Quote:
Originally Posted by Astro
Arber333, finally got the .rar to decompress. Had to use a WinXP virtual machine running RarZilla. The .rar file wouldn't play nice with any of the Linux based archivers i tried.
Had a look through the files and there is a lot of stuff in there.
Most of this stuff is beyond what i want to have to learn. I am more a software person. I was hoping that harlequin2 would have revisited the forums. I had hoped he would have continued developing his BMS into a product/kit. I am sure i would have had no trouble soldering up the board and programming the software but going from a schematic or a pcb file to the collection of files that the PCB manufacturers want is daunting. I could just see myself ordering $100 worth of pcbs to find them all messed up when they arrived.
I think i will just wait and see if harlequin2 returns and is willing to order some extra celltop/master pcbs and sell them to forum members. Or even better sell a kit of pcbs and components.
I just want to get a working hardware base that i can then get stuck into developing software for. harlequin2's setup was nice and simple. All the smart bits were in the software. This is why i think it would make an excellent starting point for me.
A thought i had as i was looking at your pcb was the idea of an infra-red link between modules. I think you (maybe someone else) mentioned it earlier in the thread. Setting up an infra-red receiver and transmitter on each module. If you placed the transmitter and the receiver side by side and left enough length on the devices legs so they could be bent over to face one side of the pcb or the other depending on the modules orientation. Then i think you would get good alignment with only few cm or so separating transmitter and receiver. You could even put a sleeve (tube) from transmitter to receiver to eliminate all crosstalk and outside interference. If you used a tube between modules you could even use visible light rather than infra-red which would make trouble shooting easier as you would be able to see the flashing led of the transmitter. The tube wouldn't have to be anything special, i am imagining something like a drinking straw but of a material that would cope with the heat it may experience. Get a few meters of tube and cut the lengths required to join the modules. Automotive vacuum line would probably do and is very cheap.
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Well OK, but i already made two sets of BMS modules and hardware works also i know at least one guy made his BMS on my files basis. I got a second one asking...
My files are jus a tad bit different than Nevilles. However i am now improving on software to suit my application if you like to play with source code then PM me.
Regarding IR link check this:
DIY Fiber Optic link - RC Groups
I would use twisted wires troughout battery box, since box is usualy enclosed with sheet metal (faraday cage) i would use only first and last module as receiver and transmitter for optic cable. That way my three boxes and master would be connected by light - no EMI trough cables...
If you still want to use tubes, i would reccomend 4mm al tubes used for model airplane commands - perfectly level and stiff. Carbon tubes are difficult to cut...
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