Caleb Bigham’s Work Log

Caleb Bigham’s Work Log

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  • Post last modified:September 27, 2024
  • Reading time:6 mins read
  • Post category:Work Logs

WEEK 4 – Project Update 3

Power sensing IC attached to breakout board
Operational diagram
  • PAST WEEK:
    • Soldered the our system’s primary IC, the power sensing module, to a breakout board to allow for further testing and implementation.
    • Re-imagined power routing scheme to ensure correct functionality.
  • TODO:
    • Integrate the necessary modules to run DC consumption tests on a breadboard.
      • This will allow us to confirm communication protocol between the Arduino and the IC.
  • CONCERNS:
    • I am worried that we are making slow progress. In the coming week I will devote more hours to this project than I have in the past week.



WEEK 4 – Project Update 2

  • PAST WEEK:
    • We collectively determined that the current PCB prototype has some glaring design flaws and it is not worth dedicating effort to diagnosing/fixing physical issues.
    • The issues with I2C communication were likely electrical routing issues rather than software.
    • Ordered new components to enable breadboard testing of full system components.
  • TODO:
    • Rewrite code to communicate via SPI for new board.
    • Test smaller programming subsystems that do not depend on new PCB (i.e. webserver hosting)
  • CONCERNS:
    • Designing and ordering a new PCB will take a lot of time.
    • Software is CRUCIAL for a working final product and it will be at least a couple of weeks before comprehensive testing can be conducted.

WEEK 3 – Project Update 1

  • TODO:
    • Diagnose the reason for 0 information transfer on the I2C bus between MCU and IC.
      • Review electrical diagrams for PCB.
      • Review I2C documentation for Arduino’s Wire library.
      • Correct pin assignments in the Arduino software.
    • Write “Hello world” program that will provide voltage and amperage levels to a user via serial terminal.
      • Establish communication on the I2C bus.
      • Parse IC’s register information into human-readable floating point values.
  • CONCERNS:
    • My initial testing of the system software yielded 0 transfer of information between the MCU and the IC. This could mean one of three things:
      • Power monitor IC is fried and must be replaced.
      • The IC has been soldered to the board in the wrong orientation.
      • The software has been written incorrectly.