Picaxe Cyberpet
| ¡ | Click on each part to learn more about them. |
PCB assembly
| ¡ | Follow the instructions in the photograph to help you correctly assemble your cyberpet. |
Programming Cyberpet
| ¡ | Click on each part to see which flowchart boxes to use. |
Simple programmes
To bring your cyberpet to life you need to construct a flowchart which controls the outputs. For example, to flash the left LED once might need a flowchart like this:
Unfortunately, because the PIC only take a few millionths of second to carry out each box, the flash would be too brief to see. To overcome this problem, you can insert a time delay (pause) after the instruction which turns the LED on. Like this:
| ¡ | Try out the above flowchart. You can find the stop box under the sub button: |
To put the programme into the cyberpet, connect your pcb to the battery and plug the picaxe lead into the jack socket. Switch on the battery and press the F5 key twice. (The first keypress converts the flowchart into basic, the second keypress sends the programme to the PIC).
| ¡ | Now try changing the programme so that the right LED flashes once. |
Looping programmes
Simple programmes provide a good way to get to know your cyberpet. By changing the pin you are controlling, you can try out all the different outputs and check that your cyberpet works. But programmes that loop are much more interesting because they never 'stop'.
| ¡ | Here is a modification to the led flash programme that makes the cyberpet blink continously. By looking at the flowchart, can you work out why the programme never stops. |
| ¡ | If you look closely at the programme you will also notice that the two time delays have different values. You can set this using the small window at the bottom left of the screen when you click on the flowchart box. |
| ¡ | Flowchart arrows to link boxes together are drawn using this button: |
| ¡ | Start the line at the exit of a box. (Click on the red handle that appears when you hover over the box connector) |
| ¡ | Left click each time you want to fix a corner |
| ¡ | Click the red handle as you hover over the entrance connector to a box |
| ¡ | Now try your own looping programme that blinks both eyes together continously. |
Ring tones
Free ring tones can be copied from websites. This example is from www.tones4free.com
| ¡ | Follow the three steps to copy the ring tone to the clipboard. |
| ¡ | Open the PICAXE Tune Wizard. |
| ¡ | Paste the ringtone into the Tune Wizard by making the appropriate selection from the edit menu. |
The Tune Wizard should now be loaded with the pasted ring tone.
| ¡ | Click the copy button to paste the tune into your basic programme. |
If you start a new empty basic programme, when your transfer your basic programme (with the pasted ring tone) to cyberpet, it will play the tune straight away.
Example programme
This is a programme for a shy cyberpet. It likes to be kept in the dark. If you bring it out into the light it complains with a high pitched noise!
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