Bee Counter

January 09, 2012

You can build the circuit on matrix board.
The kit of components comes with all the parts you need to get the project working, including a pre-programmed chip and the matrix board.
To modify the program you will need a PICkit-2 programmer and this comes with 2 CD’s containing all the software needed for In-Circuit Programming.
You will also need a lead (comes with PICkit-2) to connect the programmer to your lap top via the USB port and an adapter we call 6pin to 5 pin Adapter to connect the PICkit-2 to your project.

PROGRAMMING THE CHIP

The kit comes with a pre-programmed PIC chip but if you want to program your own chip or modify the program, the .hex file is available as well as the assembly file, so you can see how the program has been written and view the comments for each line of code.
The PIC12F629 is one of the smallest micros in the range but you will be surprised how much can be achieved with such a tiny micro.
The program contains sub-routines to produce delays, sequences on the display and both read and write EEPROM; jobs that require accurate code - including a special sequence - called a handshaking sequence that prevents the EEPROM being written due to glitches.
Even a program as simple as this is not easy to put together and to assist in this area, we have provided a whole raft of support material.
Not only do we provide a number of programs with full documentation but our approach to programming is simple.
It involves a method of “copy and paste” whereby sub-routines are taken from previously written code and copied into your program. Any modifications are made in very small steps so that each can be tested before adding more code.
This is exactly how we produce a complex project. Each step is written and tested before adding the next step.
This saves a lot of frustration as it is very easy to add a line of code that is incorrect and get an unsuspected result.
If you follow our suggestions you will buy a programmer (“burner”) called a PICkit-2 if you are using a laptop. It is the cheapest and best on the market and comes with a USB cable and 2 CD’s containing the programs needed to “burn” the chip. If you are using a desk-top and/or tower with a serial port, you can use a cheaper programmer called MultiChip Programmer from Talking Electronics. You will also need NotePad2 to write your .asm program. This can be downloaded from Talking Electronics website. You will use BeeCounter.asm or BeeCounter-asm.txt as a basis and it is best to change only a few lines at a time to see what effect is created. You will also need a 6 pin to 5 pin connector that fits between the burner and the project. This is also available on Talking Electronics website.
As we said before, this project is for medium-to-advanced programmers as it is very compact and does not have in-circuit programming pins.
To be able to modify the chip you will need a programming socket and this can be obtained from one of our other projects that contains the 5 pins for in-circuit programming. Or you can build a programming socket by adding a socket to a surface-mount PC board and solder 5 pins to one edge and connect the socket to the pins.
You can then put the chip into the socket and program it.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

There are a number of kits, programs and courses on the market that claim and suggest they teach PIC Programming.
Most of these modules and courses use a PIC microcontroller as the chip carrying out the processes, but the actual programming is done by a proprietary language invented by the designer of the course.
Although these courses are wonderful to get you into “Programming Microcontrollers” they do not use any of the terms or codes that apply to the PIC microcontroller family.
All our projects use the 33 instructions that come with the PIC Microcontroller and these are very easy to learn.
We use the full capability of the micro and our pre-programmed chip is less than the cost of doing it any other way.
In addition, anything designed via our method can be instantly transferred to a PIC die and mass produced. And we use all the input pins and all the memory of the chip. The other approaches use less than 25% of the capability of the memory and one of the pins is not available.
In fact it would be difficult to reproduce this project via any of the opposition methods. It would require a larger chip and more expense.
You can use our method or the opposition. Just be aware that the two are not interchangeable.
Ours is classified as the lowest “form” (level) of programming - commonly called machine code - invented in the early days of microprocessors - and now called mnemonic programming as each line of code is made up of letters of a set of words. The opposition uses a higher level language where one instruction can carry out an operation similar to a sub-routine.
But you have to learn the “higher level language” in order to create a program. And this requires a fair amount of skill and capability.
It sounds great and it is a good idea. But if you want to learn PIC programming, it does not assist you. It is “a step removed” from learning PIC language. The other disadvantage of the opposition is the “overhead.” The 1,000 spaces allocated for your program is filled with pre-written sub-routines. You may require only 10 of these sub-routines but ALL of them are loaded in the memory space. And they take up all the memory.
You have no room for your own program.
To get around this the opposition uses the 128 bytes in EEPROM to deliver instructions on how to apply the sub-routines. This provides about 30 powerful instructions using their language called BASIC (or a similar language).
It’s a bit like selling a diary filled with all the paragraphs you need to express yourself, and leaving a few blank pages at the back for you to write single lines such as: see page 24, paragraph 7, see page 63 paragraph 4, to create your diary entries.
It depends on how much you want to be in charge of writing a program. Using our method is like writing your own auto-biography. Using the opposition is like getting a “ghost writer.”
When using a higher level language to create a program, you have absolutely no idea how the code is generated for the micro.
In some of the developmental kits, the code is “locked away” and you are NEVER able to access it.
Everything runs smoothly until a fault appears. With our method you can see the code. With the other methods, you cannot see the code - it’s like doing key-hole surgery without the advantage of an illuminated endoscope to see what you are doing.
Everything has its place and our method of hand-assembly is only suitable for very small micros and you will eventually need to “learn a high level language.” The PIC12F629 has over 1,000 locations for code and this equates to more than 20 pages when printed, so this is about the limit to doing things by hand.
But our drive is to show how much can be done with the simplest devices on the market, at the lowest cost.
Anyone can show you high-technology at a high price but this is not where you start and this is not where you get enthusiasm.
We provide the things to get you started. That’s the difference.

The PROGRAM

The program starts in a loop to detect when the left IR detector is interrupted. It then goes to a second loop to detect when the right IR detector is interrupted. When an IR detector is interrupted, the output goes HIGH. The sensitivity can be adjusted by moving the IR LED closer to the receiver. A 10k pot is also included to adjust the sensitivity.
When the right IR detector is interrupted, a “count file” is incremented and a 10mS output is produced via a PNP transistor. A 100R on the output protects the transistor from any short-circuits.
A LED indicates the output has been sent.
The project keeps a tally of the number of “cycles” and this can be “read” by pressing the switch.
The count is recorded by listening to low-pitched beeps to represent 10’s and high-pitched beeps to represent 1’s.
Here are the files you will need:

;************************************************************* ;;**Bee Counter****.asm** ;************************************************************* ;Left IR detects then increments count on right-side detection ; 12F629.asm ; 8-1-2012 list p=12F629 radix dec include "p12f629.inc" errorlevel -302 ; Don't complain about BANK 1 registers __CONFIG _MCLRE_OFF & _CP_OFF & _WDT_OFF & _INTRC_OSC_NOCLKOUT ;Internal osc. temp1 equ 20h ; temp2 equ 21h ; temp3 equ 22h ; units equ 23h ; tens equ 24h ; del_x equ 28h del_y equ 29h tempunits equ 2Ah temptens equ 2Bh ;**************************************************************** ;Equates ;**************************************************************** status equ 0x03 rp1 equ 0x06 rp0 equ 0x05 GPIO equ 0x05 status equ 03h option_reg equ 81h ; bits on GPIO pin7 equ 0 ;GP0 left IR detector - input pin6 equ 1 ;GP1 goes low to produce HIGH signal - output pin5 equ 2 ;GP2 Sw input sends count to beeper - input pin4 equ 3 ;GP3 right IR detector - input pin3 equ 4 ;GP4 beeper - output pin2 equ 5 ;GP5 ;bits rp0 equ 5 ;bit 5 of the status register ;**************************************************************** ;Beginning of program ;**************************************************************** Start org 0x00 ;reset vector address nop nop nop nop ;NOPs to get past reset vector address nop nop ;set up to allow counting from external oscillator SetUp bsf status, rp0 ;Bank 1 movlw b'11001001' ;Set TRIS movwf TRISIO bcf status, rp0 ;bank 0 movlw 07h ;Set up W to turn off Comparator ports movwf CMCON ;must be placed in bank 0 clrf GPIO ;Clear GPIO of junk clrf flags clrf units ;initialise count = 0 clrf tens ;initialise count = 0 goto Main ;**************************************************************** ;* Delays ;**************************************************************** _10mS movlw 0Ah movwf temp2 D_a nop decfsz temp1,1 goto D_a decfsz temp2,1 goto D_a retlw 00 ;Delay 0.25 sec D_250mS movlw 01h movwf temp3 DelX decfsz temp1,1 goto DelX decfsz temp2,1 goto DelX decfsz temp3,1 goto DelX retlw 00 ;**************************** ;* Sub-routines * ;**************************** ;output produces long beeps for tens ;and short beeps for units to signify count. output movf units,0 movwf tempunits movf tens,0 movwf temptens movf temptens,1 ;check for zero btfsc status,2 ;zero flag Will be set if file is zero goto $+4 call tensbeep decfsz temptens,1 goto $-2 call D_250mS call D_250mS call D_250mS call D_250mS movf tempunits,1 ;check for zero btfsc status,2 ;zero flag Will be set if file is zero retlw 00 call unitsbeep decfsz tempunits,1 goto $-2 retlw 00 ;produces "beep" to indicate bee has moved and outputs to output. shortbeep movlw 0ffh movwf del_y movlw .45 movwf del_x nop decfsz del_x,1 goto $-2 movlw b'00010000' xorwf gpio,1 ;toggle GP4 decfsz del_y,1 goto $-8 call D_250mS retlw 00 ;short beep to indicate units unitsbeep movlw 80h movwf del_y movlw .45 movwf del_x nop decfsz del_x,1 goto $-2 movlw b'00010000' xorwf gpio,1 ;toggle GP4 decfsz del_y,1 goto $-8 call D_250mS call D_250mS retlw 00 leftbeep movlw 80h movwf del_y movlw .45 movwf del_x nop decfsz del_x,1 goto $-2 movlw b'00010000' xorwf gpio,1 ;toggle GP4 decfsz del_y,1 goto $-8 call D_250mS call D_250mS retlw 00 ;long beep to indicate tens tensbeep movlw 0ffh movwf del_y movlw 0ffh movwf del_x nop decfsz del_x,1 goto $-2 movlw b'00010000' xorwf gpio,1 ;toggle GP4 decfsz del_y,1 goto $-8 call D_250mS call D_250mS retlw 00 rightbeep movlw 0ffh movwf del_y movlw 0ffh movwf del_x nop decfsz del_x,1 goto $-2 movlw b'00010000' xorwf gpio,1 ;toggle GP4 decfsz del_y,1 goto $-8 call D_250mS call D_250mS retlw 00 Up incf units,1 movlw 0Ah ;put 10 into w xorwf units,0 ;compare units file with 10 btfss status,2 ;zero flag will be set if units is 10 retlw 00 clrf units incf tens,1 movlw 0Ah ;put 10 into w xorwf tens,0 ;compare units file with 10 btfss status,2 ;zero flag will be set if tens is 10 retlw 00 clrf tens retlw 00 ;**************************************************************** ;* Main * ;**************************************************************** Main bsf status, rp0 ;Bank 1 movlw b'11101101' ;switch and IR receivers GP0 GP2 GP3 movwf TRISIO bcf status, rp0 ;bank 0 bsf GPIO,1 ;turn off output LED call D_250mS btfss GPIO,2 ;input will be LOW when sw pressed call output nop btfss GPIO,0 ;input will be HIGH when bee detected goto $-5 ;Left IR not detecting call leftbeep call D_250mS btfss GPIO,2 ;input will be LOW when sw pressed call output nop btfss GPIO,3 ;input will be HIGH when bee detected goto $-5 ;right IR not detecting call Up ;increment count call rightbeep bcf gpio,1 call _10mS bsf gpio,1 goto $-18 end

Bee Counter Parts List

Cost: au$20.00 plus postage
[Kits are available](mailto:colin@elechelp.com?Subject=Buying Bee Counter kit $20.00&Body=Please e-mail the cost of Bee Counter kit by air mail to my country:****___**** and send details of how I can pay for it. My name is:____)

2 - 100R SM resistors

2 - 330R SM resistors

2 - 1k SM resistors

3 - 2k2 SM resistors

2 - 4k7 SM resistors

1 - 10k SM resistor

2 - 10k mini trim pots

1 - 100n SM capacitor

2 - 1u SM electrolytics

2 - 10u SM electrolytics

1 - BC847 SM transistor

1 - BC857 SM transistor

1 - 1N4004 SM diode

2 - IR LEDs (supplied in kit)

2 - IR transistors (supplied in kit)

1 - 3mm red LED

1 - SPDT mini slide switch

1 - mini tactile switch

1 - 8 pin IC socket

1 - PIC12F629 chip (Bee routine)

1 - piezo diaphragm

1 - 10mH choke

5 - machine pins for in-circuit-programming

1 - 4 AAA cell battery holder

1 - 30cm fine enamelled wire

1 - 3m fine screened lead

1 - 20cm very fine solder

1 - Experimenter PC board

Social Media

Table Of Contents

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

The CIRCUIT

CONSTRUCTION

PROGRAMMING THE CHIP

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

The PROGRAM

Bee Counter Parts List

Colin Mitchell

Expertise

Social Media

Related Posts

Table Of Contents

.css-1qh5hbx{box-sizing:border-box;margin:0;min-width:0;display:block;color:var(--theme-ui-colors-heading,#2d3748);font-weight:bold;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;margin-bottom:1rem;font-size:1.5rem;position:relative;}INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

The CIRCUIT

CONSTRUCTION

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

The PROGRAM

Bee Counter Parts List

Colin Mitchell

Expertise

Social Media

Related Posts

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE