Subject: Digital Caliper Remote

From: [email-masked] (Mark McDade x6841)
Date: Sat, 17 Dec 1994 06:49:36 GMT

I would guess that getting an old (read cheap) pc and programming it
in BASIC would be the simple solution.  The outputs are probably BCD
(binary coded decimal) and you may have to build a little hardware
and software to discover exactly what's coming out and when.  It's worth
some trouble to get good software/wiring documentation on the calipers
(if you can get it at all).

Mark

[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked] (Mark Fraser)
Date: 17 Dec 1994 07:14:21 GMT

December /93 article I referred to - 1 line clock, 1 line data [plus
gnd, hold, +]; Hold taken to HIGH causes 17-character synch
string to come out on data line, 1 bit at a time until done.  Seems
to use a de-facto standard, dunno who made it, maybe Mitutoyo.  The
standard, that is.  Be nice if someone has bit-banged it in Basic
thru the parallel port.  Let's see now... some addressing logic
at the port output to select which axis to read, some bit sampling
at the "ack" line on the port, now where will we put the clock
line.  Maybe a chip or 2 to solidify the bitstream with the 
clock... sounds more like a microcontroller all the time.... too
bad I don't trust things starting with "8"...

/Mark the original poster Fraser

Mark McDade   x6841 ([email-masked]) wrote:
: I would guess that getting an old (read cheap) pc and programming it
: in BASIC would be the simple solution.  The outputs are probably BCD
: (binary coded decimal) and you may have to build a little hardware
: and software to discover exactly what's coming out and when.  It's worth
: some trouble to get good software/wiring documentation on the calipers
: (if you can get it at all).

: Mark

: [email-masked]