Countdown Timer for Radio Control

D

dpbarry

New Member
Hi all..

I'm new to PIC's and was looking for help in designing a countdown timer for RC Aircraft/Helicopter use. What I am looking it to do is count down from a set time (say 6 minues) and at the 2 minute mark, sound a series of beeps to warn the flyer that he/she should prepare to land then at the zero mark, make a continous beep for approx 5 seconds to warn the flyer that if he/she has not already landed, gravity may be about to interrupt if fuel runs out.

I've looked at the UV timer (and others). Most will do what I want apart from the warning at the 2 minute mark.

Can anyone shed a few ideas on this project.

Declan
 
premelec

premelec

Senior Member
Please re-post this on the current forum - you can do what you want with an 08 PICAXE and a piezo sounder [assuming amdient noise doesn't require a klaxon.]. This is an archived inactive forum - I'm violating forum rules!
 
hippy

hippy

Ex-Staff (retired)
You have inadvertently posted to a forum which is archived and shouldn't be used for new questions, but anyway, on to your problem in hand ...

It should be achievable with a PICAXE. There are a few issues such as how accurate do you want the timing to be. Generally though, it will be a case of taking in some form of trigger ( button push ? ) which starts the timer, a delay of X seconds, a period of Y seconds while the beeping tone is sounded, all followed by a final delay of Z seconds until the continuous warning tone is emitted.

Some PICAXE's may not be able generate a single continuous tone seconds easily, but a series of consecutive SOUND commands would be effective enough.

If you aren't worried too much about timing accuracy you could use an 8-pin or 18-pin PICAXE by itself, use a 28-pin or 40-pin PICAXE which has better timing consistency ( but may still need a little tweaking ), or use any PICAXE with a Real-Time Clock or accurate clock-tick generator attached.

The best way to start is to read through the PICAXE manuals to understand what you can do with a PICAXE and how, and then start experimenting. Start with making it beep, then delaying before beeping, and then making it beep in response to button inputs.
 
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