Senior Design Project Summaries: 1989-1990

EE 461, 462, 463 Senior Design Project
Fall, Winter and Spring Quarters 1989-1990

• Project #1: AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM, USERS MANUAL
• Project #2: AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM
• Project #3: ANTENNA ARRAY DATA SIMULATING AND PROCESSING*
• Project #4: ETHERNET TRANSPUTER LINK**
• Project #5: F.E.W. RACER PACER
• Project #6: FLIGHT SIMULATOR (COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOR THE ATC-810)
• Project #7: GUITAR TO MIDI PROCESSOR**
• Project #8: HOUSEHOLD CONTROL
• Project #9: MULTIPORT PRINTER INTERFACE*
• Project #10: PC-MIDI ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD SYSTEM WITH DIGITAL AUDIO SAMPLING
• Project #11: SAILBOAT PERFORMANCE MONITOR
• Project #12: STAND-ALONE IMAGE PROCESSOR USING A TMS320C25**
• Project #13: VIDEO SIGNAL ENHANCER*

Project #1: AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM, USERS
MANUAL

By: Gregory A. Olson, Bill Haala, and Craig Weirens
Advisor: Dr. B.W. Ellis
Description: This project is to design and build a microcontroller-based system to track and allow communication with two amateur radio satellites. It will be used to direct uplink and downlink antennas while providing information on the possible need of amplification and frequency shifts. The user will be able to select operating options from a menu. He will be able to select a satellite, update the satellite information, or request help. The system will need to interface the microcontroller with a sixteen-key pad, rotator controllers, and a LCD screen. Data information will be displayed on the screen. Calculation of the satellite positions and various motion effects can be tedious and time consuming if done by hand; the tracking unit will allow radio users with little satellite communication experience to communicate via satellites thus increasing their geographical area coverage.

Project #2: AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE TRACKING SYSTEM

By: Gregory A. Olson
Advisor: Dr. B.W. Ellis
Description: The amateur radio satellite tracking project can be divided into four major sections consisting of tracking techniques, antenna communications, hardware, and software. The block diagram shown in figure 1 illustrates the general set- up of the project. The idea is to be able to track an amateur radio satellite without manually positioning the antenna. By entering a satellite's orbital characteristics and the time of day, the satellite can be tracked by the single board controller using various tracking methods. The satellite's orbital characteristics are stored in memory and can be accessed and updated for later use.

Note: Student paper by Greg Olson on this project received first place in the IEEE Twin Cities Section student paper contest. Minneapolis, MN, May 1990. The paper was also chosen for entry in the IEEE Region IV competition. Chicago, IL, April 1990.

Project #3: ANTENNA ARRAY DATA SIMULATING AND PROCESSING*

By: Jia Wan, Kimm Mueller, and Joe Manns
Advisor: Dr. Y. Zheng
Description: Many data processing methods have been developed to process VLA (Very Large Array) data, however, the cosmic images can not be displayed until all the data is collected. The purpose of this project is to develop an on line data processor, so the observation can be monitored. This can be accomplished by speeding up the data processor, such as the TMS320C25. Contour maps will then be made using a PC monitor. Extensive software will be developed for this system.

Project #4: ETHERNET TRANSPUTER LINK**

By: John Marohn, Brian Vogl, and Tom Wegscheid
Advisor: Dr. K. J. Miller
Description: The group will build a board that will enable a transputer network to communicate with a SUN workstation via ethernet. Once the project is completed, a person will be able to send ethernet packets to the transputer board from the SUN workstation. However, the board will have to "strip down" the ethernet packet and present only the data into the transputer and "package" the data sent from the transputer to the SUN workstation. The software on our board will handle this. We must also do TDS (Transputer Development System) programming on a SUN workstation. Here we must modify existing TDS software to run on a SUN (in a window) and take advantage of the suntools (tool based, mouse, menus, etc.). This software will communicate with the hardware board via ethernet.

Project #5: F.E.W. RACER PACER

By: Jeff Eckholm, Brian D. Falk, and Paul D. Wald
Advisor: Dr. J. Rankin
Description: The goal of this project is to design a RF controlled lap pacing system for the SCSU athletic department's Human Performance Lab (HPL). This pacing system, which we have named "The Racer Pacer," will be used to train athletes to run and maintain a predetermined pace. The purpose of this project is to improve on the conventional 'stop-watch' method by providing a more efficient means of communicating with the runner. The system will consist of a number of remote receiving stations and a controller unit. The stations will be set up around a track and will strobe in sequence to indicate the pace at which the athlete should run. The controller will transmit a signal, consisting of a station address and lane address, which will be detected at each receiver station. The receivers will examine the address coming in, determine if the address is valid, and if so, turn on the appropriate lane light.

Project #6: FLIGHT SIMULATOR (COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOR THE
ATC-810)

By: Binh Nguyen and Robert Kemmetmueller
Advisor: Dr. J.M. Heneghan
Description: This project will provide visual feedback to pilots of the ATC-810 instrument- only flight simulator. A CRT will be installed above the dashboard and will be driven by a PC board that calculates a perspective view of what the pilot would see if there were a window in the simulator. An 80286 microprocessor and graphics processor will be put on the board to do the calculations required for three-dimensional graphics without bogging down the XT's 8088 microprocessor, which will be reading data from the simulator.

Project #7: GUITAR TO MIDI PROCESSOR**

By: Connie Jacobs, Scott Kirvan, and Augustine So
Advisor: Dr. K. J. Miller
Description: The project will consist of designing a process to play a MIDI compatible synthesizer with an electric guitar. Guitar signals will be digitally analyzed, converted to MIDI data, and then transmitted in a standard MIDI format.

Project #8: HOUSEHOLD CONTROL

By: Kevin Holmstrom, Richard Mallum, Jeffrey M. Wagner
Advisor: Dr. J. M. Heneghan
Description: We designed the unit to energize and de-energize lights and appliances via a joystick input to an INTEL based personal computer (PC). The unit receives digital signals from the computer through 125 kHz signals that are delivered through the standard household 120 VAC power grid. This design was pursued due to the release from the otherwise necessary interconnecting control wires to operate the devices mentioned.

Project #9: MULTIPORT PRINTER INTERFACE*

By: Chuck Crymble, Kris Hegg, and Rudley Rau
Advisor: Dr. R. A. Higgins
Description: This project will be designed around the Intel 8097 microcontroller. The interface will utilize hardware and software design to control the incoming traffic of a serial and parallel input laser printer. The incoming files will be spooled to allow the sending terminal or terminals to be freed up as quickly as possible. The files will arrive through two parallel and six serial input ports and be sent out to the printer through a serial or parallel port.

Project #10: PC-MIDI ELECTRONIC KEYBOARD SYSTEM WITH DIGITAL AUDIO SAMPLING

By: Paul Crowe and Brian Rogers
Advisor: Dr. S. Lekhakul
Description: A personal computer driven audio sampling device, which is interfaced with an electronic keyboard, is being developed. An analog audio signal will be sampled at a rate of 40 kHz, stored in a block memory, and reproduced at an appropriate higher or lower pitch whenever a key is pressed on the keyboard. Samples may be stored in disk files for future use. Th keyboard may also be used to play user-defined combinations of sinusoidal signals, which are generated to be software. Digital filtering will be used to implement effects such as flanging, chorus, and phase shift. Keyboard-to-PC interfacing will utilize the MIDI standard.

Project #11: SAILBOAT PERFORMANCE MONITOR

By: Michael Rudnik and Jennine Zukeran
Advisor: Dr. J. M. Heneghan, Dr. Y. Zheng, and Dr. A. Narayana
Description: To design a system with specific applications intended to achieve optimum performance of a sailboat with respect to "beating" into or "running" with the wind. The optimum performance is a function of Velocity Made Good or VMG. VMG is defined by the velocity a boat makes good directly into, or with, the wind.

Project #12: STAND-ALONE IMAGE PROCESSOR USING A TMS320C25**

By: Jeffrey J. Newman
Advisor: Dr. Y. Zheng
Description: The purpose is to design, construct, and test a high speed data processing unit that will process a 512 x 512 x 8 array of video data. As an integral part of this project, it was also necessary to develop some software to accomplish various signal-processing techniques. The digital video data will be obtained from a high speed, 256 gray-level digitizer that was part of a design from a senior design group of the previous school year.

Project #13: VIDEO SIGNAL ENHANCER*

By: Jeffrey Newman
Advisor: Dr. Y. Zheng
Description: The purpose of this project is to design and develop a data processing system to analyze and enhance a digitizer video signal. This system is a real-time, stand alone, image processor that is designed for industrial applications, primarily non-destructive testing. The design consists of two main units: a high speed, high definition video digitizer, and a digital image. The digitizer unit has already been developed and only minor modifications need be made. The video image processor will then process the data stored by the digitizer. The unit may also have the capability to download the digital data to another system for storage or further processing.

Project #14 DSP BOARD WITH VLA SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS

By: Joe Manns, Jia Wan, and Kimm Mueller
Advisor: Dr. Yi Zheng
Description: Many data processing methods have been developed to process Very Large Array (VLA) source data. However, they cannot display the cosmic source until all the data has been collected and processed. This results in wasted laboratory time when the source is not on target or some equipment is not working properly. A system is needed which can display a current image of what the antennas are pointing out. We have concentrated on making the system do only one of the most important steps, the two-dimensional Fast Fourier Transform.