A while back I made a blog post about a PIC10F200 Project: The Annoy. In this project they combined the simplicity in design along with the creativeness that I always look for, into a project with no real use other than for fun. However, the project seemed a little too large and we felt we could improve upon it, so letβs get to it!
In this article we will take a look at the original, βThe Annoyβ project, and see what we can do to improve it. Specifically, weβll make a PCB for the project, find the smallest PIC package available for it and make a nice enclosure for it. Additionally, weβll switch over and use microchipβs new XC8 compiler so we donβt have to use assembly for programming.
Purpose & Overview of this project
The goal of this project is to build something that is annoying and borderline tortuous. To do that we will use a microcontroller and a speaker to generate some chirping and buzz-like noises every few minutes in order to slowly drive people nearby insane.
To build this project, we will use a 10F202 PIC microcontroller. It will output some sounds to a speaker to create the chirping noises and then use internal pauses to wait a few minutes before outputting the next chirp or buzz. To conceal the project, weβll make a small black enclosure and add an on/off switch.
PICKit Programmer
1uF Ceramic Capacitor
0.47uF Tantalum Capacitor
Speaker
CR2032 Battery Holder
CR2032 Battery
Copper Clad PC Board
Ferric Chloride Etchant
LaserJet Printer
Glossy Paper
Solder
Soldering Iron
Clothing Iron Iron
Parts List Details
Luckily this project is more software based than hardware so thereβs not many components. The more important components are described in more detail below.
PIC 10F202 (SOT23 package)
This is the microcontroller that weβre going to use to generate the bzzz or chirp noises through the speaker. Itβs a super tiny SOT23 6 pin package so it will barely be visible once soldered into the circuit.
PICKit Programmer
To put the program onto the PIC, weβre going to need a programmer. To do that job Iβve chosen to use a microchip PICKit programmer. It will load the .hex file onto the PIC10F202.
Copper Clad PC Board
For this project weβre going to be making our own PCB so weβll need some copper clad PC board. Weβll use etchant to eat away the extra copper after transferring toner from some glossy paper to get our circuit design onto this board.
Speaker
We donβt need a fancy speaker here, just something small that does the job. The smaller the better, but weβll still want it to be loud, so make sure its a decent quality speaker. You could also use a buzzer, but then the sound would always remain the same tone & pitch.
Schematic Overview
The schematic shown below is just as simple as it seems to be. This project is based upon the premise of using as little parts as possible to be as annoying as possible π so its kept super duper simple!
Schematic Specifics
PIC10F202
The main processor for this board is the PIC10F202 which is a tiny microcontroller in a SOT-23 package with 6 pins (itβs not labeled on the schematicβdoh!, but I think its obvious which 6 pin part weβre talking about). Although weβre only actually using 3 of the pins: power, ground and output to the speaker.
Capacitors
Two capacitors are used in this design. The first capacitors is across the power and ground connections to make sure the PIC has enough current to operate nominally. The second capacitors appears before the speaker. This will increase the volume of the speaker a little bit.
Speaker
The speaker that weβll use is a generic ear-bud style speaker that weβve cut off of a set of headphones. The PIC canβt output too much current so donβt expect it to drive an 8Ξ© speaker and be really loud, use some small ear-bud speakers like we did.
For more detail: The Annoy β A Tiny Intelligent Buzzer using PIC10F202