Silicon Chip March 2016

In this month’s March issue of Silicon Chip Magazine, build an Ultrasonic Garage Parking Assistant. This unit displays the distance from the wall to your car's bumper in centimetres on a large LCD display, which can be mounted on the side wall of your garage. The background of the display also changes color depending on how close you are to the wall, with the display changing to yellow for warning and to bright red, when you are too close. The unit is very easy to build, using a pre-programmed Micromite Controller connected to touch screen LCD panel and a ultrasonic distance sensor module. The unit uses a basic plugpack for power and is housed in a standard plastic project box.

Also this month, for the car enthusiasts, build a Delta Throttle Timer. This unit monitors the accelerator peddle for rapid periods of acceleration and deceleration. This can then be used to drive the intercooler water spray or to switch to the engine to power mode, when you need to accelerate rapidly. The unit uses all standard through-hole components and can be assembled in a few hours.

Finally, this month a Battery Pack Cell Balancer. Most chargers supply a single power source to a battery pack without monitoring the individual cells. This can lead to incomplete charging and overcharging of some cells. This project balances the power to each cell and ensures the charge is spread evenly over each battery in the pack. The unit is suitable for lithium-ion, Nicad and NiMH battery packs. All projects come complete with circuit diagram and electronic parts list.

This month’s features takes a look at Quantum Computers, these computers are able to solve problems far quicker than conventional computers, this month looks at theory and history behind this computing technology. Also this month, how to replace failed batteries in emergency lights. Instead of disposing of the entire fitting, simply replace the battery and reduce waste.

Part Code: SILCHIPMAR2016

Features

A Look at Quantum Computers
Macroscopic Entanglement at Room Temperature
Save Money by Replacing Batteries in Emergency Lights

Projects

Ultrasonic Garage Parking Assistant
1-Wire Digital Temperature Sensor for the Raspberry Pi
Delta Throttle Timer for Cars
Solar MPPT Charger & Lighting Controller, Part 2
Battery-Pack Cell Balancer for Optimum Charging

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