It’s (not) Alright

Solar Tracker - 1

I don’t remember if I wrote about this earlier but we have to do a mini project this semester. The subject for the project is — anything based on whatever we have learned in the first 2.5 years of engineering. It may sound easy, but let me tell you, when you have to work in a team and the work is not fixed, it usually becomes a mess. We were all debating on what to design (rip off actually, with slight modifications… will get to the reason soon). If you are given a subject, then it is usually easier to work cause you have a target. You can set goals and try and achieve them in time. Alas! that was not the case with us.

After countless hours of talk and no work sessions (much like the parliament meetings minus the fighting and the screaming… and yeah, the money too) we decided to build a Solar Tracker. Some of the optimistic readers might think that this was the end… it wasn’t.

After deciding on what to build, we debated a lot on how to design it. Using semi-discrete components? Using 8085 (the sucker) or a micro controller? I was bent on the first and last option. I absolutely HATE 8085. My partners however have the feeling that using 8085 will fetch them good marks. So, they are heavily bent on 8085. <<– that’s right. They still are. Finally we decided to go ahead with 8085 based circuit.

Now, the main things are to go and get components. Build a psuedo solar panel and a prototype tracker connected to it and present it as our project. A lot of work to be done… but at least we know now, what to focuss on…

Posted in: College Life, Design, Electronics, My Life, Programming

Tags: 8085, college, Design, Electronics, microcontroller, My Life, Programming, Project

This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 7:10 pm and is filed under College Life, Design, Electronics, My Life, Programming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.