Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum

Arcade Collecting => Merit/JVL Touchscreen => Topic started by: MasterOfNone on May 31, 2021, 02:19:56 am

Title: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: MasterOfNone on May 31, 2021, 02:19:56 am
Hope everyone's finding time for game projects this holiday weekend, at least wherever it's too rainy to go outside anyway. :)
Megatouch already has drivers for both serial com port and usb touchscreens, but if the serial port is shot or missing from the mobo and I still need to use a serial touchscreen, do you know what serial to USB adapter cable would work? The old adapters I already have laying around either depend on drivers standard in typical PC OS's, online downloads, or have a companion CD intended for use with a typical PC...
Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: Megatouchmike on May 31, 2021, 07:15:07 am
None will work out of the box.
Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: lilshawn on June 01, 2021, 11:05:10 am
a usb-serial adapter emulates a serial port... so the computer needs to recognize that the usbdevice IS a serial port... which is something you can't easily slot into the OS, since you'd need to install a "driver" to do it.

when you inset a usb device your computer asks what it is. "imma usb to serial port device" it says "sorry, i got nothing here for you kthxbye". whereas the touchscreen says "imma 3m microtouch touchscreen" and the computer goes, "yeup i got your files right here you can speak to me"

a usb to serial doesn't just change from one pinout to another, it's a whole different protocol.

can you adapter a parallel to 25pserial to 9pserial to ps2 to usb? yes.

does it work? no.

Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: MasterOfNone on June 02, 2021, 01:00:18 am
Thanks guys. I figured as much, but was hoping for a miracle or super-coder who'd know how to get an adapter driver installed by some creative or just laborious means.  Guess it ain't worth it, and I'll do better to either replace the touchscreen or the mobo to eliminate any need for an adapter...
Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: Megatouchmike on June 02, 2021, 07:11:50 pm
How Linux savvy are you?

Make a symbolic link from /dev/ttyUSB0 to /dev/ttyS0 and watch the magic happen. This works in Ion 2009.5+. Not sure if other kernels support.
Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: mahkeymike on June 04, 2021, 09:31:11 pm
a usb-serial adapter emulates a serial port... so the computer needs to recognize that the usbdevice IS a serial port... which is something you can't easily slot into the OS, since you'd need to install a "driver" to do it.

when you inset a usb device your computer asks what it is. "imma usb to serial port device" it says "sorry, i got nothing here for you kthxbye". whereas the touchscreen says "imma 3m microtouch touchscreen" and the computer goes, "yeup i got your files right here you can speak to me"

a usb to serial doesn't just change from one pinout to another, it's a whole different protocol.

can you adapter a parallel to 25pserial to 9pserial to ps2 to usb? yes.



does it work? no.
I have that same setup including the usb thumb drive. Is it 4gb?
Title: Re: Megatouch Serial Port Touchscreen to USB Adapter
Post by: MasterOfNone on June 05, 2021, 04:08:54 am
How Linux savvy are you?

Make a symbolic link from /dev/ttyUSB0 to /dev/ttyS0 and watch the magic happen. This works in Ion 2009.5+. Not sure if other kernels support.

Whatever the opposite of savvy is, that's me with Linux, heh, but just like I'm gonna find time to practice piano someday when I retire from the rat-race, likely when I'm in a convalescent home, I'll also be honing various coding skills, assuming the tree-bark cereal I eat for breakfast and avoidance of saturated fat lets me live long enough. ;)  But seriously..., thanks for the tip. Great to know it's do-able, and I might actually be able to figure that out if I could clear a few hours to fiddle with it and nag Linux pals only a tad bit.