It's a Clock !

I've got the basic clock sending time output to the displays.  The LEDs show who is on move, and the buttons switch the clocks and LEDs.

What is left to do (software):
- move counter
- increment and delay
- multiple periods
- Setup routine for setting time and choosing options using buttons
- save settings to non-volatile memory

What is left to do (hardware)
- switches (on/off and pause)
- 4 buttons for navigating the menus
- prototype case, probably plastic
- eventually a nice wooden case, with mechanical plungers.


Sketch Update

I modified the printTime() function to convert the time remaining for each player from 1/10 seconds to H:MM:SS and to write that to the displays, by calling a new writeNum() function.

// Function to write the time to the displays
void printTime() {                      // print time function
  int secDis1;
  int secDis10;
  int minDis1;
  int minDis10;
  int hrDis1;
  int secs;
  
  secs = timeR1 / 10;                  // convert 1/10 sec to H:MM:SS
  hrDis1 = secs / 3600;
  secs = secs % 3600;
  minDis10 = secs / 600;
  secs = secs % 600;
  minDis1 = secs / 60;
  secs = secs % 60;
  secDis10 = secs / 10;
  secDis1 = secs % 10;
  
  writeNum(hrDis1,3,1);
  writeNum(minDis10,7,1);
  writeNum(minDis1,10,1);
  writeNum(secDis10,14,1);
  writeNum(secDis1,17,1);
  
  secs = timeR2 / 10;                  // convert 1/10 sec to H:MM:SS
  hrDis1 = secs / 3600;
  secs = secs % 3600;
  minDis10 = secs / 600;
  secs = secs % 600;
  minDis1 = secs / 60;
  secs = secs % 60;
  secDis10 = secs / 10;
  secDis1 = secs % 10;
  
  writeNum(hrDis1,3,2);
  writeNum(minDis10,7,2);
  writeNum(minDis1,10,2);
  writeNum(secDis10,14,2);
  writeNum(secDis1,17,2); 
}

Part of the writeNum() function:

// function to write digits to the displays
void writeNum(int charDigit, int charPos, int turn){
   switch (charDigit){
      case 0:
         if (turn==1){
           lcd1.setCursor(charPos,0);
           lcd1.write(1);
           lcd1.write(2);
           lcd1.write(2);
           lcd1.setCursor(charPos,1);
           lcd1.write(3);
           lcd1.write(32);
           lcd1.write(3);
           lcd1.setCursor(charPos,2);
           lcd1.write(3);
           lcd1.write(32);
           lcd1.write(3);
           lcd1.setCursor(charPos,3);
           lcd1.write(3);
           lcd1.write(2);
           lcd1.write(4);
         }
         else{
           lcd2.setCursor(charPos,0);
           lcd2.write(1);
           lcd2.write(2);
           lcd2.write(2);
           lcd2.setCursor(charPos,1);
           lcd2.write(3);
           lcd2.write(32);
           lcd2.write(3);
           lcd2.setCursor(charPos,2);
           lcd2.write(3);
           lcd2.write(32);
           lcd2.write(3);
           lcd2.setCursor(charPos,3);
           lcd2.write(3);
           lcd2.write(2);
           lcd2.write(4); 
         }
         break;

and this continues for each of the 10 digits, plus a blank space if I want to use that later.

Functioning Clock and BIG NUMBERS

Working Chess Clock

I now have a functioning chess clock.  Lots of work yet to be done, but the basic functions are all working.

I took the code from the earlier clock test, and changed it from sending the output to the serial port, to writing the time to the displays.  I also made the updates every 1/10 second.

This picture shows the two buttons and the green LEDs which indicate whose turn it is to move:

The buttons are wired to pins 2 and 3, with 10 K ohm pull-up resistors to +5V.  Closing the switch pulls the pin to ground.

The LED anodes are connected to pins 4 and 5, with 560 ohm resistors between the cathode and ground.  (similar to the schematics published earlier, but the pins have changed).

This next picture shows the display for player 2.  Note, it is counting down tenths of seconds.

I will attach the sketch at the bottom of this post.


Big Numbers

I also did some work on making large numbers for the time display.  (I don't know why this blog page insists on turning the image sideways, it is horizontal on my PC, but you can still see the large digits).

These large numbers were made by combining 7 custom characters.  The custom characters are numbered 0 through 7, but I used 1 through 7 because those were the numbers I used when I drew out the patterns on graph paper.  Note, if you use character 0, the data type must be declared something like this:  lcd.write((byte)0);   It has something to do with control codes vs. custom characters.  Luckily, since I used 1-7, I didn't run into this issue, but read about it on other web pages.

Some pieces of the sketch that created these large numbers:

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
LiquidCrystal lcd1(6,7,9,10,11,12);
LiquidCrystal lcd2(6,8,9,10,11,12);

// create bit maps of the custom characters.  5 columns by 8 rows.
byte customChar1[8] = {
  B00000,
  B00000,
  B00000,
  B00000,
  B00011,
  B00011,
  B00011,
  B00011
};
.
.
.

void setup() {
   lcd1.begin(20, 4);
   lcd2.begin(20, 4);
   lcd1.createChar(1,customChar1);   //  assign the bitmap pattern to character 1
   .
   .
   .
}

void loop() {
   lcd1.setCursor(3,0);
   lcd1.write(1);     // write character 1
   .
   .
   .
}


And now, my most up to date clock sketch (from the photos at the top of this post):

//   
//  Chess Clock Practice Sketches
//
//  Bob Nolan
//  3/26/2015
//

// Include LCD display library and set up pinouts
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
LiquidCrystal lcd1(6,7,9,10,11,12);
LiquidCrystal lcd2(6,8,9,10,11,12);

// Declare Global Variables
unsigned int timeR1;
unsigned int timeR2;
unsigned long lastMilliS;
int turn;
int ledPin1 = 4;
int ledPin2 = 5;
int switchPin1 = 2;
int switchPin2 = 3;
boolean checkButton;
boolean flag1=0;
boolean flag2=0;

void setup() {
  timeR1 = 150;                // set initial time.  Time is in 1/10 sec
  timeR2 = 150;                // need to add user input routine
  turn=0;
  pinMode(ledPin1,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(ledPin2,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(switchPin1,INPUT);
  pinMode(switchPin2,INPUT);
  lcd1.begin(20,4);
  lcd2.begin(20,4);
  lcd1.print("Player 1");
  lcd2.print("Player 2");
}

void loop() {  
 if (turn==0){              // dont start counting until 1st button press
    lastMilliS=millis();
 }
  if (millis()-lastMilliS >= 100) {   // every 100 msec, update time
    lastMilliS=millis();
    if((turn==1)&&(!flag1)){
      timeR1--;
    }
    if((turn==2)&&(!flag2)){
      timeR2--;
    }
    printTime();
  }
  checkButton=digitalRead(switchPin1);   // player 1 button press
  if(!checkButton && (turn!=2)){
    digitalWrite(ledPin2,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(ledPin1,LOW);
    turn = 2;
    printTime();
    
  }
  checkButton=digitalRead(switchPin2);   // player 2 button press
  if(!checkButton && (turn!=1)){
    digitalWrite(ledPin1,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(ledPin2,LOW);
    turn = 1;
    printTime();
   
  }
  if((timeR1<=0)&&(!flag1)){            // player 1 flag
    lcd1.setCursor(0,2);
    lcd1.print("Flag");
    flag1=1;
  }
  if((timeR2==0)&&(!flag2)){            // player 2 flag
    lcd2.setCursor(0,2);
    lcd2.print("Flag");
    flag2=1;    
  }
}

void printTime() {                      // print time function
   lcd1.setCursor(0,1);
   lcd1.print(timeR1);
   lcd1.print("  ");
   lcd2.setCursor(0,1);
   lcd2.print(timeR2);
   lcd2.print("  ");
}

More progress with the displays

I have both displays hooked up and working independently now, and like I had hoped, it only takes 7 output pins to drive both displays.

Here is how they are wired

LCD Pin	Arduino Pin
1 Logic Gnd	Gnd
2 Logic +5V	+5V
3 Contrast	Pot sweep
4 RS	Pin 6
5 RW	Gnd
6 EN (LCD1)	Pin 7
6 EN (LCD 2)	Pin 8
7
8
9
10
11 DB4	Pin 9
12 DB5	Pin 10
13 DB6	Pin 11
14 DB7	Pin 12
15 Backlight +5V	+5V
16 Backlight Gnd	Gnd

I used one potentiometer to control the contrast on both displays.  All of the connections go to both displays except the enable which has pin 7 going to display 1 and pin 8 going to display 2.

Sample Sketch

I used the following sketch to test that I had both displays wired correctly.  Notice that I had to define the pinouts for LCD1 and LCD2.

#include <LiquidCrystal.h>

LiquidCrystal lcd1(6,7,9,10,11,12);

LiquidCrystal lcd2(6,8,9,10,11,12);

void setup() {

  // put your setup code here, to run once:

lcd1.begin(20, 4);

lcd2.begin(20, 4);

 lcd1.print("Player 1");

 lcd2.print("Player 2");

}

void loop() {

  // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

 lcd1.setCursor(0,1);

 lcd1.print(millis()/1000);

 delay(1000);

 lcd2.setCursor(0,1);

 lcd2.print(millis()/1000);

 delay(1000);

}

Phase 3 - Integrate the displays

Phase 3 has begun!

The displays arrived today.  First I soldered on the headers.  It has probably been 25 years since I did any precise soldering so it doesn't look like a professional job, but it works.  I tested each connection with my ohm meter to make sure I had a good contact and wasn't shorted to the next pin over.

Next I followed the tutorial from the Adafruit website to wire up the displays.  Then loaded the "Hello World" example.  I swapped the displays to make sure both were working correctly.  That was quicker than running another set of jumpers.

Next steps:
- update my clock sketch to send the time to the displays
- figure out how to do my custom characters for the large digits
- polish up the sketch and add delay, increment, and multiple periods
- create a setup routine so the time and other settings can be set with button presses

I'll post more updates as I make progress.

Displays have been ordered

Tonight I ordered two 4x20 LCD displays.

Also, here is a picture from the clock test.

Clock Project - Progress Update

Phase 2 is moving along nicely.  I have completed all of the projects in the booklet that came with the Arduino kit, and have read all of the relevant chapters in the book Teach Yourself Arduino Programming in 24 Hours by Richard Blum, published by Sams.

Today I started writing and testing some clock code.  I built a simple circuit to test the code:  it has two push button switches, a green LED for each side to indicate whose turn it is, and a red LED for each flag.  The circuit looks something like this (drawn using the Fritzing program which can be downloaded at http://fritzing.org/home/).

Here is a schematic for the circuit:  (drawn using the website http://www.digikey.com/schemeit/# )

The switches are connected to pins 2 and 3 on the Arduino.  A 10 K ohm pull up resistor keeps the pin at 5 volts until the button is pressed which pulls the pin to ground.  In the code you will see that I have to initialize pins 2 and 3 for digital input.

Pins 8 and 9 are connected to the green LEDs and pins 10 and 11 are connected to the red LEDs.  These pins are configured for digital output.


And now... the program

The program, called a sketch is listed below.  It flows something like this:

• Initialize the variables
• Setup function that initializes the input and output pins and sets variable states (every sketch has to have this function)
• Loop function (also required in every sketch)  executes in a never ending loop.  This is where the body of code is.  The basic parts of my code in the loop:
• Don't start counting until the first button press
• On a button press, light the correct LED, and assign the "turn" variable to the opponent
• Check if 1000 milliseconds have gone by,  if so, call the subroutine to print the times to the serial port (can be monitored on the PC)
• Check to see if either time is down to zero, if so, light the corresponding LED.
• Any other functions.  I only have one, to print the time to the serial port.  Later, this is where the code to write to the LCD displays will live.

This is what the output looks like on the serial monitor screen:  

(for this example, each player has 15 seconds on their clock)

                                                                     (nothing happens until the 1st button press)

Player 1 button                                             (Green LED for player 2 lights)
2  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 15
2  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 14
2  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 13
2  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 12
2  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 11
Player 2 button                                             (Green LED for player 1 lights)
1  Player 1 = 15  Player 2 = 11
1  Player 1 = 14  Player 2 = 11
1  Player 1 = 13  Player 2 = 11
1  Player 1 = 12  Player 2 = 11
1  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 11
Player 1 button                                             (Green LED for player 2 lights)
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 11
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 10
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 9
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 8
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 7
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 6
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 5
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 4
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 3
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 2
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 1
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 0
Player 2 Flag                                                 (Red LED for player 2 lights)
2  Player 1 = 11  Player 2 = 0


Some thoughts and plans:

• The way the code is written, if a player hits the clock using less than a second, he will not have any time come off his clock.  (like the old Master Quartz clocks).  I think think the best fix for this is to update the clock every 1/10 second.  I tested this and it worked fine, but the serial display filled up really fast, so I put it back to 1 second for this blog post.
• The program continues to run after one player flags.  That players clock will not count down past zero, but if he hits his clock, the opponent's flag will count down, so that it is possible to have both players flag.  This is the correct behavior for USCF rules.
• I will need to add code for common options:
• Delay time before the clocks start to count
• Increment time added each move
• More than one time period
• Once I get some LCD displays, I will need to write code for:
• Choosing options and setting initial time
• Displaying the time on the LCD displays.

Here is the sketch listing:

//   
//  Chess Clock Practice Sketches
//
//  Bob Nolan
//  3/15/2015
//

// Declare Global Variables
unsigned int timeR1;
unsigned int timeR2;
unsigned long lastMilliS;
int turn;
int ledPin1 = 8;
int ledPin2 = 9;
int switchPin1 = 2;
int switchPin2 = 3;
int flagPin1 = 10;
int flagPin2 = 11;
boolean checkButton;
boolean flag1=0;
boolean flag2=0;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  timeR1 = 15;                // set initial time
  timeR2 = 15;                // need to add user input routine
  turn=0;
  pinMode(ledPin1,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(ledPin2,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(switchPin1,INPUT);
  pinMode(switchPin2,INPUT);
  pinMode(flagPin1,OUTPUT);
  pinMode(flagPin2,OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {  
 if (turn==0){              // dont start counting until 1st button press
    lastMilliS=millis();
 }
  if (millis()-lastMilliS >= 1000) {   // every 1000 msec, update time
    lastMilliS=millis();
    if((turn==1)&&(!flag1)){
      timeR1--;
    }
    if((turn==2)&&(!flag2)){
      timeR2--;
    }
    printTime();
  }
  checkButton=digitalRead(switchPin1);   // player 1 button press
  if(!checkButton && (turn!=2)){
    digitalWrite(ledPin2,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(ledPin1,LOW);
    turn = 2;
    Serial.println("Player 1 button");
    printTime();
    
  }
  checkButton=digitalRead(switchPin2);   // player 2 button press
  if(!checkButton && (turn!=1)){
    digitalWrite(ledPin1,HIGH);
    digitalWrite(ledPin2,LOW);
    turn = 1;
    Serial.println("Player 2 button");
    printTime();
   
  }
  if((timeR1<=0)&&(!flag1)){            // player 1 flag
    digitalWrite(flagPin1,HIGH);
    Serial.println("Player 1 Flag");
    flag1=1;
  }
  if((timeR2==0)&&(!flag2)){            // player 2 flag
    digitalWrite(flagPin2,HIGH);
    Serial.println("Player 2 Flag");
    flag2=1;    
  }
}

void printTime() {                      // print time function
   Serial.print(turn);                  
   Serial.print("  Player 1 = ");
   Serial.print(timeR1);
   Serial.print("  Player 2 = ");
   Serial.println(timeR2);
}

The Arduino has arrived

The Arduino experimenter's kit arrived today. 

I loaded the software without much trouble.  The only issue I had was the software recognized the Arduino was plugged into COM 3, but it was trying to write the program to COM 1.  This may have been due to having two instances of the software open.  After I closed one of them, it has worked ever since.

I built the first project from the booklet:  Making an LED blink.  I guess this is the "Hello World" program of the Arduino world.

So far this is going much more smoothly than I had hoped.   I will try to do a project each evening.  That should give me a good start at writing the chess clock program.