My project involves the conversion of a frequency of 500Hz (max) and I need a fast response time for this conversion. The current design uses a 2917 chip for the F/V conversion, and this works OK at slow speeds but the delay is not acceptable at medium or faster rates.
I noticed a quote from jimkeith in a recent post on a similar subject:
Quote: Originally Posted by jimkeith
"The low frequency is a problem--to reduce ripple in the analog output, a relatively long time constant is required--to obtain accurate readings with low ripple, a time period of 0.5sec to 1sec is required for the voltage to settle--is this time delay acceptable?
Another way to do this is via a microcontroller that measures time between pulses calculates 1/t and outputs an analog signal--relatively simple problem for a high level language code developer--this provides fast response without ripple--probably beyond the scope of your problem--do you agree?"
I can't accept the 1 second time delay but can jimkeith (or someone else) please explain a little more about the alternative approach using the microcontroller. I've never used a microcontroller before but it sounds like the ideal solution. Thanks for any help offered.