Building a basic USB device?

[[email protected]]

Greetings, all.

I have a requirement for getting some external sensor-data (possibly
analogue, possible digital, not sure yet) into a PC (Linux, not
Windows).

This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easily
assembled by an untrained user.

Can anyone recommend a good place to look for initial information about
creating a USB device, alternatives, etc?

Basically, I'm not sure where to start. Is there such a thing as a
generic USB controller that I can integrate into a circuit? Am I
barking up the wrong tree completely?

Thanks.

 

[Bob Monsen]

This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easily
assembled by an untrained user.

You can buy USB cards here:

http://www.futurlec.com/USB.shtml

--
Regards,
Bob Monsen

I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World
War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
Albert Einstein

 

[Chris]

Greetings, all.

I have a requirement for getting some external sensor-data (possibly
analogue, possible digital, not sure yet) into a PC (Linux, not
Windows).

This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easily
assembled by an untrained user.

Can anyone recommend a good place to look for initial information about
creating a USB device, alternatives, etc?

Basically, I'm not sure where to start. Is there such a thing as a
generic USB controller that I can integrate into a circuit? Am I
barking up the wrong tree completely?

Thanks.

Hi. To work on making a USB interface, get "USB Complete: Everything
You Need to Develop Custom USB Peripherals", Third Edition by Jan
Axelson. You could also look at the Jan Axelson/Lakeview Research USB
homepage for supplemental information, as well as other weblinks.

http://www.lvr.com/usb.htm

Good luck
Chris

 

[Don McKenzie]

Greetings, all.

I have a requirement for getting some external sensor-data (possibly
analogue, possible digital, not sure yet) into a PC (Linux, not
Windows).

This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easily
assembled by an untrained user.

Can anyone recommend a good place to look for initial information about
creating a USB device, alternatives, etc?

Basically, I'm not sure where to start. Is there such a thing as a
generic USB controller that I can integrate into a circuit? Am I
barking up the wrong tree completely?

Thanks.

there are a heap of variants at:
http://www.dontronics.com/cat_index_hard.html#usb

all the items based on the FTDI devices have Linux drivers.
may give you some ideas.

Don...


--
Don McKenzie
E-Mail Contact Page: http://www.dontronics.com/e-mail.html

Micro,TTL,USB to 1.5" color LCD http://www.dontronics.com/micro-lcd.html
USB,RS232 or TTL to VGA Monitor http://www.dontronics.com/micro-vga.html
World's smallest USB 2 TTL Conv http://www.dontronics.com/micro-usb.html

 

[Leo Meyer]

Hi,

have a look at this one:

http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/howto/mind.htm

This one is Human Interface Device driver compatible which is present on
almost every OS. Gives you 6 analog and 28 digital inputs with a minimal
effort. Should be enough for most applications. (Haven't tested it though.)

Regards, Leo

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks guys, that's exactly the sort of info I need to get started.
I'm completely out of my depth, so it will be an interesting learning
experience

Basically I need to get data from several environmental sensors to a
black-box monitor PC (sbc/embedded/etc) for ultimate presentation via
http. I think the sensor-data is probably going to be from analogue
varying-resistance devices, so I may need to build a small component to
enable multiple different types of sensors to interface with the
monitor PC.

I'm new to programming anything with "real" devices, rather than
data-only services like websites etc, so this should be an interesting
project!

 

[Chris]

Thanks guys, that's exactly the sort of info I need to get started.
I'm completely out of my depth, so it will be an interesting learning
experience

Basically I need to get data from several environmental sensors to a
black-box monitor PC (sbc/embedded/etc) for ultimate presentation via
http. I think the sensor-data is probably going to be from analogue
varying-resistance devices, so I may need to build a small component to
enable multiple different types of sensors to interface with the
monitor PC.

I'm new to programming anything with "real" devices, rather than
data-only services like websites etc, so this should be an interesting
project!

Good. You may want to look at the Lab Jack, a USB-interface device
with built-in 20 digital I/O, 8 ea. 12-bit analog inputs and two 10-bit
analog outputs. It's got a lot of other features. They do have Linux
drivers, but they primarily support the Windows environment. If the
hardware is appropriate, for $119 in single quantities you can just
wire up your terminal blocks, plug the LabJack into the PC USB, and
move on to the programming issues. It's worth checking out:

http://www.labjack.com/labjack_u12.html

Good luck
Chris

 

[Bob Monsen]

I'm new to programming anything with "real" devices, rather than
data-only services like websites etc, so this should be an interesting
project!

Those futurlec guys are also selling some kind of web based sensor thingy,
which you might want to take a look at.

http://www.futurlec.com/Web_Control_Board.shtml

--
Regards,
Bob Monsen

He who cherishes the values of culture cannot fail to be a pacifist.
Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

 

[Bob Masta]

Greetings, all.

I have a requirement for getting some external sensor-data (possibly
analogue, possible digital, not sure yet) into a PC (Linux, not
Windows).

This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easily
assembled by an untrained user.

Can anyone recommend a good place to look for initial information about
creating a USB device, alternatives, etc?

Basically, I'm not sure where to start. Is there such a thing as a
generic USB controller that I can integrate into a circuit? Am I
barking up the wrong tree completely?

Thanks.

Circuit Cellar magazine has had some hands-on articles
in the last year or so, at least in the dead-tree version.
You might check what they have on their Web site.

Best regards,


Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
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