A little shopping

Time for a new post. After a long week at work, I finally managed to write to you again. I finished designing the board, and I also found the time to buy all my necessary parts.

Basically, there are 3 separate modules that come together to form a single unit.First you have a Voltage regulator module, that converts 9V of unregulated voltage and delivers 5V of regulated voltage. Since a microcontroller is very sensible about unstable voltages, this module is very important. Here is a list of parts and a picture of it:

1. 1 Jack
2. 1 Diode 1N4007
3. 1 Voltage regulator LM7805
4. 2 Capacitors (100 uF and 10 uF)
5. 1 Switch
6. 1 330 ohm resistor
7. 1 LED

Next there is the Microcontroller module, which mainly consists of a 28 pin Socket, where we will place the PIC16F870, the timing circuit for the micro, and the 2 Linear potentiometers which will guide the cursor on our computer monitor. Parts needded:

1. 1 28 pin microcontroller socket
2. 1 4 Mhz quartz oscillator
3. 2 15pF capacitors (as stated in the micro datasheet)
4. 2 10Kohm linear potentiometers

Next we must deal with the serial module, this is type part of the board that ensures the communication with the computer via a serial cable. Parts we need:

1. 1 DB9 serial connector
2. 1 MAX232 IC
3. At least 3 1uF capacitors (to act as charge pumps for the MAX232 IC)
4. 1 Male to Female serial cable
   

In addition we must have a perforated board of about 10cm x 10cm, and a bunch of insulated wires, to make the necessary connection on the board.