Renewable energy systems

I'd definitely reccommend NXP - decent range of chips, good peripherals (UART with flexible baudgen and FIFOS, SPI with FIFO etc.) excellent documentation* and flexible programming options. Get a JTAG/SWD debugger (Cortex parts use SWD - fewer pins than JTAG and can do stuff like setting breakpoints while running). I use the free kickstart version of IAR embedded workbench - this has a 32K code limit which is fine for me but be aware the code size upgrades are expensive. Plenty of people seem to do OK with GCC/winarm. Some Cortex parts (eg LPC1343) can load firmware from a USB stick using the onboard bootloader. Part availability is generally good - I've never struggled to find stock. There are also plenty of devboards/breakouts available for NXP parts.

• the documentation in the User Manuals is good, however most things are mentioned precisely once, so it is worth the time spent to read the whole of each section relating to each peripheral you'll be using. Manuals for later parts have improved in that at the start of each section they point you to a few critical non-obvious things like clock/pin enables documented elsewhere that are needed to get that peripheral running

Find the lowest cost 'iron cored' transformers you can that has enough room inside a lamination 'window" to allow you to push a wire through it. Room for two wires even better but room for one will do.

Insert an insulated wire through the hole so it is effectively a 1 turn winding.
Twist the ends(insulated)around each other so they form a tight loop around the core.
Two wires through (effectively two turns) MAY make it slightly less amenable to disturbance by wire movement. May.

You now have a current transformer.

Place a smallish resistor across the winding.
Pass AC current through the wire.
Measure voltage with a meter.
Adjust resistor to suit.

A small power transformer should work well but almost any steel cored transformer will work. Small audio interstage coupling transistors with steel cores should work - but more turns will usually give more volts per amp.

Report back.

NB I have NEVER tried this specific arrangement but am confident that it will work.
You will be able to calibrate a range of transformers by adjusting the resistor value.

Added

Designing a current transformer:

Short:

Given a transformer with a single primary turn, an N turn secondary and a desired output of K Volts out per amp in. The resistor R across the secondary is given by

R = k x N

Note that core magnetisation and saturation are issues in real world cases. For A amps input current and 1 turn primary the core must support A amp turns of magnetisation without saturating.

Longer

Current transformers may seem magic but actually operate under very standard transformer rules.

A "normal" (ideal) transformer usually has a fixed voltage applied which is mirrored into the output but multiplied by the turns ratio N (Vout = Vin x N) and the output current is multiplied by 1/N so Iout = Iin/N.

A current transformer works no differently BUT instead of constraining Vin and letting Iin assume an appropriate value we instead constrain Iin and let Vin assume whatever value happens to happen. In fact, we do not care about the value of Vin usually - we care about Vout. So we set Iin - which is the current being "measured", this produces Iout = Iin/N, we select an output vresistor for Iout to flow in so that Vout is some desired value for a given Iin, and we then measure Vout to establish what Ion is. Vin is Vo/N but is almost never measured.

Given a transformer with 1 primary turn and N secondary turns.
R = resistor placed across secondary for Iout to flow in. Is = Isecondary
p = Iprimary.
N = turns ratio (Turns_in / Turns_out) . k= desired volts out across R per amp in the primary. R = resistor across secondary.

Then

Is = Ip/N (standard transformer action.)
R = Vs/Is
but Is = Ip/N
Vs = K.Ip where we select R to make K = Vout/Iin to assume the value of our choosing.

Set Ip = 1 Amp
Is = Ip/N Vs = k
R = Vs/Is = k / (Ip/N) = KN/Ip
As Ip = 1

R = kN !!! Amazingly simple. ie Select K = Volts out per Amp in. Select or use available turns ratio N.

Set R = k.N = Volts/Amp x turns ratio

To find a resistor across output to get K Volts per amp. V=iR so R = V/I. For Iprim = 1, V sec = k. R = V/isec = VN/Iprim = kN/1 = kN. | R = Volts per amp x turns ratio.