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Unread 16-03-2005, 17:50
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Joe Johnson Joe Johnson is offline
Engineer at Medrobotics
AKA: Dr. Joe
FRC #0088 (TJ2)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: May 2001
Rookie Year: 1996
Location: Raynham, MA
Posts: 2,642
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Rolling your own...

This Kit shows how to access a printer port via the various languages. I can vouch for the I/O box too. Very impressed. Using this box and the example code, you should be able to control a Victor tolerably well. I would not do anything safety critical because I would guess it could freak out when the PC gets too busy or Windows gets flakey.

If you REALLY want to control a Victor using a PC, I would recommend either THIS from Scott Edwards which uses an RS-232 port and controls up 16 servos (8 per board, 2 boards per USB) or even better THIS from Parrallax Inc. which uses USB to control 16 servos on one board.

I have used the Scott Edwards board and vouch for it. Old FIRSTer may know that FIRST used Scott's SSC code to run a PIC that was inside the old Stamp2 based controllers (why this explains the 127=OFF set up by the way it is a legacy from Scotts boards).

I have the Parallax board on order (it hopefully ships Friday). I have high hopes for it. By the way, do not be fooled, the Parrallax Serial Servo Controller is not the same as the Scott Edwards board. The Parallax Serial board is essential made to interface to a STAMP2. It requires other glue to interface to a PC RS-232 port.

Good luck.

Joe J.
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