How does the microcontroller control the exothermic reaction?
When you first start the mosquito killer, the heating element is cold. The controller turns on the heater while monitoring the internal temperature. As temperature rises, the propane gas produces CO2, which simulates human breathing that attracts mosquitoes. As internal temperature rises, the microcontroller adjusts the gas flow, which controls temperature. Q: How does the unit monitor temperature? A: Thermocouples in the unit measure internal temperature, and thermistors monitor outside temperature. A photocell senses light that the microcontroller uses to turn the unit off during daylight hours. The microcontroller has built-in analog-to-digital converters that measure the temperature and light levels. Q: How do you program the microcontroller? A: I program in assembly language. It’s much more efficient than writing code in C. By writing the code in assembly language, I was able to fit the control algorithm into 4 kbytes of program memory. Q: What kind of tester did you design? A: I
