Remote Observation Station

Entry #F2040

Abstract

Ever wonder what the birds, deer, or bear were doing in your back “40” when you weren’t around? Just set up the
Remote Observation Station, and you can watch the wildlife on your TV in the comfort of your living room! The
station includes a camera and transmitter that sends a picture to your TV, which can be up to a mile or two away.
The station gets its power from a PV solar panel and a rechargeable battery, which rely upon the system’s control
board for direction. The control board also produces battery state information, which it overlays on the picture sent
to your TV. So, while you’re watching Bambi, you can also monitor the status of your battery.
The unit integrates six electronic devices including: a CCD video camera, a PV solar panel, a rechargeable battery, a
temperature sensor, an RF video transmitter, and the system control board (PVCC). The control board is based on
Motorola’s MC68HC908QY4 MCU and sits at the center of the system providing a PV charge controller, two high
efficiency voltage regulators, a video sync separator, and an RS232 serial interface for system configuration.
The PVCC control board provides a simple On/Off battery charger using the PV solar panel as a power source. The
primary job of the charge controller is to prevent the battery from being overcharged. The control board also adds
battery state information in the form of a text overlay (on-screen display, or OSD) to the video signal generated by
the CCD camera before it reaches the video transmitter. Additionally, a PC can be connected to the control board via
the DB9 connector.
The system has three operating modes: the
Configuration Mode, which allows the user to set up its
behavior via their PC; the Charge Control Mode with
OSD, where the battery’s voltage and temperature are
overlaid on to the video signal for feedback to the user;
and the Charge Control Mode without OSD, for when
the user doesn’t need the diagnostic display. The PVCC
Configuration Utility communicates with the PVCC
board while in the Configuration Mode. With this
utility, the user can set a variety of options, including
the full charge set point (the Off set point) and the PV
reconnect set point (the On set point). The user can also
choose to enable the transmission of an Amateur Radio
call-sign if a HAM frequency is being used.

Photograph 1: The on-screen display

Remote Observation Station Entry #F2040 Abstract Page 1 of 6

 High Gain
Antenna
System Control
Board (PVCC)
Color Video Microphone
NTSC NTSC ATV transmitter
Camera CCD 1V p-p 1V p-p 85mW 433 MHz
Module
! Charge Controller
! Sensor Interface
! Power Regulators
! Video Text Overlay
! PC Interface
Photovoltaic (PV) Rechargable
0v - 17v 0v - 17v
Solar Panel 1.3A max 15A max
Battery
21Watts 12v VRLA

1-Wire Bus Temp. Sensor

DS1820
1-Wire

RS232
3 wire

Personal
Computer
Windows OS

Figure 1: Remote Observation Station Block Diagram

Remote Observation Station Entry #F2040 Abstract Page 2 of 6

 Photograph 2: The Remote Observation Station (Not Pictured: Battery and Temp. Sensor)

Composite Composite
Video IN Video OUT

DS1820 Overlay
LM1881 Video
Temperature Brightness
1-Wire Bus Sync Separator Text Overlay
Sensor Signal Jumpers

H. Sync
V. Sync
PV Panel
(positive)

Charge MAX232 RS232

Control Interface Logic connector
Charging On/Off
Circuit

Motorola
Battery MC68HC908QY4 MON08 16 pin
12v Battery Voltage Flash MCU Interface Header
(positive) Scale

Mode select
High Side
Jumpers
Load Switch
Day On/Night Off

Clk
En
32 MHz
OSC
5v Logic Power
Supply
LT1766-5 DC to DC
Converter

Status
Indicators
Auxillary
10v Power Supply +10v Aux OUT
LT1766 DC to DC
Converter

Figure 2: Block Diagram PVCC control Board

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 Figure 3a: PVCC schematic – power section

Remote Observation Station Entry #F2040 Abstract Page 4 of 6

 Figure 3b: PVCC schematic – logic section

Remote Observation Station Entry #F2040 Abstract Page 5 of 6

Source Code Sample
The following is a sample of source code. This code appears near the beginning of the file. It is responsible for
checking the configuration data stored in FLASH for validity (good CRC). If found to be invalid, default values are
copied over the top of the old configuration data.

; CRC check product configuration data stored in FLASH for validity. If not valid, write new Config data from default data.
; This code should execute from the internal OSC, and the MCU CONFIG registers should be programmed
; after this code.
;
ldhx #CONFIG_DATA
aix #2 ; Do not include the stored CRC value in the current CRC calculation
lda #LOW(CONFIG_DATA_SIZE)
deca
deca ; Subtract 2, CRC value in setup is not included in local CRC calculation

jsr CRC16 ; Compute CRC16, returns CRC in H:X

cpx CONFIG_CRC+1 ; Check high and low byte for match with stored value
bne LoadDefaultConfig
pshh
pulx
cpx CONFIG_CRC
beq CheckSystemMode

; Config data didn't pass CRC, so write new default setup data vaules to FLASH memory
LoadDefaultConfig:
sta COPCTL ; service COP control register to prevent COP reset
clrh
ldx #LOW(CONFIG_DATA_SIZE)
CopyLoop:
lda DefaultConfigData-1,x ; Move Default Config Data to RAM for programming into FLASH
sta DATA-1,x
dbnzx CopyLoop

; Calculate the new CRC16 for the data just copied to RAM location DATA
ldhx #DATA+2
lda #LOW(CONFIG_DATA_SIZE)
deca
deca ; Subtract 2, CRC value in setup is not included in local CRC calculation
jsr CRC16 ; Compute CRC16, returns CRC in H:X
sthx DATA

; Erase 64 Bytes starting at lable CONFIG_DATA.

mov #13, CPUSPD
bclr 6, CtrlByt ;Flag to erase a single page
ldhx #CONFIG_DATA ;Valid address in page
jsr ERARNGE

; Program Configuration data into flash

ldhx #(CONFIG_DATA+CONFIG_DATA_SIZE-1)
sthx LADDR
mov #13, CPUSPD ; 3.2MHz/0.25MHz = 13
clr CtrlByt ; Page (not mass) erase
ldhx #CONFIG_DATA
jsr PRGRNGE

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