Joel Liu's Library tagged DIY → View Popular

04 Apr 08

03 Jun 07

The ADC communicates with the parallel port using the SPI
(Serial Peripheral Interface)

protocol. SPI can be used to talk
to a whole range of integrated circuits such as EEPROMs and
microprocessors, so you may find the SPI part useful for other
projects. In our simple ADC-to-Parallel Port circuit, shown in

Figure 1
, there are five wires connecting
the ADC to the parallel port. They include DIN, SCLK, DOUT, SSTRB,
and CS. Together they are used to to establish fast and flexible
communication. For more information about SPI refer to the
MAX186
datasheet
.
Interfacing an Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) with Linux via
the parallel port is fairly simple. There two major areas that need
to be addressed - hardware and software. The hardware consists of
the parallel port, an ADC, and an analog signal source. The
software we programmed in 'C' language.
1 more annotations...
- It can be a little expensive to read analog signals, for example
  temperature readings or light levels, into your computer. In this
  article we will show you
  (1) how Linux can use a computer parallel port and a $10 integrated
  circuit to read 8 analog channels at 12 bit accuracy, and
  (2) how we used this to build the Extreme Comfort System (ECS.)

02 Mar 06

Often when it comes to true invention and discovery, crossing
the line of ethics of the day leads to great discoveries. There seems to be
several areas of humanity that create social boundaries preventing discoveries
of all types.

I have decided to compile a list of the top ten most needed circuits that are a must know for anyone interested in DIY projects. These are the basics that can all be interchanged and used in conjunction with each other to make many of the projects that we all love so much.

If you want to give that old computer new life on your home network, try using it as a file server for music or pictures or whatever so that no matter where in the house you are you can access your massive digital library from any computer. Here’s what you’ll need to do…