Microprocessor Update

Well I learned a few things this past weekend. First and foremost my SMD soldering skills are rusty. We perhaps I’m being too critical of myself. I have never actually tried to solder a discrete component smaller than 0805 and the bypass caps in this kit have to be 0402 or smaller. Smaller than a grain of rice for sure. Anyways, I got through 98% of the SMD components on Friday night but two of the .1uF bypass caps were lost as my tweezers shot them into wherever. I contact Brian to get some replacement parts so maybe those will get here today and I can knock them out later tonight.

As I couldn’t finish the board I decided to wit on the thru-hole parts too. To pass the time I started re-reading my Mobile Robotics book and looking for online content along the lines of PID motor control code using the ATMega128. I found a very promising site (still investigating) at www.drtak.org

I have also been playing with some driving strategies for the course which may end up affecting my base platform’s shape.

Onward,
Jay