Your effective input impedance is the parallel combination of 4k7 and 18k.
Formula is R1*R2/(R1 + R2).
HTH
BrianT
Your effective input impedance is the parallel combination of 4k7 and 18k.
Formula is R1*R2/(R1 + R2).
HTH
BrianT
Oh, really? I cant say I understand why that is the case, but i'll take your word for it.
In that case I should be able to use even higher resistor values (to reduce the wasted current) without violating the PIC's specification of a 10k maximum impedance on ADC inputs?
Something like:
Battery +ve ------- 47k Resistor ------- ADC Pin ------- 12k Resistor ------- Ground
= 9.56k input impedance ~ 10uS ADC acquisition time (and only wasting fractions of a mA of battery current)
"I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?" - Douglas Adams
You might find this useful also.
http://www.pbpgroup.com/modules/wfse...p?articleid=25
Dave
Always wear safety glasses while programming.
Thanks. I don't have any trouble working out the divisor so that it wont go over 5v for my input range. It's the impedance that I was worried about (but still want to minimise wasted current).
It's a shame that DT's calculator there doesn't have the impedance in the result. I have yet to find confirmation elsewhere that the input impedance is the parallel impedance of the 2 resistors. It seems a little counter-intuitive to me. If anything, I would have thought that it would be the series impedance.
"I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?" - Douglas Adams
Consider BrianT answer confirmed
This may help, near the end....
http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/imped.htm
Dave
Always wear safety glasses while programming.
Thanks BrianT and mackrackit.
It still seems counter-intuitive to me, but it means that I can have accurate battery readings with less wasted current, so I'm happy.
Last edited by Kamikaze47; - 11th August 2010 at 16:10.
"I think fish is nice, but then I think that rain is wet, so who am I to judge?" - Douglas Adams
An easy way to understand it without going into thevenin equivalent circuits.
Consider the plus side and the 0 (ground) side of the power source as low impedance sources. In an ideal power source the + side and 0 side will each be zero ohms impedance and as such the PIC sees both the high side resistor and low side resistor going to to zero ohm sources making the value of the resistors parallel.
Bookmarks