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DaOld Man:
Ok, I am almost ready to post this project for anyone who wants to beta test it, and use it.
The board is a "Bit Whacker" that has the firm ware on it to allow the Mrotate5 to communicate with it though USB.
Here is the link to the one I purchased several years ago:
http://www.electronics-diy.com/USB_IO_Board.php
It is a kit that you have to assemble, but its really not that big a deal.

I also found a cheaper board on sparkfun, but it says it is currently unavailable. This board is laid out different, but commands look to be the same, so MRotate5 should work with it too.
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/762

There are also tutorials online that show how to build one from scratch, but unless you are into electronics, I would just buy a kit with all the parts you will need.
Here is documentation for the Bit Whacker. (Mine has version 1.4.3 firmware).
http://www.schmalzhaus.com/UBW/Doc/FirmwareDDocumentation_v145.html

I will post the program in a day or so. Just going through correcting small things, like grammar errors, etc in the help files.
This works on my win10 64 bit desktop and Vista 32 bit laptop.
The problem I was having with it locking up was the way I was trying to communicate with it. Pretty sure I got that ironed out.
So if you are interested in this project, stay tuned.

DaOld Man:
Heres a little eye candy for you kiddoes...

This first one is the board itself, i have it mounted on a proto board, along with LEDs on outputs and inputs connected to a DIP switch.
The leds arent real bright cause the resistors I used are way too big. Need to be around 470-500 ohms. (leds not turned on in this pic anyway), but hey, I was just testing anyway so its all good.
I also have a USA 25cent quarter laying beside the board for size comparison.
The inputs are pulled high by the resistors near the switch bank. Resistors connect to inputs and +5 vdc from the board (pin 20) (These are the correct resistors for this). Turning on a DIP switch connects that input to ground.

This pic is the test panel display on my laptop. (sorry for poor quality). Test panel allows you to run your rotating rig from a testing advantage.
(Normal operation the program is never seen, runs on command line commands same as previous MRotate versions.

And last pic of the day is screen shot (again, poor quality), of the Chip Status display.
Test Panel and Chip Display are only available when you run Mrotate5 in setup mode.

Well thats it for now. Will post more later.

DaOld Man:
Ok, time for a few wiring diagrams.

Here is the basic setup, drive has forward and reverse inputs only, limit switches are pulled low to ground when made.

Same setup except the drive has a enable input.

Same setup with a stop button (optional). This button is a software stop, which means if computer screws up, the program stops working, chip freezes up for whatever reason, or drive screws up and sticks on, then this button wont work. I also show how you would wire in a real emergency stop switch, that kills power to the drive.

And here is how you would connect a monitor off relay to allow MRotate to turn off your monitor while turning (optional).
This shows the simplest method, using a solid state relay. Good luck finding one that is normally closed on the output.
I will post a drawing later on how to use a "real" electro-mechanical relay.

That's enough for now, will show how to use a degauss relay next.

DaOld Man:
Here is one way you could use a degauss relay to let MRotate5 automatically degauss your monitor.

And here is a crappy screenshot of outputs section in setup, where you choose which output you are using for degauss.

And an even more crappier screenshot of the time limits section of setup, where you choose pause before degauss and degauss relay on times.

Input section in Setup mode:

Commands. These are the arguments you pass to MRotate to turn vertical or horizontal when you run it. Example: C:\Mrotate5\mrotate5 0

Dynamic braking. (Optional).

Options:

There are buttons with ?. Clicking these will open help boxes. Here is the one for the pic chip:

When you first run setup, you will see this main menu: (Run setup by omitting the argument Example: C:\Mrotate5\mrotate5 On first run, setup will start because the ini file has not been created yet. )

I think that pretty well covers all the selections. I have already posted Test panel and Picchip photos. About is basically me patting myself on the back.
If you run the program with the arguments to turn one way or the other, you wont see any of these screens. It will just do its job, providing there are no problems encountered.

DaOld Man:
Ok guys, im about ready to upload the program. I hope some of you have the time to test it.
You dont have to have the picchip board to test the program, but certain parts will not work and may slap your hand with an error message.
But if you do have the board that would be even better.
You will have to have RSTimer.ocx and mscomm32.ocx, I plan to post both of these here with the program (both are free downloads.) Your PC may already have the mscomm32.
But if it doesnt have MSCOMM32 I will make it easier for you to get.
The RSTimer is a precision timer, much more accurate in the millisecond range than the tradition timers. I use it for the PWM functions for speed control.
Even if you dont use the PWM option you will still need this RSTimer. (I use it for other timing functions). Program will pop up an error on startup if you dont have it.

Will try to post it tomorrow.

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