The plane finder series has been developed using PicBasicPro.  The PBP and the Hex files are included in the downloads.  The schematic is shown below.

Credits:  I came across the plane finder idea in Mr. RC-Cam's website, but borrowed only the general idea.  The circuit design is a one transistor circuit by Forrest M. Mims III in his 1983 Getting Started in Electronics,  page 83.

The concept is to have a buzzer sound if there is no signal from the transmitter.  To find a lost  plane, keep the transmitter ON until you get to the approximate location (this saves the on-board battery in the plane).  Turn OFF the transmitter and listen for the buzzer.  Repeat until successful.

This generalized circuit should plug into any PIC controller project as a cheap VALUE ADDED idea. In the circuit, when IN is high (5 volts), transistor Q1 is turned ON and connects OUT directly to ground.  When it is LOW (zero volts = Transmitter is not sending), Q1 switches OFF and OUT is through R1 and 5 volts.  The OUT from Q1 goes to a 5 volt buzzer that has a built-in resistor/capacitor oscillator driver. 

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Last modified: March 18, 2004