Site for PC-to-Hardware serial project

[Howard_Casto]

However... x10 software is closed and therfore it deems the entire option usless as you have to use their crappy point and click interface or try to make software from scratch to control a technology you know nothing about.  

And then again.....

druin, on the software end you have things well in hand, however, looking at the interface you designed.... ughh

Mind you it's well designed, but I'd say its above 75% of the byoac members skill level to build.  Remember, you are talented at building circuits while we are not.    I experimented with the parallel port in xp a while back and could read and write to the 9 data pins with no interface what-so-ever.  Hook the leds directly to the appropriate pins and that's it.    My question is why over-complicate things?  I'm sure there's one out there, but I can't really think of a reason you'd need more than about 8 i/o pins tops.  

[Druin]

druin, on the software end you have things well in hand, however, looking at the interface you designed.... ughh

you mean the general approach I took, or the way the GUI looks? ha.  I slapped that together in the most primitive way I could for now...it makes me feel all 320x200 ish.

 My question is why over-complicate things?  I'm sure there's one out there, but I can't really think of a reason you'd need more than about 8 i/o pins tops.  

In general even if I used a parallel port I'd still want to buffer it with a chip so I don't draw too much current or blow up the motherboard with some other unforseen situation  so there'd still be some circuitry involved.  I thought serial would give me greatest flexibility and I guess I wasn't as worried about ease of assembly since I was aiming at doing it for my own needs first...and I already had previous serial port hardware experience, never tried parallel.

And also to implement things like motors and solenoids will require more hardware design in my case, to get nice directional control and current limiting of the motor (speed control) instead of using something more simple like a relay connecting the power to it....so for my use of it, it'll get complicated, though beyond most people's needs to worry about.  

In the long run when I hope to switch to atmel microcontrollers that can be programmed easily with just a cable, no programmer hardware needed, then I would like to think that anyone who can use a soldering iron can build an interface and program the chip.

I can see how I might end up using more channels for myself but maybe not most people. Even then, a parallel port can provide more by multiplexing, which of course uses more hardware design.  

[-= Hoopstar =-]

Hi Druin

I recently contacted Steve (MameWah) regarding implementing monitor rotation into his front end and he advised that you were already doing something along the same lines.

I have come up with some pretty simple circuitry to control monitor rotation using a 12 volt motor..  

at this stage the H/V orientation is controlled by a single, momentary push button switch - press the button and it changes the monitor to the opposite orientation.  When the monitor reaches its desired position, one of two microswitches detect the monitor is at the end of its travel and turns off the drive motor.  To go back to the previous orientation, the button is pushed again.. This circuit could easily been interfaced with your circuit as it stands at the moment.  The hardware would only need to use two pins of the circuit - one to indicate the current orientation of the monitor (ie. High for Horizontal, Low for Vertical) and one to tell the circuit to make a change (ie. Pin goes momentarily goes high to change orientation) - this would take the place of the pushbutton.

I am happy to supply the circuit diagram if you want - I guess the thing to know, can you read the logic level of the pins (ie. use it as an input..?)

Another idea I have thought about - and is opened up by this project is to auto-switch the orientation of the joysticks from 4 way to 8 way for each game..

This still leaves 4 pins that could then be matirxed to illuminate lights under each button to indicate which are used for the game being played - personally, I wouldn't be that interested in that one, but it is a possability..


Lastly, the good thing about using the serial port for this project is that some people are hooking up LCD's to the parallel port to indicate which buttons are used for a particular game - I am sure they don't want to be forgotten..

[screaming]

Another idea I have thought about - and is opened up by this project is to auto-switch the orientation of the joysticks from 4 way to 8 way for each game..

  Oky, now THAT I can see being VERY useful!  Bring on the solenoids!

-Steve

[Minwah]

Another idea I have thought about - and is opened up by this project is to auto-switch the orientation of the joysticks from 4 way to 8 way for each game..

  Oky, now THAT I can see being VERY useful!  Bring on the solenoids!

It would be a really cool feature for anyone's cab!

[papaschtroumpf]

Another idea I have thought about - and is opened up by this project is to auto-switch the orientation of the joysticks from 4 way to 8 way for each game..

Now you got my attention, how would one do that?

[Howard_Casto]

A couple of solenoids aimed at the switch on a j-stick or what have you.  The problem with that is you have to use a j-stick or what have you, not a nice happs super and a ms pac man replica like you should.  

I think what I'm geting at here is although the ultimarc sticks are ok... compared to the proper sticks they sorta suck.  

[Druin]

When I ordered my DOT push/pull spinner from Oscar last year, I also ordered some 4 way restrictor plates so I could ONE DAY (maybe that day is approaching) experiment with solenoids or whatever else, to electrically implement them on an 8way joystick when 4way is desired...

Basically I've had a lot of ideas over the years and I'm armed with the technical initiative...just kind of hard to do anything when the only thing I'm lacking is the actual CORE Of the hobby - a cabinet!

I can of course easily expand the hardware end of the project to accept inputs along with controlling outputs, and make the inputs queryable from serial port.  I chose that big 40 pin chip with 30+ I/O lines so I could instantly add on new ideas.

For my method (which is all just in my brain for now) of controlling my rotating LCD monitor some day, my goal is to have the 2 control inputs to force the rotation in the requested direction, but I don't know if I'll have a single trigger pulse enable along with a direction control, or just a discreet trigger for rotate one way and another trigger to rotate the other way, same thing, it needs 2 inputs either way.   And in the motor control hardware I'll make use of the sensors/switches that are used at the end of travel, to foolproof it so I can't tell it to rotate twice in the same direction, attempting to over travel...

I'm going to use 24 volt motors since that's what I have, and I'll be driving them with a full bridge 4 FET circuit, pre-driven by NPN/PNP that I can give 5 volt logic to.  (I'll post the schematic on the site)

[Minwah]

I think what I'm geting at here is although the ultimarc sticks are ok... compared to the proper sticks they sorta suck.  

I know you are a fighter fan which may explain that...but I couldn't disagree more, personally I think J-Stiks rock - more so than Supers for example.  The 4/8-way switching is the icing on the cake

(Have fun making a mechanism to remove the e-clip of your Super, flip the actuator and refit the clip, lol)

[Druin]

(Have fun making a mechanism to remove the e-clip of your Super, flip the actuator and refit the clip, lol)

Strong electromagnet to pull the clip out???  Ok nevermind..

[screaming]

Any updates on this?  This project seems like it would solve a problem that I've recently encountered...

-Steve