mike@et.UUCP (Mike Graham) (07/23/87)
I am looking for a box that connects to a serial port, and has an alarm (buzzer, bell, not ^G) and a lamp. The lamp should be easily visible from say 20-30 ft and the alarm should get your attention from the same distance. By sending a sequence to the box the light comes on (or alarm or both), send another and they goes off. (pretty simple stuff eh !) I know how easy it would be to design one of these, but we need one or two of these to be connected to a vax for resale. If anyone could mail me any pointers I would appreciate it. WE CAN NOT USE A TERMINAL BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO DORK WITH THE USER INTERFACE OF OUR CODE FOR THE ONE OR TWO CUSTOMERS THAT WANT THIS. ( I am only interested in boxes with $$ <= 0.6K ) +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Disclaimer: My employer does not | Mike Graham (mike@et.UUCP) | | know what I am doing. | ETCOM International | | | rm 906, 10044 - 108 st. | | Apology: I apologize in advance | Edmonton Alta, CAN. T5J 2R4 | | for spelling, grammer... | (403) 441-7688 | | | | | Quote: This quote intentionally | | | blank. | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | usenet address: ...!{ihnp4, ucb-vision}!alberta!ncc!et!steve | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
rep@genrad.UUCP (Pete Peterson) (07/24/87)
In article <200@et.UUCP> mike@et.UUCP (Mike Graham) writes:
#>
#> I am looking for a box that connects to a serial port, and has
#> an alarm (buzzer, bell, not ^G) and a lamp. The lamp should be
#> easily visible from say 20-30 ft and the alarm should get your
#> attention from the same distance. By sending a sequence to the
#> box the light comes on (or alarm or both), send another and
#> they goes off. (pretty simple stuff eh !)
#>
#> I know how easy it would be to design one of these, but we need
#> one or two of these to be connected to a vax for resale. If anyone
#> could mail me any pointers I would appreciate it. WE CAN NOT USE
#> A TERMINAL BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO DORK WITH THE USER INTERFACE
#> OF OUR CODE FOR THE ONE OR TWO CUSTOMERS THAT WANT THIS.
#>
#> ( I am only interested in boxes with $$ <= 0.6K )
Well, it's not exactly "a box" but DAK (Drew A. Kaplan), the consumer
electronic stuff place, sells an RS-232 BSR X-10 controller for $19.95
+ $4.00 shipping (note that it's not in their latest catalog, but they
do still sell them). With this and a BSR X-10 appliance module for about
$15, you can control the light/noisemaker(s) of your choice (up to 15 amps
worth) from an RS232 serial port. If you order the IBM PC version, it
comes with standard RS232 25 pin connector. You need to be able to send
8-bit characters (it uses all 8 bits) and it only speaks at 600 baud!?!
I don't know how BSR X-10 stuff works in commercial/industrial environments
and it's kind of "comsumerish" to put in a product you are going to sell,
but it works great for me at home.
pete peterson
{decvax,linus,wjh12,mit-eddie,masscomp}!genrad!repperkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) (07/28/87)
In article <200@et.UUCP> mike@et.UUCP (Mike Graham) wrote: > > I am looking for a box that connects to a serial port, and has > > an alarm (buzzer, bell, not ^G) and a lamp. > > By sending a sequence to the > > box the light comes on (or alarm or both), send another and > > they goes off. (pretty simple stuff eh !) In article <1320@genrad.UUCP>, rep@genrad.UUCP (Pete Peterson) responded: > Well, it's not exactly "a box" but DAK (Drew A. Kaplan), the consumer > electronic stuff place, sells an RS-232 BSR X-10 controller for $19.95 > + $4.00 shipping (note that it's not in their latest catalog, but they > do still sell them). With this and a BSR X-10 appliance module for about > $15, you can control the light/noisemaker(s) of your choice (up to 15 amps > worth) from an RS232 serial port. The BSR X-10 controller doesn't fit the requirements. While the BSR controller accepts its input from an RS-232 port, it broadcasts the control signals to the individual modules over 110V electrical wiring. The controller and module(s) must share a transformer circuit. There's no RS-232 connection at the individual modules; in fact, there's no input from any appliance module at all: they're output-only devices. -- {hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!perkins --Henry Perkins It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? One in a million, perhaps.
rep@genrad.UUCP (Pete Peterson) (07/28/87)
In article <2289@bnrmtv.UUCP> perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) writes:
#In article <200@et.UUCP> mike@et.UUCP (Mike Graham) wrote:
#> > I am looking for a box that connects to a serial port, and has
#> > an alarm (buzzer, bell, not ^G) and a lamp.
#> > By sending a sequence to the
#> > box the light comes on (or alarm or both), send another and
#> > they goes off. (pretty simple stuff eh !)
#
#In article <1320@genrad.UUCP>, rep@genrad.UUCP (Pete Peterson) responded:
#> Well, it's not exactly "a box" but DAK (Drew A. Kaplan), the consumer
#> electronic stuff place, sells an RS-232 BSR X-10 controller for $19.95
#> + $4.00 shipping (note that it's not in their latest catalog, but they
#> do still sell them). With this and a BSR X-10 appliance module for about
#> $15, you can control the light/noisemaker(s) of your choice (up to 15 amps
#> worth) from an RS232 serial port.
#
#The BSR X-10 controller doesn't fit the requirements.
Perhaps you're right but why not?
#While the BSR controller accepts its input from an RS-232 port,
#it broadcasts the control signals to the individual modules over
#110V electrical wiring. The controller and module(s) must share
#a transformer circuit.
All very true, but is this relevant to anything? There's nothing
saying that the original requestor's "box" can't be implemented by
plugging the controller and an appliance module in next to each
other in a convenient outlet at the computer.
#There's no RS-232 connection at the individual modules; in fact,
#there's no input from any appliance module at all: they're
#output-only devices.
Huh? Did somebody say there was an RS232 connection to the modules?
You have an RS232 connection to the controller, the controller controls
the module which turns the light/noisemaker on and off. The "inputs"
to the module are control signal and 115V. power, both of which arrive
over the power line; the output is switched 115V. to the controlled
device.
pete peterson
{decvax,linus,wjh12,mit-eddie,masscomp}!genrad!rep