Software Development

 

The UBG-16 downloader is being developed using a Teensy microcontroller, an Arduino-compatible device.  To use the source code I’ll be making available, you’ll need some free software.  First, to get the programming environment working, you’ll need:

  1. The Arduino development environment

  2. Teensyduino, a software add-on for the Arduino software that allows it to compile for the Teensy board.

  3. The Teensy Loader, the program that actually loads compiled code onto the Teensy board.

With these packages installed, you’ll be able to compile software and load it onto the Teensy board.  You’ll then need to install a couple of libraries to compile and use my code.  Specifically, you’ll need:

  1. The Time library, which has functions for keeping time, communicating with a Real-Time Clock, and doing math with dates and times

  2. The SdFat library, which allows the program to create files on SD cards and save data there.

  3. The LiquidCrystal_I2C library, which provides support for the serial LCD.  Please note, there are at least two different libraries with this name.  If you use the LCD module I used, you must use this library.

These libraries come as .zip files.  Unzip them and move the contents into the Arduino/Libraries directory under your home directory, then restart the Arduino software.

My software itself is still in development.  The current version of the source code is posted here.  It appears to work on my prototype hardware, but has not been extensively tested.