Electronic Computer Projects for Commodore and Atari Personal Computers

204 Pages·1986·38.55 MB·English

by  Soori Sivakumaran

“Electronic

Projects —

Personal 4 Computers
_ Electronic
Computer
Projects

for Commodore and Atari
Personal Computers

Soori Sivakumaran

COMPUTE! Publications, nog

~ Greenssere, Nori Caretine

Feroword
Pratace

1 Getting insice Your Computer
2 Exploring the Central Po:
3 Making a soystex
4.Gome Pcadios

8 An Analog Light Sensor
6A Light Pen

7 & Data Light Sonsor

8 an Floclionic Switch

9 Burglar Aci

10 Diaital Logic

11 A Beret Logic Probe
12Were coos

13 Robotics

Appendices
| COMPLTE!'s Guide to “yping In Programs
B Integrate Cireurs

Indo

Your personal compute is a posveréa! machine, It cua eaeu
late faster than any clerk, prin: documents faxzer thon any typ=
{sland piay <less with the masters. Your eoftware Wbsary js
prozabiy full of such applications, along wih games, utes,
land educational sofexare

Tat 2 computa: ean do 2 “ot more than run softwase. It ean
bbe a sophisticated ccrcroller whieh toons lights on and off,
monitors sour home's wiewiows and doars, and =nckes robot
linvks move, lo secomplish <hese tasks, hover, you need
sensarg, motor crews, and cra eleerronie devices, Thacs
‘why you nead Li Computer Praects

Tis book isa slep-by-ctep quide to building a variety of
lecironie devices, im the simple sn the sopbistcared. With
complete and cantcise insinuction® anyone ean follow and ac~
companied by Getailed phatoyrapins amd figures, Elesioaie

muputer Projects ig the book swith which you can :each your
Commodore or Aue gerscral computer Valuable new treks,

Pact Fists ovine wihat you need the ingsnictinns shove yo
how te do everything fron: healing the taldering iren to plug.
ging in the las: component, and prngreens cast and adjuss each
projet

farm hone ti build your ovm joysticks, garew pad, ad

ligh: puns. See how sb pa together two kinds of light seasors,
‘oven how to erate bumglar alarm vt an anfiaeedl sensor
that “sees in the dar. Logie probes, which let you “oak
ino digital civec}s, multiplesers and dem hiplevers, ever
rabotie moter contra! c wus ave all par of this s00k'sinteigu
ing and educational projects, Fach projec. has beer. built ara
‘usted —you wor find any surprives when you conuee: 4 du
ice te your vompurcr.

Flertranic Cangpacr Paoists 6.» thorough gid to yore ad=
venice nga computer contnol et the outside would.

CCompucess ace versatile machines svhach van be programed
to perform nek Quickly and accurately. These tasks, ot spp
gy sum the cane Hoan woanes aiid word processing,

rnandial modeling or contvolling the lights and he:
home.

Mest compnter applications, at some point in the process
Imolve a program which processes dats, av infomation. &
vviden arcade jame is @ goo example, Here, the date ie en
tered by the player Uoligh & joystics—she processing the
pagiam performs is the movida ol ke character on the screen.
‘Another example, won processing, lex you enter text (the
fata) anc poncess it (hy Formatting properly and intr
fous). These kinds of applications sre cerlainly useft], but they
aren’? the end uf your compster's capabilities

‘A vest majonity of computer appligations ove limited to act
dng only on dat encered by the ager. either from the keybousd,
cor the joystick, Yes sume uf the ost interesting applialions
resul: when computers inlerae: with the outside worsd, A. com:
rer which en examine is survonindliage ca then se This
Infarmation to perform 2 useful funeion, Imagine your com~
puter. sensing chat a now davk outside, turning on your out
de lights before you avive Rome from work,

Computers have made possible systems whic can cont
excemely comples operatias, The suftanre, or programs
‘which inswzuet a computer to do a speritic ses isin fact 3
Form of inceltigonon-if weitten eoervely, the programs <a ¢e-
set 10 dil'erent conditions in predetermined ways,

Tins book wi! show ‘ays you can ase your computer 10 He
late ond react to the outside world This is dane :htough sex
sors and actuators. Sensors gather inlaemalion Irom the ouside
world forthe computer ra pracess. Acctators allot the com=
puter to intlounce outside evens. Several et che projects put
Sonsors aul actuators together so Ghat che eumpuiter can per~
oem a given tas,

“Te help yoo ge: stared, the tit feve projects in this broke
are welativaly easy to complete. As your experience inescases,
one

£0 does the dilficuliy of the projec I you've new to electron
is, then, stat with the lrst projets ut tte book, daveleping
‘Pou skill a5 you oogxess -oward the later, more difficult,
sprojosls Bun ecen thouga the proieuts ineregce in dificil
you wo-'l need any oxctic equipment ot advanced skitls to
tomelere them.

Almost all the projects contain less than & half dozen com
posents. You"l have litle dtficalty with any of the projecs,
thu: you should have some undersaring, of electronics remble-
shooting procedures

Building ¢ Cieuit
‘he basic idea when buiiting a circuit i 29 vine together the
components lead ccnvectly. Qergsionally, evan experienced
bu'ldece male mistakes in wring circuits, T's an excellent idea
to somplexiy ruad through each section desexibing the ciecui's
constructivn before scarting. Color coded sizes cat help ie
tracing cicuils, Examine the drawieg of she breadheard layout
Included 9 the bons, and ciudy the schematic fiagram. When
you feel yor understand whal the cizeuit requires. go ahwad
and wixe your tust circuit,

Several methods uf wiring, or breadbourting, rents axe
available and suitable fur the projects in this book, One
mechod involves mounllug the woarpurenls en a pealosated
roard. The companenis are positioned on one side of he
bboare so that their leads excend theoviza the perfonatians to
the oppusite aide. rhe leads om the hotter ate chen eonmecse
bby wizes soldoned between faum,

‘A sim ar method, called wire wreppn, requiees that ed
somponent he mounied i a sucket before beiox placed an the
perf boare. ach socket has anelal posle which make coma!
‘with tie Teauls of the compament, The posts extend Earough
the holes, Wire connections are made Ey wrapping one epi of
23 fete around one post and fhe cohir and of Me came aie
around a second 90s: ‘This is done with 2 sire wrap tool

‘Moet commercial electronic cecuite, however, are con
stracred using printed creat soaeds, Hrlored Creust boanls ae
capper plated an one or both sides, Whea making, 9 vite
lrctace

usicg printed cireui: boards, you mus first determine the toca
tio of components on the hoard. Thea, the :alerconnections
Tbecwwen the components’ leads sve marked cn the Beard with
an indulible fe-ip market, The board iv subrnerted ina
chemical selusion which digsolves all capper From the board
except Cal aforg the trices yuu've marked, The capper haces
which remain fonr the coneetions hetween the components
Cammersial manufactucens packer this techniqie hecarne
aaarels can he produced in large quantites qpicey and
cheaply saith photographic techaigues,

‘Your best het is 10 4se colerless 2ucadboands, We Phase
available irom Redio Shack, (Radio Shack’s txperimenter
Socket, part noiaee 276-174, was use o construct all the
‘arajerta ir H's book)

A saldeslass breadboard Is a plastic boat with a grid of

thales” called pling poimes (ase Figuce 1}, The plug points zee
intemally wired 50 hal the columiae of poirs on each halt of
the board are ecr-nected. A zone ol pag points om each half of
Uwe bua ace cornected as well ta honk up a ere, waxy
-neI.s ate just plagued inty the soklurless breadboazd. A con
nection hatween zo corpo leads cas ae made simply By
inserting each ‘ead into plug polass hat ae intemaliy com:
nected. Na soldering ie required, AKematively, jumper wires
‘an be used ta bridge one tel of connected pug points ith
nother ta complete a sannectinn, jumper wires shoud be #22
2iuge, a Linger virus fund ao spread the vpntcts oF 4 plug
Poirs too far apart. cvencusly rusting the Sreadboant. These
saldertess Feards ragy he roused) fe Sifferent experiments
vwickout removeng soider fram ennnecsians. Most tig ex
plasations ir Uti buok refer so coordinates on the soklerless
breadkeard

Heot te ron
Fren Hf you ise 3 selderluve breadboard sober: cons muting, the
ciraciss'n this bogk, you'll sil have to do a Bele ealdering,
Whale you won't have Io do iniicale celdaving, wires still
smut bu akached za awiches, the connectors which plug ino
your vompett:, and other components that canuio: be cite tly