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group2:group2weekly 2008/11/02 22:58 group2:group2weekly 2008/12/07 20:10 current
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====== Weekly Reports ====== ====== Weekly Reports ======
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 +Week 13: Nov 24 - Nov 28
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 +The enclosing box was built out of scrap wood. The components were mounted to the base, and the motor was hooked up to the circuit board. A switch was added to turn the power on and off. Hyperterminal was utilized to communicate with the micro controller. Sevceral tests were run to detrmine the spectrums, and the microcontroller was programmed to scan the spectrum while gathering data, and then rewind. A light enclosure was built to allow no ambient light into the system.
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 +Week 12: Nov 17 - Nov 21
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 +We began mounting the optical components onto the base. The construction of a better slit is being tested. A small change to the program was made: the stepping rate of the motor was increased. The physical diode translation unit has been tested with the existing circuit: the result is that there is enough torque. Also, the diode has been mounted to the fly nut. Wires have been chosen to be long enough to not interfere with the motion. During testing it was demonstrated that the diode does translate down the bolt as the motor rotates. An enclosure is still required to prevent ambient light from saturating the photodiode.
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 +Week 11: Nov 10 - Nov 14
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 +All three of the electrical proof of principle tests (the stepper, the photodiode detector, and the RS232) were embedded into one PIC program. The code takes an ADC measurement, displays it on the laptop via RS232, and increments the stepper motor. It continues doing this in an endless loop. Looking at the hyperterminal screen we get a series of numbers that increases and decreases (32, 32, 32, 28, 27, 27, 32...) corresponding to the photodiode readings . This data can be saved onto a txt file, or copied directly onto Excel to produce an intensity graph.
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 +The stage translation component has been placed onto a plywood base. A large plastic gear was attached to a nut using metal/plastic superglue. This nut was screwed onto the extended part of the bolt. If the bolt is tightened, this arrangement is very stable. Further more, a small piece of plywood was fitted for the stepper motor (clearance holes and air ventilation holes were drilled) and it was attached with two small bolts. The piece of plywood was then attached to the base at 90 degrees. A small plastic gear was glued to the stepper motor. The placement of all the items is slightly adjustable, and was fixed at an optimum gear contact position.
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 +Week 10: Nov 3 - Nov 7
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 +A transistor circuit was successfully completed for powering the stepper motor. The bolt was placed onto a metal bracket allowing it to spin freely. Gear to be used were found, and will get glued soon. Successful communication with the computer was attained. We were able to send the photodiode readings to a terminal screen.
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Week 9: Oct 27 - Oct 31 Week 9: Oct 27 - Oct 31

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