Circuit Lake

In many applications loss of battery power is a problem causing no real harm. But, this is not the case in radio control (R/C) model aircraft. If the aircraft batteries “go dead” in flight it generally results in total destruction of the model and can represent a safety hazard.

This ATmega8-based project goal, named MAESTRO, built to monitor battery status of model aircraft. It can be used to test heterogeneity in battery chemistries and capacities like Nickel cadmium (NiCd), Nickel metal hydride (NiMH), Lithium Ion (Li-ion), Lithium polymer (Li-poly).

Gordon Anderson, the project designer said that several additional utility functions added to the project. These features allow you to control the position of a servo, and monitor pulse widths that are sent to a servo to control its position. These operations are performed using the timer function of the Atmel microcontroller and its capture and compare registers to generate or monitor the pulse widths.

Model Aircraft Battery Monitor
Project Detail and Documentation
circuitcellar.com