Spin Semiconductor

Hey Everyone,

I've seen some posts on here regarding program selection (S0, S1, S2). I know the Arachnid uses that plastic rotary switch and the FV-1 Dev Board uses a rotary encoder. I have a bunch of questions regarding those inputs because I would like to implement a different solution.

I'm trying to avoid adding a MCU to the design, but if I did:
1. If I use an up counter in a MCU with a Momentary Footswitch, can I simply drive S0, S1, and S2 with GPIOs? Do I need pull-ups/pull-downs etc?

If I don't use a microcontroller and simply use some switches, what are my options? How can I make use of all 8 presets? Let's say I used (3) latching push button switches, could I use those to do binary and get all 8 presets (000, 001, ... etc)? Would those push button switches need "debouncing?"

I would love to chat about this stuff with someone who has done it because I'm laying out a board and trying to decide whether I need a microcontroller or not.

Thanks,

I use a small pic chip to output the 3 bit binary code needed to switch s0-2 the pic is directly connected to these pins but if you take this route you must use a micro that is 3.3v otherwise you may damage the FV-1. The 8 position switch is set up as a resistor divider which connects to the ADC of the PIC Micro.

You could do similar with the 8 position switch with using diodes to obtain the binary output with no need for a micro at all.

your other idea of 3 latching switches will work as well, debouncing the switches ? maybe.

Thanks for the response. That's exactly what I was looking for.

I think the most "elegant" would be to use the PIC and then I can use that for relay bypass as well.

Any suggestions on which PIC you're using and are you using an official Microchip programmer or one of the cheaper knock offs?

I am using a small 8 pin PIC12F615 for this, it still has 2 pins available which could be used for a bypass but one pin would be the switch and the other could control the bypass relay. It would be better to use a bigger PIC for LED and mute outputs if you wanted to have both bypass and program selection on the same Micro.