Proving yet again that I suck at the mechanical / industrial design side of things...

@byron  Indeed, learning the C++ coding will be like learning the VBA, although it took me quite a while to learn it as my primary skill is hardware. After using MPU's that utilized neuro-networks, and "Fuzzy logic", Ladder Diagram (LD), Function Block (FBD), Structured Text (ST), Instruction List (IL), and Sequential Function Chart (SFC), I understand nothing comes without a learning curve, sometimes a very steep one!

Being old is not necessarily a hindrance to the goal I wish to attain, but @75, the brain is not as quick to comprehend as it was in the past.. I'm slow, but methodical..right now, working on how to write code for a PID (proportional, Integral, Derivative) controller,  and passing values back and forth has me studying functions. I'm now reviewing Paul Mcwhorters' videos on the matter..I intend to use the PID control on my robot tank to control speed, acceleration, and de-acceleration when encountering objects when it has to stop or slow down to avoid the object..

Thanks for the encouragement @byron.. I can use all the help I can get...lol

regards,

LouisR

@frogandtoad There is truth in that, but also I have tools that I use effectively that you may not see any value in.

@frogandtoad I will have a quick look, but my plate is overflowing already. I did locate the original Turbo Pascal which is freeware now, but I had forgot too much and it had no place in my current environment. In it's time it was a potent beast though with the 8087 and BCD support.

@byron So far all the arduino code I have seen for manipulating the board and it's myriad of sensors is fairly simple straightforward code. As far as GUI, that's what the arduino cloud is for, or simple web server/html using escape sequences that can be simplified with a tiny library defining the common gui elements with long difficult sequences. I am talking about BOLD, Underline etc.

@messyworkbench Nice job. Love seeing when people re-purpose stuff. Not my skill but I can appreciate it.

@frogandtoad Eevery time I get the opportunity I will comment 'We should have a language sub-forum with a C thread, C++ thread etc. Not sure I am using the right words as I see a 3 level requirement, DBWS/Language/C++/a thread then DBWS/Language/C++/another thread. That way I can enable or disable specific conversations. I may not have a general interest in C++ but to build a library may need to know how to code a class.

@inst-tech I share some background. I am worried some folks may be too passionate and discourage others which is why I think segregating the discussions is important. Also how do we separate the person who has 20x1 yr vs 1x20yr experience. They sound similar but oh so different when you take the time to have a good look. I am NOT saying that about any one here, but somebody else brought up the 20x1 and I agree, I have seen it often.

@inst-tech I look forward to your completed project, I plan on something similar so hopefully you will share. My challenge is as a wildlife photographer I need a nearly silent platform for a camera. the typical motor whine is something I want to eliminate but so far I haven't thought of how. Maybe belts?

@zander  Difficult to separate those with 20x1 from 1x20.. We had the same thing in the plant maintenance where I worked the last 28 yrs of my 40 some odd years in Instrumentation/electronics and electrical.  example: Many of the electricians had a whole lot of electrical knowledge, motors, relay logic, trouble shooting motor starters, high voltage, ect.. but little knowledge about even how to properly calibrate a pressure switch, much less a digital pressure transmitter that would require you to have to program them with the many parameters required to make them work correctly. The answer of course, is training, and finding the right vehicle (method) to instruct them.. I used the "black box theory" when teaching trouble shooting techniques.. Something I learned in the Navy for system trouble-shooting. 

when dealing with those that my not be as astute as you are in the subject matter, it's better to stay with the basics so as not to turn them off from wanting to know more about the subject. What I found is those that are math challenged, are most likely to not be interested in learning electronics theory...lol

They just want to make something that works!.. others, like me, want to know how a PID works, so designing one is more preferable to just finding a library someone else wrote.. I will certainly keep you informed on my progress, and share everything I learn..

regards,

LouisR

@inst-tech I spent 2 years as an industrial electrician before joining IBM. It was at the time the mills were going from all relays to a lot of solid state but still some relays. The mill was not on production incentive so the mill operators did everything they could to cause a shutdown because they got paid anyway. The circuit diagrams we used for troubleshooting were now logic diagrams. Many of the older electricians were lost and got reassigned to older mills, our 2 or 3 modern mills ended up with younger guys many with some amount of electronics education. Unfortunately I got to witness a few old hands unable to admit they were lost make fools of themselves before management finally found them a home where they could be comfortably employed.

I also saw similar but less dramatic examples when trying to hire programmers. I told HR not to send me any resumes with less than 20 years experience, but still some interviews only lasted a few minutes.

@zander, yep.. that was my point..not everyone is pulling the cart, some are tugging on it, just to keep things under their control..I once knew a tech who horded all the calibrations of the instrumentation in the power plant.. they had a bad fire, and most of the documentation was lost, so management had to rely on this one guy to keep things running.. guess who got all the overtime!.. yep, life's not fair, especially if your stupid or selfish!

@inst-tech

Posted by: @inst-tech

@frogandtoad  Indeed, no such thing as a bad student, just bad teaching....lol

As part of my job as a maintenance process controls technician, teaching classes on subject matters such as digital control valve positioners, and control valve technology was indeed a challenge , especially since the students were all 50 and 60 year olds. The two classes of students the most difficult to teach are the kindergarten variety, and old men...the former don't know anything yet, but lack patients and logic skills. The latter think they know it all already, and are not usually geared up for transitional  thinking out of the box..this made it difficult to explain concepts of digital technology to those accustomed to the analog world..many of our senior electricians and some of the Instrumentation techs had little formal training in electronics, or computer programming, (PLC's, DCS programing and troubleshooting), so getting them on board with the ever changing dynamics of the digital process control world, was to say the least, difficult.  What I found was, using K.I.S.S was the best method..(keep it simple stupid) so being a more or less self taught guy in the programming world, my goal is to write sketches that not only work, but are efficient with memory and easily understood coding. That said, thank you all for your support and the knowledge you are all willing to share.

 

regards,

LouisR

You're welcome, I'm glad you're enjoying the discussion.

Cheers

@zander

Posted by: @zander

@frogandtoad Eevery time I get the opportunity I will comment 'We should have a language sub-forum with a C thread, C++ thread etc. Not sure I am using the right words as I see a 3 level requirement, DBWS/Language/C++/a thread then DBWS/Language/C++/another thread. That way I can enable or disable specific conversations. I may not have a general interest in C++ but to build a library may need to know how to code a class.

These topics are already posted under the C++ category.

Having said that, I personally loved using the old usenet news groups and the readers grouped all threads and indented all sub threads as necessary, and they were marked as read etc... by your reader. There are still some usenet providers going around and some reasonable readers too... Maybe Biil should set up an NNTP server instead - Easier to maintain too 😉

As for building a library, they're not hard to create at all, and a good to have for your own custom bag of utilities that you can always reuse for faster project builds.

Cheers

@frogandtoad I used to have a decent size personal library back in the day but at some point after retiring I decided to delete all my files, burnt all my awards and letters of commendation. I thought I was done with all that but now I regret it.

Posted by: @zander

@frogandtoad I used to have a decent size personal library back in the day but at some point after retiring I decided to delete all my files, burnt all my awards and letters of commendation. I thought I was done with all that but now I regret it.

That is a regretful situation, for sure