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Best starter kit?

MonkOFox

Mar 8, 2011
1
Joined
Mar 8, 2011
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I'm wanting to toy around and make a remote control door lock that is controlled wirelessly.
I've seen picaxe microcontroller kits but what kit is the best for a starter? And is programmer friendly?

I'm a software developer, but have no clue when it comes to Circuits and what different components I'll need to accomplish this.

So I figured I'd start with the microcontroller and work my way into it.

Thanks,

Justin
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
Moderator
Jan 21, 2010
25,510
Joined
Jan 21, 2010
Messages
25,510
Well, a door is the simplest you can get from a hardware perspective.

If valid_signal then hold_unlocked else release;

You could run the data out line from a 415MHz receiver via some driver to the lock mechanism. Each time it sees a signal, the door would unlock. Unfortunately it would be pretty indiscriminate, and noise would probably mean the door unlocked all the time anyway.

So between the receiver and the driver to the lock you insert some smarts.

And the smarts are controlled by your software, Decode a valid signal, decide how long to keep the door unlocked, etc.

Have a look at the PicAXE it's very friendly and will let you start programming without having to learn all the PIC hardware issues or purchase a programmer to get your program onto the chip (you just need RS232).
 
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