Hi Dan,
Very interesting input regarding the point and shoot issue...
It's a bit over my head but I will look into it.
Many Thanks and 73,
Ted K2QMF
On Thu, 3 Mar 2011 09:44:40 -0500 Dan Zimmerman N3OX <n3ox@n3ox.net>
writes:
> I think your easiest bet is to use a computer and software like
> DXLab.
>
> If you don't want a general-purpose computer in the mix, or if you
> really,
> really want a knob, I'd look at talking to the RS-232 interface
> with
> something like an Arduino (www.arduino.cc,
> http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9219) or other beginner
> microcontroller
> board. I like the Arduino because the language is simple, there is
> a large
> community of total newbies using it, and the board is all-in-one
> and
> programmable over USB. If the M2 control box is true RS-232 (with
> plus and
> minus twelve volt logic levels) you probably need a MAX232 (
> http://www.sparkfun.com/products/316) level converter chip between
> the
> Arduino and the M2... but that's one chip and a few capacitors.
>
> I can't design the firmware for the thing, especially without
> knowing the M2
> controller's language or having one to test on, but it might be as
> simple as
> something like this:
>
> 1) in the firmware, set up a serial connection and a digital input
> for a
> button (analog input is set up automatically I think)
>
> 2) Read the position of a potentiometer (the "point" pot) on one of
> the
> analog inputs using the function AnalogRead(). This gives a number
> from 0
> to 1023 for a wiper voltage between 0 and the power supply of the
> controller
> board. Translate to a heading as desired (depends on the pot you're
> using)
>
> 3)Read the digital input using DigitalRead(). if the button (the
> "shoot"
> button) on the digital input is pressed, send the pot's heading to
> the rotor
> using Serial.Print() (this switch should be "debounced" by reading
> it twice
> maybe 5-10 milliseconds apart and only considering it to be pressed
> if both
> of those are the same)
>
> And that's pretty much it if the box accepts a heading in degrees as
> a
> command.
>
> You probably want a 360 degree pot, which might be a little hard to
> find.
> And if the rotor is capable of more-than-360 degree or continuous
> rotation,
> you might need to be careful in how you send your commands. That
> is,
> unless the rotor controller itself decides which way to turn based
> on the
> heading that comes in on the serial port. If it does that, it
> greatly
> simplifies things, and you just send a number over the serial port,
> probably. If the homebrew controller has to be smart about
> over-travel past
> 360 degrees, you'd need to add a lot of rules to the firmware to
> tell the
> control box the right direction.
>
> You can probably do it for thirty bucks or so, plus the effort of
> learning
> how to program the Arduino board... but like I said, there's a
> large
> community of people who don't have any prior experience with
> microcontrollers doing things with the Arduino, because the people
> who
> designed it were shooting for "as easy to use as possible."
>
> Here are some things I've built:
> http://n3ox.net/projects/stepperswitch/
>
http://forums.ham-radio.ch/showthread.php?21433-Parallel-Port-Emulator-us
ing-Arduino&p=112644#post112644
>
> The first one accepts input from analog and digital pins and turns a
> switch
> to switch bands on my big vertical. The second one is an automated
> band
> switch that sends and receives commands from Ham Radio Deluxe over a
> USB
> serial connection and switches eight lines high and low. Eventually
> I'm
> going to fuse those two things together...
>
> 73
> Dan
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