I am kinda new to this (newbie) list and wanted to build a heater for my 2
gallon desktop fish tank.

I was thinking I could use a silicone encapsulated power resistor for the
heater and a AD590 / LM334 (encapsulated) for the temperature sensor. The
temperature range would only be from about 60 degrees F on the low end to 80
degrees F on the high end. With a PIC I could use a smart LCD to display the
temperature, some switch configuration to program the set points, and to
control (with PWM?) the heater.

I tried to build a heater using comparators, and while it seemed to work,
the approach wasn't really what I needed. Thus the reason for the PIC
approach. Just starting, as I am, I was hoping for some assistance with PIC
selection, where I might find similar schematics to use as a  reference, and
other comments / suggestions you may wish to pass along.

As far as equipment goes, I have a PS Plus, MPLAB, an ICD 1 & 2, a TEK2235,
a bench 3.5 digit DVM, and a 1.25 to 20 volt DC power supply. Still looking
for the frequency counter and wave form generator. I have all this equipment
I collected and decided to try and do something with it. BTW, I am not a
design engineer or programmer. I was a Quality/Reliability Engineer in my
past life.

Regards,
Ed



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