Contact

Daniel Spilker

daniel-spilker.com

Latest Blog Posts

April 25th, 2011

ISPtouch for AVR Microcontrollers

When I started designing PCBs which should fit under Märklin C-Track, I soon realized that a standard 6-pin ISP header for AVR microcontrollers exceeds the height limitation of 4.5mm. My first idea was to press a 6-pin SMD header on the PCB pads for programming. But this method does not ensure sufficient contact for all pins. After searching the internet and browsing serveral print catalogs, I found the AVX 9188 Staggered SOLO Stacker in DigiKey’s print catalog. Its spring-loaded contacts provide a good connection for all pins. The idea for the ISPtouch was born.read more »

April 5th, 2010

ZigBee-based Wireless S88 Feedback Module

Two years ago I started building a wireless S88 feedback module. The first design had some drawbacks, but now I finished the second version. It uses a ZigBee RF transceiver for wireless communication between the transmitter module located at the track and the receiver module which interfaces with the S88 bus. Several transmitter modules can operate with only a single receiver module. The transmitter module simultaneously acts as a repeater for other transmitter modules so that the distances between transmitters and the receivers can be large in indoor environments.read more »

November 8th, 2008

Wireless S88 Feedback Module

My temporary model railroad layout stretches from the office through the hall into the living room. The PC which I use to control the trains is in the office. How do I detect that a train arrived in the living room without any wires running across the hall? I designed a RF transmitter module and a RF receiver module to monitor contacts remotely. The transmitter can sense 4 contacts, encodes the state to a serial data stream and transmits the data. The receiver decodes the serial data into 4 separate lines and feeds them into the S88 bus. The receiver is a semi-complete S88 module and can be connected directly to the S88 bus, but has to be the last module on the bus. The transmitter takes power directly from the track and needs no additional power supply.read more »

Latest Updates