radio transmitter. Fig. 1: A typical lost plane finder To locate the aircraft, all you have to do is switch your transmitter off and the system will start to beep. The circuit is very easy to build and does not require any special parts like costly microcontrollers. A typical lost plane finder is shown in Fig. 1. Circuit and working Circuit diagram of the lost plane find

Air pollution and concern about air quality is not something new. Complaints were recorded even in the 13th century when coal was first used for industrial purposes in London. From the middle of the 19th century, the atmosphere of major British cities was regularly polluted by coal smoke in winters, giving rise to the infamous mixture of fog and smoke known as smog. Today the emphasis has shifted from pollution problems caused by the industry to the ones associated with motor vehicle emissions. Author’s Prototype Air Quality Index Air Quality Index, or AQI, is a number used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is, or how polluted it is likely to become. As AQI increases, an increasingly large percentage of the population experiences severe adverse health effects. Different countries have their own air-quality indices corresponding to different national air-quality standards. Some of these are Air Quality Health Index (C

Conventionally, wireless-controlled robots use RF circuits,which have the drawbacks of limited working range, limited frequency range and limited control. Use of a mobile phone for robotic control can overcome these limitations. It provides the advantages of robust control, working range as large as the coverage area of the service provider, no interference with other controllers and up to twelve controls. Although the appearance and capabilities of robots vary vastly, all robots share the features of a mechanical, movable structure under some form of control. The control of robot involves three distinct phases: preception, processing and action. Generally, the preceptors are sensors mounted on the robot, processing is done by the on-board microcontroller or processor, and the task (action) is performed using motors or with some other actuators.   Project overview In this project, the robot is controlled by a mobile phone that makes a call to the mobile phone at