MicroControllers

Over the last few years I've been accumulating a variety of Single Board Computers (SBC's) and microcontrollers to experiment with during my retirement years. I had them allcollected into several plastic storage bins (the clear plastic ones from Costco) but soon realized it was getting difficult to remember what I had and then find something. I started cataloging what was in each bin but that bacame tedeous trying to keep the list up to date when I moved things around to reorganize.

Recently I decided to buy one of those nice AcroMils drawer cabinets (pictured above) to see if I could come up with a better method of organizing things so I could easily find a device or board when I needed to. This has worked out pretty well although I've discovered I already need another cabinet (and room to put it) to continue this method of organization with my growing collection of microcontrollers/SBC's and add-on boards (commonly called 'shields') and interface/HMI devices (in this case, small touch-screens).

HMI's (Human-Machine Interfaces) are devices that allow a human to communicate with computers and the computers back to the human. Such devices include the mouse, keyboard, monitor, touch-screens, musical keyboards, rotary controls, switches (you get the idea), though the most accepted reference to HMI has kind of been narrowed to refer to specially designed touch-screens. This reference is used most of the time in the field of industrial control where the HMI's are designed to integrate with the specialized computers in that industry, called PLC's (programmable logic controllers) and allow the engineers to program, monitor and adjust controls and sensors. The PLC's have inputs (from various types of sensors) and outputs (to various types of controls) that keep things operating properly in an automated fashion. Many of these systems include a graphic display of the equipment that is being controlled so it's easy to see what's going on at a glance, and can also be programmed to warn users when things go outside acceptable parameters.
This is a kind of simplified explanation of PLC and HMI uses but hopefully informs someone of something that they have not heard of before and can investigate further. I also mention this because these PLC's and HMI's are available to hobbyists at reasonable cost from some sources. I have used them myself in a hazard warning system I designed and installed while I was still employed in the work force. I have a few in my personal collection to experiment with also.
Most operate on a kind of graphic symbolic software platform called "Ladder Logic". You can learn the basics of ladder logic in an afternoon and generate simple 'ladder' programs to perform tasks based on specific input states. I'll leave it at that and if you are interested you can do some research on ladder logic on your own.

There are SO MANY web pages and videos of ideas and applications for PLC's, microcontrollers and SBC's that there is no shortage of ready-made projects for the casual hobbyist. You can find plenty to help you whether you're a beginner or intermediate level at the use of these devices. I'm just a beginner with microcontrollers so this site will tend to be at that level, for a while at least.

Sooo... the rest of this page will evolve over time and include links to other related pages that will include projects, blogs, musings, etc.