My preliminary search on these forums had no results.
I have not used a microcontroller on a motorcycle before.
The last one I fiddled with was many years ago, and it used machine language!
I want something complete and packaged.
The application is logic control, and some sensing, re launching and lifting a support wheel set.
With 20 channels 12V out (controls and indicator lights).
10 channels 12V in, (pushbuttons and limit switches)
2 or more rotary encoders in,
inbuilt GPS speed sensing,
Gyro ?,
Vertical sensing.
Motors are two motorcycle starter motors, probably 700 watts each, I
need 200 watts each for lifting.
I am thinking fractional second pulsing via starter solenoids, but will consider
solid-state pulsed control if it is appropriate on a motorcycle (electrical noise?)
The mechanism will freewheel for some 10ths of a second.
Up/down motion will take 0.5 to 1 second, depending on amount of power, pulsing,
and acceleration.
Arduino is a bit too "hobby" for me. I want something up a few notches,
with lots of stuff already built in.
I haven't been able to find any Google articles that lay out my options.
Whoops! spelling mistake in title!

 

There are no processors that I know of that work off of +12V. Sadly the last potential part, the RCA(Intersil) 1802, went off to microprocessor heaven more than two decades ago. Last production was in 1995. A quick check of the legacy datasheet shows that +11V was the absolute maximum Vcc. Mark this idea as a strikeout.

http://www.cosmacelf.com/publications/data-sheets/cdp1802.pdf

You might find the following of interest.
http://www.cpushack.com/life-cycle-of-cpu.html

 

I haven't heard of any motorcycle smart electronics. At least not integrated to that degree. For your requirements, I would think 5-3 volt processor board with an I/O switching interface board.

It would have to be customized for your bike. That's a huge project for one bike.

I'm not up on bikes. Do any of the new ones have these features?

 

I haven't heard of any motorcycle smart electronics. At least not integrated to that degree. For your requirements, I would think 5-3 volt processor board with an I/O switching interface board.

It would have to be customized for your bike. That's a huge project for one bike.

I'm not up on bikes. Do any of the new ones have these features?

I am hoping that there is a modular system out there where you can plug in features you want
without starting again at circuit board level. I see that a lot of the gps, vertical, gyro
features are available in android phones now. Can you get this stuff set up to
co-operate with a microcontroller, again without starting new circuit boards?
I have seen some simple stuff run in C++, for those self-balancing 2-wheel things??
with a solid state gyro. I don't know about gps modules.
The voltage is not a problem. a lot of the IO could run through small relays,
as it is slow switching. Again, getting it down to a small size, that will fit in a
car PCU-sized box, is the problem. I don't want to have a tower box-type layout,
with lots of edge connectors and multiple boards.

This type of application is usually customised, for addon kits, and low volume production
enclosed motorcycles.

 

I just don't know. Stick around......there are people here that will be a lot more familiar with what might help you.
I can see where riders would want these features. It's amazing how all this tech is seeping into everything.

 

Try to split your design into blocks
a: main power and it's filters (12V in with spikes up to 100V positive and negative.) and should still work during max load at battery)
b:RTC
c: Input interfaces and their protection against unwanted / killing inputs.
d: Output interfaces and their protection against short cut spikes and more.
f: main mpu with RTC and GPS input
g: error detection and action to enter a predefined save mode. (most difficult part should also cover bad parts/ connections and software misbehave). No direct stop motorcycle should al least be able to get you out of trouble (railway/ bridge/ mountain and more to think of)

What you want is possible with one of my pic18f8722 main boards plus a new to define interface and power conditioning board.
This board is designed to be used in a mobile laboratory instrument transferring samples.
onboard rtc+ cr1220 cell /gsm with FTP and E-mail extern GPS module plus a lot of bi-directional in and outputs. size 100 x 60 mm. running @ 7-32V DC.
But this board is not certified to use in this type of applications. (very costly at least 100K$) hence useless to you.

Picbuster

 

Try to split your design into blocks
a: main power and it's filters (12V in with spikes up to 100V positive and negative.) and should still work during max load at battery)
b:RTC
c: Input interfaces and their protection against unwanted / killing inputs.
d: Output interfaces and their protection against short cut spikes and more.
f: main mpu with RTC and GPS input
g: error detection and action to enter a predefined save mode. (most difficult part should also cover bad parts/ connections and software misbehave). No direct stop motorcycle should al least be able to get you out of trouble (railway/ bridge/ mountain and more to think of)

What you want is possible with one of my pic18f8722 main boards plus a new to define interface and power conditioning board.
This board is designed to be used in a mobile laboratory instrument transferring samples.
onboard rtc+ cr1220 cell /gsm with FTP and E-mail extern GPS module plus a lot of bi-directional in and outputs. size 100 x 60 mm. running @ 7-32V DC.
But this board is not certified to use in this type of applications. (very costly at least 100K$) hence useless to you.

Picbuster

I don't think board level certification is required for add-on landing gear for motorcycles.
It is for "drive by wire" type applications.
Multiple redundancy in control and electrical power switching may be wise, and could be a requirement.
A tie in to vehicle speed and preventing deployment above 15 mph (24 kph) is a requirement, too.
I need to make a serious effort to 1) prevent unintended deployment; 2) to ensure that the stabiliser
leg does not continue to extend at full power. This could head you into oncoming traffic.
2 stages of monitored power cutout-solenoid breakers, and independent safety-oriented limits and
events monitoring may be in order. The review process in New Zealand for low volume vehicles
is quite a bit cheaper, though may clock up several thousand dollars if you use a lot of the reviewing
engineers time.
A secondary simpler controller could be used as a safety events monitor.
Even with this, a gyro could be handy, to detect unexpected attitude change, or would that be going too far?
Maybe monitor attitude when deployed and speed of vehicle when deployment is attempted,
as part of the safety events monitoring?
Refusal to drop the stabilisers at all is defined as "safe", if you tell the rider about it.

 

First the mechanical part questions.
Questions:
How are the two arms moved up and down wards?
How works the locking system in up and down position?
What power source is used (hydraulic/ electric else ???).

The above will answer the question if you need a gyro ( I don't think so)
Next is to create a basic flow chart controlling the arms.
Followed by a complicated one ( you have to calculate if multi tasking is needed depends on the way you write your program.
I use state machines and condition flags this to avoid all multi task inter program timing problems)

General question: are you familiar with C programming? if so Microchip produce a free of charge MPlab plus C compiler.

Picbuster

 

First the mechanical part questions.
Questions:
How are the two arms moved up and down wards?
How works the locking system in up and down position?
What power source is used (hydraulic/ electric else ???).

The above will answer the question if you need a gyro ( I don't think so)
Next is to create a basic flow chart controlling the arms.
Followed by a complicated one ( you have to calculate if multi tasking is needed depends on the way you write your program.
I use state machines and condition flags this to avoid all multi task inter program timing problems)

General question: are you familiar with C programming? if so Microchip produce a free of charge MPlab plus C compiler.

Picbuster

1) Arm motion via dc motorised ballscrew and levers,links,cranks 2 separate units.
2) locking via a small disk brake on the motor shaft extension.
3) power source -DC electric 12V permanent magnet starter motors - high current capability.
I only need 200W of 700W available. Normally uses starter solenoids for switching. This may benefit from capacitors
across the DC contactors-reduce voltage surges. Needs to be pulsed, 0.1 to 0.2 second pulses? I
may need a faster switching/contactor system? I have found an external micro-compatible gps/inertial vehicle speed sensor. I also want a gravity pendulum sensor, may be external. for auto-levelling.
An internal gyro would be handy for tilt measurement, to detect fault conditions, no-deploy rules.
That could go on a plugin board.
I want to set the extension by hitting the ground while the motor is coasting, and checking for rotation
speed profile by rotary encoder. The mechanism will coast for a significant time when moving at speed.
If it is going slow enough, it will stop and start to "bounce" at the correct lock position.
This involves setting the correct "time window" to start the detection routine.
The ability to start up at power-on with a known extension measure
is useful, as the power-down position is as-extended, with no switch reference.
This allows coasting-into the retracted position at less than full speed.
A stepper drive would be nice, but expensive.
Programming language: I am not that familiar with C, and would prefer something simpler.
It takes a long time to get really good at C.

I have a bit of spare room for mounting the controller casing, so 250mm square by 70mm high
sounds about right. something around that volume, anyway.

 

How should I add to this inqury? by reply of edit of the header entry? Thye Arduino Mega 2560 looks like
It will suit my purposes.
* Is there an advantage in buying a real Arduino rather than a clone off ebay?
The real one is nzd 54, the clone is nzd 15, (plus freight).
* I need a manual and some info on power supply, regulation, hardening, and input/output devices.
Is all this in the Arduino on-site manual for sale?
Should I just order a manual from the Arduino website, or are there
other resources? Can you recommend any good on-line reading on these subjects?
I need more in-depth instruction on rotary encoders, reading them, relevant programs for the Arduino.
I will Google for a moderately robust unit I can drive off an electric motor.
I saw the thread "Controlling a 12V device with a microcontroller".
* The Arduino Mega Proto Shield looks very handy, and probably appropriate for me.
* Is there a standard frame mount or board spacer system?(plastic edge clips etc)
* I can stack 6 boards like that in my proposed enclosure/box. What type and where should I look for boxes/cases? (250x250x70mm or similar)
* Terminating at a huge edge connector like on a car PCU sounds good. Where could I find something like
that? It would make it possible to easily separate the controller assembly from the vehicle.
* Is there a one-stop shop for all power conditioning and input/output gadgets, like opto-isolators,
conversion to 12v, upping the amp rating. There is a big jump from 50 mA to 500mA, which I think I need to run automotive relays and signal lamps.
* I see the specs say input 7-12 V recommended. Does that mean it
does some voltage dividing on the board?
* It says some pins are 3.3V 50mA, others 20mA.
What is the difference in I/O type there?
* What plugs into the board connectors around the edges? is it similar to the mini ribbon
connector system in a PC Notebook?

 

I don't know anything about Arduino it seem to be an excellent system for hobby purposes.
I think that you make things to difficult.
Rotary encoders are they really needed?
speed from the existing sensor ( to high activate)
the leg should be up or down end switches will do the job ( both same condition = in progress up on then dwn should be off)
mechanical lock up pin in hole
down position steel ball with strong spring in hole ( when force goes above value N spring is compressed ball pop out and arm is released
At the same time a error appears hence no order to release but switch status indicates up. System should follow and pull arm up.

It says some pins are 3.3V 50mA, others 20mA. 20mA is max current to draw from that pin ( could be open collector but again Arduino is an question mark for me).

Pic buster

 

I don't know anything about Arduino it seem to be an excellent system for hobby purposes.
I think that you make things to difficult.
Rotary encoders are they really needed?
speed from the existing sensor ( to high activate)
the leg should be up or down end switches will do the job ( both same condition = in progress up on then dwn should be off)
mechanical lock up pin in hole
down position steel ball with strong spring in hole ( when force goes above value N spring is compressed ball pop out and arm is released
At the same time a error appears hence no order to release but switch status indicates up. System should follow and pull arm up.

It says some pins are 3.3V 50mA, others 20mA. 20mA is max current to draw from that pin ( could be open collector but again Arduino is an question mark for me).

Pic buster

1)There is no down position as such. this is to cope with camber, synchronising with rear wheel etc.
Rotary encoders are really cheap-about 15 dollars nz each - 6mm shaft. They look moderately robust.
2) The system is too fast, with high impact and bounce potential. some motor control is needed.
3) Purely force-based systems are defeated by inertia and acceleration.
4) Onboard non-volatile status data is handy. Can be updated with each operating cycle.
5) The top microswitch can be used for zeroing, but not at the start of the power-up cycle.
6) I am planning on some pin-in-hole latches to engage/disengage the suspension interlink.
Effectively the side wheels are tied to the center wheel, and all three wheels still contact the ground when load is removed, ie the ride climbs off.
I just need to figure out how to get the holes to line up every time. Maybe the interlock should
function at the half-lifted position?? This would need an electric latch. Then the disk brake unit
(from a Go Kart) will hold the raised position as well as the lowered position. The Disk brake is activated
by a car electric handbrake puller.
This system is a bit of a "rolls Royce" solution, but it is not unduly expensive.

Usually they are single motor, and the microcontroller/GPS is just used to set various lockout limits,
and to tie a few things together, and to operate OK and warning lights.

 

I am settling into looking at the Arduino Mega. I have found the "tall stackable header plugs",
and some opto-isolator blocks on ebay. I am having trouble finding info on "outside world" connectors.
The ones off car PCUs look handy, but no-one seems to offer to sell them . Possibly a specialist automotive suppliers catalog of some sort? any ideas?
Those mini-ribbon connectors inside Notebook PCs look interesting. Can you get higher amp ratings
of those? they look to be in the 20 mA size range. I want up to 500 mA at 12 V Can You get them on ebay?
What query do I use?
We don't have computer-hobby-electronics shops around here, so I have to do everything on-line.
Any ideas on on-line outlets with suitable catalogs of different stuff? I haven't tried to buy anything like this
since the 1980s, and then it was a motorcycle CDI system project. A bit different!
Ebay seems highly fragmented, and hard to navigate the electronic/computer stuff if you don't know
what everything is called.

 

Look at Farnell or Mouser as a world wide distributor of electronic components.
do not connect mpu direct to outside world use a power mosfet mechanism to do so.( from 100mA up to few hundred amp's when needed)
care full with Ebay and alibaba read previous communication at all about circuits.
Good luck.
Picbuster