EE333xFinalProjectReport

DavisJohnson
MichaelKenevan
December16th,2015


Introduction
ForthissemesterofEE333x,weweretaskedwithcreatingasemesterlong
designproject.Thedesignprojectneededtobecomplex,relevant,andultimately
useful.Whenbrainstormingpotentialideas,weknewthatitwasimportanttochoose
somethingthatwewouldwanttouseinoureverydaylives,andalsosomethingthat
broughtourexperienceinComputerEngineeringtothetable.Tosatisfyallofthose
needs,wecameupwithahomeautomationconcept.
Essentially,wewantedtocreateacentralcontrolhubforalmostanythinginyour
house.Ideally,auserwouldbeabletologintoawebinterfacewhichwouldpresent
severaloptionsforaccomplishingvarioustasksaroundthehouse.Theavailabletasks
canvarywidely,fromopeningagaragedoortoadjustingvolumeonatelevision,and
wouldbeaccomplishedbysendingbluetoothcommandsto/frombluetoothmodules.
Inaddition,werealizedthatthedevicesusedtoaccomplishthesetaskswould
needtobepowered,andthatthepowerdemandedwouldvary.Toaddressthiswe
decidedthatwewouldalsodesignanadjustableDCpowersupply.Ourpowersupply
shouldbeabletodeliveranywherefrom515Vwitha500mAload,aswefoundthe
devicesanenduserwouldutilizefallinthatrange.
Usingthosetwoideastogethertocreateourprojectmadeanappropriatefusion
ofEE/CprEbackgrounds,whilealsocreatingapotentiallyusefulproduct.

Discussion
Design(~15%)
Thedesignphaseoftheprojectwassomewhatdifficultinthesensethatneither
groupmemberhadeverattemptedsomethinglikePCBdesignbefore.However,before
PCBdesigncouldbeginweneededtodraftsomecircuitdesigns.Thebulkofthe
circuitrywasintheDCpowersupply,andmostofourresourceswerededicatedtoitas
well.
Thefirstdraftofthepowersupplywasactually
madestrictlyofbasecomponents.Inotherwords,we
didntuseanyprepackagedrectifiersorregulators,it
wasallbuiltfromlabkitcomponents.Wedecidedto
gowithafullwaverectifierinordertoreducethe
necessarysizeofthesmoothingcapacitor.Without
runningverymanycalculations,wedecidedthata
1000uFcapacitorshoulddothejob,andafteraquick
testweconfirmedthattheoutputwasindeedveryflat.

Next,weneededaregulatortoturnourrectifiedDCintoastable5Vtosupport
ourmicrocontrollers.Initially,thiswasdonewitha5VZenerdiodeoperatinginreverse
breakdownmodewithaprotectionresistorinseries.Thisgaveusaprettyconsistent
5VDC,goodenoughtopoweranArduinowetestedwith(althoughmaybealittleunfair
sincetheArduinohasitsownbuiltinregulator).Whilethis5Vwasnotadjustableatthis
stage,wewerehappyenoughwiththeproofofconceptpowersupplywehadbuilt.We
wouldlaterdecidetoreplacetheZenerwithaLM317packagedadjustableregulator
duetoreliabilityandadjustability.
Sincewedidnthaveatransformeratthetime,weusedafunctiongeneratorto
simulatethefuturetransformersoutputof~15VAC@60Hz.However,itwasaboutthis
timethatwestartedtolookintowhatexactlywewantedoutofthetransformer.The
inputwasobvious(120VAC),butwewerentexactlysurewhatwewantedforanoutput.
Becausewewantedthepowersupplytobeadjustable,wehadtoselectanoutput
voltagehighenoughtoservicethat515Vrange.Therewasalsotherectificationcircuit
toaccountfor,whichhadroughlya~1.4Vdrop.Duetothosefactorsandtheavailability
oftransformers,wedecidedtogowith18Voutput.Wehadthetransformerinour
possessionformuchoftheproject,butcouldnttestitduetoalackofinterfacewiththe
walloutletandlackofPCBtomountiton(theinputs/outputswerepinstoolargefora
prototypingboard).
WhichbringsustodesigningthePCB.HavingonlydesignedonePCBpriorto
this(for333xlab),wewereslightlyapprehensivewhenstartingtodesign,however
muchofthatdissipatedoncewegotgoing.MultiSimandUtiliBoardaregreattoolsfor
PCBdesignandeasetheprocessimmensely.Therewereafewsnagsthough.Since
wewantedtomountthetransformeronthePCB,wehadtocreateacustomfootprintto
doso.Whiletherewereresourcesavailabletoaidinthis,itwasstillslightlynerve
rackingtocreatethecustomfootprintandhopethatitwasdoneright.Intheendthere
werenoissueswiththefootprint.Therewas,however,oneunanticipatedissuewiththe
PCBthatwillbediscussedlaterinthereport.Regardless,therestofthedesignwent
smoothly(seeFig.3inAppendixforlargerimage).

Construction
OncethePCBhadbeen
submitted,fabricated,anddelivered
itwastimetostartputtingthepieces
together.Thismeantplentyof
soldering,whichwasntmuchofan
issueforourgroup.Afterfirst
receivingtheboard,itwasimportant
togivethetracesandlayoutaquick

lookoverandmakesureeverythingwashowwehaddesignedit.Seeingnoissues
there,wewarmedupthesolderingironsinthelabandgottowork.Forthemostpart,
theconstructionwascompletedwithoutissue(minusaminorburns).Inhindsight,we
likelywouldveincludedsolderpadsonthePCBdesigninordertomakethesolderinga
littleeasier,howeveritwasntmuchofanissues.Theonlyproblemthatweranintowas
thefactthattherectificationdiodesweorderedhadmassiveleads(theywere3amp
100Vdiodes)thatwerenotaccountedfor,andbecauseofthattheviasontheboard
weretoosmall.However,afterlookingoverthecircuitagain,wedecidedthatthediodes
wereoverkillanywayandwentwith1n4006diodesinstead,whichendedupworking
fine.

TestingandErrorReporting

ChangesinTestingProcedure
Afterstartingpreliminarytestingweranintosomeproblemsandhadseveral
realizationsthatcausedustoalterourtestingplanaccordingly.Firstwefoundthatour
transformerwasoutputting2530Vinsteadof18Vcausingourlinearregulatortohave
todropthevoltagemorethanwehadanticipated.Duringpreliminarytestingwitha
10ohmpowerresistor,thelinearregulatorbecameextremelyhotveryquickly.Inorder
tokeeptheregulatorfrombeingdestroyedandtoallowustocontinuetestingwe
decidedtoswitchtoa100ohmloadinstead.This100ohmloadwillbeconsideredthe
standardtestingload.Wealsodidsomepreliminarytestingontheinputsourcefromthe
wallsockettoseewhatthevariabilityinthesignalmightbe.Wefoundthesourcesignal
tobenearlyperfectanddecidedthatitwouldbeawasteoftimetotestdifferentunder
slightlydifferentfrequenciesandvoltages.Wereasonedthatthefullwaverectifier
wouldrectifythewavethesamewhetherthefrequencywasslightlyhigherorlowerso
thereisntaneedtotryandtestfordifferentfrequencies.Sincethesourcesignalwas
nearlyperfect,wedecidedthatitwouldntbenecessarytotryandtestslightlydifferent
voltagesfortheinputsource.

Testing
RippleEffectsfromRectification
Ourrectificationcircuitdidanexcellentjob.Weonlyhada300mVrippleonour
29Vrectifiedsource.Thisripplewavewasalsopresentacrossourtestloadbutitdidnt
affectouractualcircuitatall.

LinearRegulator
Wetestedourlinearregulatorwithboththemaximumandminimumoutput
voltages(~24Vto2V).Wefirstfoundthatweneededaheatsinkforourlinearregulator

afterdestroyingone.Wehadanunexpectedlyhighrectificationvoltageof~30Vandour
linearregulatorcouldnthandleconvertingdownto5Vsowedefinitelyneededa
heatsinktohelpdissipatesomeoftheextrapower.Afteraddingourheatsinkand
switchingourtestloadwebegantakingmeasurements.Wefoundthatthepower
dissipationwasntaffectedbytheoutputvoltageinalinearfashion.Wethentestedthe
proportionalityoftheoutputvoltagetothetemperatureofthelinearregulatorandfound
theDCoutputoftheregulatorisproportionaltotemperature,althoughthe
proportionalityconstantwas~1/1000,almosthavingnodiscernableimpactonthe
outputvoltageoftheregulator.

TemperatureTesting
Whenweperformedpreliminarytestingwiththe10ohmload,thelinearregulator
heatedupveryquicklyfrom70Fto150F+within5to10seconds.Whilethemax
operatingtemperatureofaLM317is257F,westoppedtestingoncethetemperatureof
thelinearregulatorpassed150Fbecausethetemperatureincreasesfasterthehotter
theregulatorgets.Afterdestroyingoneregulatorwedecidedtoincreasethetesting
loadfrom10ohmsto100ohms.Withthe10ohmloadwecouldntkeepthepower
supplypluggedinlongenoughtotakemeasurements.Afterswitchingtothe100ohm
loadwewereabletokeepthepowersupplypluggedinindefinitelyallowingtoperform
thenecessarytesting.Westartedtemperaturetestingbykeepingatemperaturesensor
onthelinearregulatorandkeepingthepowersupplypluggedinfor15minutes.We
repeatedthisprocedure5times.Wefoundthatthelinearregulatorwastheonly
componentthatgotappreciablyhot.Thelinearregulatorstemperaturerosefrom70F
(roomtemperature)to120Fin1minuteofcontinuous,standarduse(100ohmload).
Afterreaching120F,theregulatorstemperaturedidntriseanymore.Wealsotested
extendedusebylettingthepowersupplystaypluggedinfor45minutesandtestingthe
temperature.Thelinearregulatorhada124Freadingwhichwasthesamereadingwe
gotwhenwetestedthelinearregulator5minutesafterwepluggeditin.Wethen
disconnectedthepowersupplyandtouchedeverycomponentotherthanthelinear
regulatortodetermineifanyothercomponentsweregettinghot.Theonlycomponent
thathadbeennoticeablywarmwasthetransformerwhichhadbeenrecordedat80F.
Thiswasthefirsttimewehadnoticedanyothercomponentotherthanthelinear
regulatorbeingwarmerthanroomtemperature.Weconcludedthatevenwithextended
use,thepowersupplyneverexceeded124Fandnocomponentsexceptforthelinear
regulatorexceeded85F.Thusthepowersupplycanbeusedforindefiniteuse.

PowerDissipationinVoltageRegulator
Wetestedpowerdissipationinthelinearregulatorbycomparingthevoltageand
currententeringtheregulatorandleavingtheregulator.Wefoundthevoltageentering

thelinearregulatortobe24.9Volts,thevoltageleavingtheregulatortobe5.19Volts,
andtheloadcurrentwas0.51mA.Thepowerintothelinearregulatorwas1.269Watts
andthepowertotheloadwas0.265Wattsgivingus20%efficiency.Whilethis
efficiencypercentageisprettybadcomparedtomostpowersupplies,wehadchosen
thisconfigurationforfutureprojectstobeabletosupplymorepowertoalargerload.

RangeTesting
ForcommunicationtestingwetestedtherangeoftheHC05bluetoothmodules
usingLineofsightandindirectlineofsight.Weuseda4800Baudrateanddetermined
whetherthemoduleswereinrangebyseeingiftheyconnectedornot.Thetwo
moduleswereprogrammedtoconnecttoeachotherusinga4800baudconnect.We
chose4800baudbecausealowerbaudrateismorerobustanddistanceand
interferencehaslesseffectonalongersignal.

LineofSight
Fortestinglineofsightsignalwedisconnectedthepowersupplytoonemodule
andthenletthemodulestryandreconnecttoeachotherfromasetdistance.Wefound
thatthemoduleshadnoissuesconnectingwhenthedistancewasbelow30ftbutonce
weexceeded35ftthemodulescouldntconnecttoeachother.Thisisprettystandard
fora5Vbluetoothmoduleandisonparwithwhatweexpected.

IndirectLineofSight
Forindirectlineofsightwedidasimilarproceduretolineofsightbutinstead
measuredwithaonewallinbetweenthemodules.Wefoundthatthemodules
connectedwithoutanissuewhenwewerewithin25ftofeachother.However,the
moduleswouldsometimesconnectwhenwewere30ftapartbutwouldnotconnect
whenweexceeded30ftapart.Whilea30ftradiuswillcovertheentiretyofsomesmaller
homes,itwouldbetoosmallofaradiusforahomeautomationsystemthatismarketed
towardtheaverageconsumer.Wecangetaroundthisbycreatinganetworkusingthe
bluetoothmoduleswhereslavescanactasnetworknodesandcanpassdataalong
evenwhentwomodulesareoutofrange.

Conclusion

Allinall,thisprojectwasextremelyusefulinteachingthebasicconceptsof
projectdesignandahugestepforwardinourdegreepaths.NotonlywasPCBdesign
somethingeveryCprE/EEstudentshouldlearn,butalsothedosanddontsofthatPCB
designandprojectdesigningeneral.Onethingisforverycertain,wedefinitelygained

anincredibleamountofknowledgeandskillsthatwillundoubtedlyproveusefulinthe
future.

Appendix

BOM(BillofMaterials)

Notethattheremaybeafewstandardpartsmissingfromthelistsuchasresistorsor
partsusedfortesting.ThosenotincludedwerefoundintheEE201/230labkit.Any
suchcomponentscanbelocatedintheattachedcircuitdiagrams.

1x1000uFcapacitor(electrolytic)
2x22pFcapacitor
1x0.33uFcapacitor
1xLM317adjustablevoltageregulator
4x1n4006rectificationdiode
1xLM7805voltageregulator
1x16MHzcrystaloscillator
3xAtmega328microcontroller
2xHC05Bluetoothmodule
1xTIMSP432Microcontroller(integratedwithTIlaunchpad)]
1xF361000TriadMagnetics120Vpowertransformer
1x250V3Afuse
1xThreeprongfusedACreceptacle
1x2portterminalblock
1x2genericheaders
Solder

Diagrams

Fig.2DCPowerSupplyCircuit
Note:theLM7805isasubstitutefortheLM317fortheschematic

Fig.3DCPowerSupplyPCBdesignlayout

OutputattheloadnoticethesmallACvoltage


Voltageatthepositivenodeofthecapacitor