Lumitock is based on the Arduino platform, specifically using an Arduino Pro Mini 328 (socketed, I have commitment issues). It also uses a DS1337C RTC for time-keeping, and TLC5940 LED drivers to keep track of all that light. I used BatchPCB to fab some boards for it, and they turned out great. Very solid, and such an easy service when time isn’t much of a factor.

It is open hardware and software, available on github. The Arduino project as well as Eagle CAD project files are included.

Beware! The current version (tag version-1) has a fairly nasty issue with the PCB layout, the TLC5940 sockets were drawn as .4″ wide, not .3″. Not fun to solder that up, you can see the kludgey fixes in the images. I will be updating the PCB as well as making a SMT-only version to slim things up.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Images

First video is of 1 servo working with really jittery input.

Second video is 2 servos on X and Y axis with smoothed input.  Much nicer.

Using libwiimote on the host side for Wii Remote interfacing.

Currently only a few shots of some basic functionality, nothing concrete to announce or deliver unfortunately.

Screen Images

Splash screen	Fans
Lights	Temperatures

Application Screenshots

Main Menu	Fan Controls
Lighting Controls	Temperatures

Mr. Baybus had a few problems I wanted to take care of. One being price, it cost way too much compared to its utililty value, which is normal for projects like this, but still…

Mr. Baybus 2 uses a much more sophisticated microcontroller, a PIC 16F870. This is a 28-pin SDIP style chip, lots more I/O pins, an onboard UART, and even an ADC. This little guy also has twice the instruction memory, so I had more freedom to make the interface somewhat more sleek, and add more features. The benefit of more pins is CHEAPER LCD. The previous serial LCD ran about $42 shipped, which is semi-high for a serial LCD in general, but it was a CrystalFontz so at least it was high quality. Anyways, now I can move to a simple HD44780 based parallel LCD (by CrystalFontz, of course). These run around $20 shipped, and even less from other places selling generics.

Features

• Three On/Off Fan controls
• One 12V Light control (Neons, etc)
• Two centrigrade temperature sensors
• 20×2 screen (any HD44780 compatible will work)
• Simple, menu-driven style interface
• Stores fan status in non-volatile memory

Display Images

Splash screen	Fan status	Fan status w/selection
Lighting status	Temperatures

Unit Images

High view of the front	High view of the back
Back view	Underneath

Version 2.1

A slight update to the original. I decided I wanted to re-write it in C as an exercise. While I was at it, I figured I’d add a feature or two.

Pretty basic, a complete re-write in C, Hi-Tech PICC to be exact. It’s a great compiler for the PICs and gave me opportunities to re-write the LCD, ADC and DELAY libraries in C.

New Features

• New program-loop idea, worked well
• Strobe mode for Light output
• Temperatures in Celcius or Fahrenheit

Downloads

All files for Mr. Baybus 2 are distributed under a BSD-style license.

• Original
  • Assembly source code, and assembled HEX file (built for 16F870) (zip)
  • Parts list (OOo spreadsheet)
  • Screen prototypes (OOo spreadsheet)
• v2.1
  • C source code, and compiled HEX file (built for 16F870) (zip)
  • Screen prototypes (OOo spreadsheet)

Control comes from momentary switches on the front panel. You have 4 switches to toggle your fans on/off, and a brightness/contrast button, which switches you into a screen to alter those settings. Another press gets you back to the fan status display.

All settings are saved in EEPROM memory on-chip. So when you shut your system down, then power back up, your fans will be running the same as they were before, and your brightness and contrast will remain unchanged as well.

The display is a CrystalFontz 16×2 Serial LCD. This unit is EXCELLENT. It supports SPI transfers which is what Mr. Baybus prefers!

The fans are switched by power MOSFETs. IRL3102′s to be exact. They are rated to handle up to around 7A for a 12V circuit like this. This is of course far beyond anything I would ever want to throw at it, but it’s nice to know you have the room to expand.

Connections to the system are made via a small 4-pin connector. This facilitates 2 fans per circuit, 4 circuits in all. The connector is the same as the CD-Audio connector on your CD-Rom’s so it’s quick and easy to remove the fans.

The brains of the system come in the form of an 18-pin microcontroller. A very basic PIC16F84a. At 4MHz this little guy is going way faster than this system needs but hey, if you got it, why not. All 912 lines of code were written in assembly over the course of a few nights.

Full source code, schematics and PCB layouts are available, enjoy!

Screen Images

Startup Splash

Main Screen

Options

Unit Images

Blank PCB	Mr. Baybus	Labeled Close-up
Front view, installed	Rear view, installed

Downloads

All files for Mr. Baybus are distributed under a BSD-style license.

• Assembly source code, and assembled HEX file (built for PIC16F84a) (zip)
• PCB Layout (gif)
• Schematic (pdf)