Design of a microprocessor based programmable system to process temperature information from a hot surface

A CDP1802 microprocessor based stand-alone system (target system) has been designed to control a two-color pyrometer (TCP) system remotely and to process the temperature information from a simulated magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) test facility, at Mississippi State University. The analog signals from two pyrometer detectors are digitized and the temperature and emissivity of the surface are computed. The results are displayed on a 20-column printer. Data at various emissivity settings are collected with the help of a stepper motor. The measurements may be done individually or in a continuous mode. A sequence of events may be programmed into the system through a 4×4 key matrix. Software has been developed in FORTH, a highly structured language. The system design and development has been accomplished through stepwise refinement.