Advice needed for University Project: Bluetooth, PIC & LCD Display

[[email protected]]

Hi,
This year I am going to be conducting my final year university
project. I have chosen to make a device that will control what media
is being played on a computer, like an advanced remote control. The
control will connect to the computer via bluetooth. It will also have
an LCD screen that displays the currently playing track, and with the
use of buttons on the control the user can browse through all the
media on the computer and select what he/she wants to listen to.
I plan to use a PIC Microcontroller in the control to receive data
from a bluetooth module, process it then display it on the LCD screen.
The LCD screen will be fairly small (something like 20mm x 50mm) as it
is suppose to be a compact device. To make production easier I hope to
use an already built bluetooth module that will take care of the
handshaking, pairing, etc. for me.
I have not had any experience using bluetooth or LCD modules but I
have some basic knowledge using the PIC16F88.

Now that you know what I am doing here is my question...
Could anyone recommend which PIC, bluetooth module and LCD display to
use? Also would this project be simple enough to program is ASM or
would it be better to do it in C? Has anyone attempted something like
this before? If so what components did you use and what problems did
you run into? Can anyone recommend any good books on this subject? I
also want to try and use the latest devices to try and keep up with
the modern day. I am not asking for someone to do this work for me, I
am just trying to get an idea of where to start.

I have briefly looked on Rapid Electronics for bluetooth modules and
they have this one
http://www.rapidonline.com/producti...&tier4=Bluetooth+radio+modules&moduleno=73419
If that link doesn't work go to http://www.rapidonline.com/ and search
for 43-0426
Is this a good bluetooth module or can you recommend any better ones?

Thanks for the help
Sami

 

[John Larkin]

Hi,
This year I am going to be conducting my final year university
project. I have chosen to make a device that will control what media
is being played on a computer, like an advanced remote control. The
control will connect to the computer via bluetooth. It will also have
an LCD screen that displays the currently playing track, and with the
use of buttons on the control the user can browse through all the
media on the computer and select what he/she wants to listen to.
I plan to use a PIC Microcontroller in the control to receive data
from a bluetooth module, process it then display it on the LCD screen.
The LCD screen will be fairly small (something like 20mm x 50mm) as it
is suppose to be a compact device. To make production easier I hope to
use an already built bluetooth module that will take care of the
handshaking, pairing, etc. for me.
I have not had any experience using bluetooth or LCD modules but I
have some basic knowledge using the PIC16F88.

Now that you know what I am doing here is my question...
Could anyone recommend which PIC, bluetooth module and LCD display to
use? Also would this project be simple enough to program is ASM or
would it be better to do it in C? Has anyone attempted something like
this before? If so what components did you use and what problems did
you run into? Can anyone recommend any good books on this subject? I
also want to try and use the latest devices to try and keep up with
the modern day. I am not asking for someone to do this work for me, I
am just trying to get an idea of where to start.

I have briefly looked on Rapid Electronics for bluetooth modules and
they have this one
http://www.rapidonline.com/producti...&tier4=Bluetooth+radio+modules&moduleno=73419
If that link doesn't work go to http://www.rapidonline.com/ and search
for 43-0426
Is this a good bluetooth module or can you recommend any better ones?

Thanks for the help
Sami

Why don't you do something that has to do with electronics?

John

 

[Joel Kolstad]

Why don't you do something that has to do with electronics?

I knew you were going to say something like that before I read it, John.
Just remember -- the world needs far more "system integrator" types doing what
Furious Dog up there wants to do than actual honest-to-God circuit designers!

 

[Anthony Fremont]

Hi,
This year I am going to be conducting my final year university
project. I have chosen to make a device that will control what media
is being played on a computer, like an advanced remote control. The
control will connect to the computer via bluetooth. It will also have
an LCD screen that displays the currently playing track, and with the
use of buttons on the control the user can browse through all the
media on the computer and select what he/she wants to listen to.
I plan to use a PIC Microcontroller in the control to receive data
from a bluetooth module, process it then display it on the LCD screen.
The LCD screen will be fairly small (something like 20mm x 50mm) as it
is suppose to be a compact device. To make production easier I hope to
use an already built bluetooth module that will take care of the
handshaking, pairing, etc. for me.
I have not had any experience using bluetooth or LCD modules but I
have some basic knowledge using the PIC16F88.

Now that you know what I am doing here is my question...
Could anyone recommend which PIC, bluetooth module and LCD display to
use? Also would this project be simple enough to program is ASM or
would it be better to do it in C? Has anyone attempted something like
this before? If so what components did you use and what problems did
you run into? Can anyone recommend any good books on this subject? I
also want to try and use the latest devices to try and keep up with
the modern day. I am not asking for someone to do this work for me, I
am just trying to get an idea of where to start.

I have briefly looked on Rapid Electronics for bluetooth modules and
they have this one
http://www.rapidonline.com/producti...&tier4=Bluetooth+radio+modules&moduleno=73419
If that link doesn't work go to http://www.rapidonline.com/ and search
for 43-0426
Is this a good bluetooth module or can you recommend any better ones?

Being in your final year you shouldn't have to ask these questions IMO.
OTOH, at least you can spell, punctuate and construct proper sentences. On
top of that, you seem to be on the right track (as far as constructing
something that can actually work).

That bluetooth module should work ok for you since it creates a virtual
serial link between the two devices. You could obviously write this all in
Microchip assembler, it may turn out to be more work than you think. What
with all the overhead of creating routines to scroll (and otherwise) manage
the LCD. Since you just need to display a bit of text, you might want to go
with a Hitachi based LCD since there is a large amount of info available on
the internet.

I'm pretty much a die-hard PIC/ASM kinda guy, but I'd probably do this with
an ARM board and write it all in C. Especially if you plan on implementing
anything more complex than a serial link to the PC. You didn't mention what
would be running on the PC end, or were you planning to implement some OBEX
protocols?

 

[[email protected]]

Hi,
This year I am going to be conducting my final year university
project. I have chosen to make a device that will control what media
is being played on a computer, like an advanced remote control. The
control will connect to the computer via bluetooth.
<snip>
Now that you know what I am doing here is my question...
Could anyone recommend which PIC, bluetooth module and LCD display to
use? Also would this project be simple enough to program is ASM or
would it be better to do it in C?
<snip>

For the LCD, I highly recommend using the Nokia 3210/3310 LCD. You can
get them from handphone spare parts vendors though the cheapest I've
found is Jelu:

http://www.jelu.se/shop/index.php

$9 each - since they're cheap enough buy 2 or 3 in case you damage
one. The interface is SPI and is well documented. You'll find it used
in lots of hobbyist projects so there's lots of code for it floating
around out there on the web. It's just black & white though but for
your app I think it should do fine.

I have briefly looked on Rapid Electronics for bluetooth modules and
they have this onehttp://www.rapidonline.com/productinfo.aspx?kw=bluetooth&tier1=Electr...
If that link doesn't work go tohttp://www.rapidonline.com/and search
for 43-0426
Is this a good bluetooth module or can you recommend any better ones?

Don't know if it's better but the module from SparkFun looks nice:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=582

 

[[email protected]]

I knew you were going to say something like that before I read it, John.
Just remember -- the world needs far more "system integrator" types doing what
Furious Dog up there wants to do than actual honest-to-God circuit designers!

I am actually studying BSc Computer Systems Engineering. So this type
of project is quite appropriate for me.

 

[[email protected]]

For the LCD, I highly recommend using the Nokia 3210/3310 LCD. You can
get them from handphone spare parts vendors though the cheapest I've
found is Jelu:

http://www.jelu.se/shop/index.php

$9 each - since they're cheap enough buy 2 or 3 in case you damage
one. The interface is SPI and is well documented. You'll find it used
in lots of hobbyist projects so there's lots of code for it floating
around out there on the web. It's just black & white though but for
your app I think it should do fine.


Don't know if it's better but the module from SparkFun looks nice:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=582

Thanks for all the replies!

The modules from SparkFun also seem to be cheaper which is an extra
bonus. I also noticed they sell LCD screens. I started looking into
the Hitachi based screen and there is a lot of information on them. So
I think I will start off using the Hitachi screen, then once I have
the main parts of the project working I can expand it to use a
graphics screen like the Nokia one you mentioned and get it to display
simple bar visualizations. You are right the Nokia displays are cheep,
so I might get a couple of them and just tinker with it to familiarize
myself with them.

The software part of the project I plan to program in C# using Mono
(http://www.mono-project.com/) so that it will be multi platform. I
have had a lot of experience programming in C# so hopefully I
shouldn't run into any problems here.

Am I correct in saying that only the high-end MCU family can be
programmed in C? I swear I read that somewhere but I could be wrong. I
have never had any experience programming PICs in C, so can anyone
recommend a particular compiler or book on the topic. I am not trying
to start a discussion on which compiler is better then the other, I
have seen that topic discussed countless times on other forums.

Thanks again for the help.
Sami

 

[John Larkin]

I knew you were going to say something like that before I read it, John.
Just remember -- the world needs far more "system integrator" types doing what
Furious Dog up there wants to do than actual honest-to-God circuit designers!

Yes, but I have a Holy Analog Mission to promote the understanding of
electricity.

1's and 0's are dimensionless!


John

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

I am actually studying BSc Computer Systems Engineering. So this type
of project is quite appropriate for me.

Then you should be asking for help on a computer newsgroup. We speak
'solder' around here.


--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[JosephKK]

John Larkin [email protected] posted to
sci.electronics.design:

Yes, but I have a Holy Analog Mission to promote the understanding
of electricity.

1's and 0's are dimensionless!


John

That depends on the metric space that you are using.

 

[David Jordan]

The modules from SparkFun also seem to be cheaper which is an extra
bonus. I also noticed they sell LCD screens. I started looking into
the Hitachi based screen and there is a lot of information on them. So

They don't look very nice but the LCDs with the HD44780 Controller are
very easy to use, you should be able to get these working very
quickly.

I think I will start off using the Hitachi screen, then once I have
the main parts of the project working I can expand it to use a
graphics screen like the Nokia one you mentioned and get it to display
simple bar visualizations. You are right the Nokia displays are cheep,
so I might get a couple of them and just tinker with it to familiarize
myself with them.

I've bought several 128x64 Graphics LCDs from EBay for around 5UKP
each, JE-AN 1286404. LED backlight, 60x30mm display, around 20 x 8
characters. Easy enough to program for but they do need lots of pins,
you can just about manage it with a 28-pin device but a 40-pin would
be better.

You may need to create a software character generator, not all graphic
LCDs have one built in.

The software part of the project I plan to program in C# using Mono
(http://www.mono-project.com/) so that it will be multi platform. I
have had a lot of experience programming in C# so hopefully I
shouldn't run into any problems here.

Am I correct in saying that only the high-end MCU family can be
programmed in C? I swear I read that somewhere but I could be wrong. I

For PICs, they can all be programmed in C. You'll need to buy a
compiler from someone like HiTech if you want to use a 16F series
part. 18F parts and above can use the free Microchip compiler, which
I've found to be quite good.

have never had any experience programming PICs in C, so can anyone
recommend a particular compiler or book on the topic. I am not trying
to start a discussion on which compiler is better then the other, I
have seen that topic discussed countless times on other forums.

I've not used many 18F parts so I can't comment on a good choice for
those, but if you want to use something with a bit more horsepower and
RAM and flash I'd go with something like a dsPIC30F3014 or a
PIC24FJ32GA004.

They're both 16-bit with plenty of RAM and flash so there'll be room
for bitmaps if you go for a graphic LCD. The dsPIC is 2.5 - 5V so the
interfacing will be easy and battery operation is made simpler by the
wide voltage range. The 24F PIC is 3.3V only but the remappable pins
make the PCB layout so easy it's worth the trouble.


Dave.