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Circuit Cellar And Microchip Pick A Winner! First place in the PIC 12CXXX category of the 1998 Circuit Cellar INK / Microchip Technology design contest was won by Hank Wallace, as announced at the Embedded Systems Conference in Chicago. The winning project is a device that controls the sound of a guitar effects unit using ultrasonic data bursts sent down the guitar's audio cable. The 8-pin PIC 12C508 microcontroller was just the ticket for producing a small, low power, design that carried the day. Guitar players have a difficult time controlling all the recent high tech sound effects toys, AND playing at the same time. It is getting to the point that the effects constitute another instrument. To make the task easier, the winning project eliminates the need for effects-controlling foot switches by putting several touch pads on the instrument. The guitarist can touch these pads, which are monitored by a PIC 12C508, and generate data bursts which travel down the guitar cable to a receiver, modifying the sound of the instrument. The category first place prize was $3000 plus a bonus of $500 for using the PIC 12C508 product, along with a Hewlett Packard Logic Dart. Not bad for a few extra evenings in the lab. More info on the contest and all the other winning projects can be found at the Circuit Cellar Design98 home page! |
