The Arrival of the Futurlec PCI8255

By friday 29th 2006, the much awaited PCI8255 Futurlec Interface Board finally reached its destination, the Haewaytian Cakehouse factory. Indeed the reason its taking some time to arrive here is simply because the mail order has been diverted through Thailand from Australia before being shipping here. The reason is, Thailand is the SEA dealer for Futurlec.
Anyway since the interface board is here already, then the job can be carried out soon after the year break. One good thing about Futurlec device is that order come complete with the CDROM that contains manuals as well as datasheet. What is more, they also give some samples codes in various programming languages such as Delphi, VB, C and many more. Next they also provide the test program to make sure the supplied interfaced board can run once we received it. This is very good service and I would like to recommend it to everyone who are thinking of buying electronics components. Except for delivery time I guess its suppose to be a good bargain for internet purchase.

The Inter-Conveyors Mooncake Transfer Project

We have a discussion regarding what else can we do with 8255 i/o card. So we come out with this one. Actually this one had been thought quite sometime already, it just now we think it can be visualized. This is a conveyor mooncake transfer project. In this project, the objectives is to transfer the mooncakes from one movinng conveyor at 90' to another moving packaging conveyor. The basics of the design of the first stage must includes the below statements:
1- The mooncakes must be safely transfered from one conveyor to another without any changes in quality.
2- The process must run automatically with minimum electronics gadgets and no manpower required to operate it.
3- The design must be as small as possible due to space constraint.
4- The slider material must be made from non ferous and food grade such as aluminum or stainless steel.

The design of the first stae must be completed by end of next week, which is before another year end holiday.

About the 8255 today I checked with Futurlec and get this information.
Based on this, we might get the card around this week.

The quest for old PC with ISA slot

While waiting for the new PCI 8255 interface board to reached Malaysia, we are still not finished yet with the old ISA 8255 Interface Board. Indeed, one of the possible reason why it is unable to read input data could be due to the faulty PC ISA slot itself.
In fact, it happened once three years ago where one of those 3 slots failed to communicate with the software. Once I moved the card into another slot, then its working fine.
However, for current case I had tried all of those 3 slots. Unfortunately, it still failed to read, but only only managed to write. Eventhough I believed that the most probable reason is the card itself is faulty due to mouse urine that causing the short circuit, since we have quite an ample time now, we just do it. Who knows if the lady luck is on our side?
After searching for old PC with ISA slot, out of a few PCs in the store, we found only one is available. The rest only got PCI slots and AGP slots. We assembled it and power it on. The power supply is OK and managed to turn ON the monitor as well. Unfortunately, the motherboard FAILED to turn ON. This means that for the time being we cannot test the card with other PC with ISA slots available. Until we found the new PC for further testing, then we can conclude the card is faulty.

The new 8255 PCI Purchase Order

Today we order a new PCI 8255 Interface Board from www.futurlec.com. This is how the board looks like.

PCI Bus Interface Card - New Version
PCI Bus Interface card with 72 I/O points. Ideal for computer control of machinery, homes and offices. Easy to interface to and programs can be written in Visual Basic, Visual C and Delphi. Works with Windows 95, 98, Me, XP and NT. Standard Shrouded Male Headers included on the board, for fitting of IDCC Connectors. Schematics, Sample Code and Instructions included.

Features
• Mounts to a standard PCI Bus
• 72 I/O Points
• Adjustable Address
• Works with Windows 95, 98, XP and NT
• Ideal for home control system

This PCI board costing USD 64.90 plus USD 12.00 for S&H from Canada to Malaysia. It should be arriving in Malaysia within one to two weeks time.

Meanwhile while waitig for this board to reached Malaysia I would start the other project which is to design a mechanical slider connecting from one conveyor to another. The objective is to ensure that the items running on conveyor one at 90 degrees angle could land safely, precisely and coherently with conveyor two. This is meaning that the object on conveyor one could be transfered to conveyor two at 90 degree angle just using this transfer device. As for prototype I would use aluminum and hardwires with some pneumatic. Perhaps later on I will add limit swithes or sensor for automation.

The 8255 Input Reading Problem

Today we continue troubleshooting the 8255 Interface Board. I dismantle the IB and clean both sides of the circuit board. Also we test both of the ribbon cables, short and long. Next we tried both of the conntrol registers again. This is not to mention the trials of all ports A,B and C for all possible communications. What is more I rewrite the iotest.c adding decimal to binary function for easy bits reference. However, we still get the same result, any input from any location of the 8255 simply cannot be read. In other words, its always giving 0xff reading. This is so frustrating giving the effort and hardwork we had done to accomplish up to this level.

This is the connections that I discovered for the 8255IIB Layout after double check with the original data layout. Now I can use both of the control registers ports A,B and C with assurance that the pins that I use id correct.

So later in the afternoon Mr Yu ordered to get alternative board, and to ask the Vanguard whether they still have any available for PCI slot. Contact Mr Robin, but cannot be reached. Ask for his assistant Ms Cecilia but to no avail as well. So SMS and email both of them for the 8255 PCI slot quotation.

On the next day call them again, and they said they do not have the stock now but will inform us once they get the feedback from their suppliers ASAP.

The 8255 io Reading & Servo Rotation Problem

8255 IIB
The 8255 issues have not been settled yet. Since last week we are having difficulties in finding what's the real problem that hinders the input port from being read.

What happened now is that, any input from Control Register 1 and 2 whether port A,B or C, all display 0xff. This is incorrect since the program have not been altered. Last time any point can be read. I guess there could be some hardware problem with that old board, but for the time being I can't prove it yet.

Today, I tried the second control register and double the 8255 Intermediate Interface Board (IIB) wiring to ensure my test wiring is OK. Unfortunately, even with correct wiring, same old working problem, still the reading from the input port come out 0xFF.

This is really frustrating since the program I use to test is the actual working program. Next, it slow down the project progress. What more, as I can't proceed with the USB project yet as long as this issue is not solved.


Servo Rotation
This is the prototype circuit assembly that I used to signal the Servo Motor movement. As you can see there are two variables resistors, one for timing range(limit-1Mohm) and another one(500kohm) to move the servo. I collect some information regarding Servo Motor characteristics that might help in solving the rotation issue with my parallax Futaba S3003. It says that for most standard SM specs that timing for neutral position is about 1.5ms. Any timing longer than 1.5ms will force the SM to turn CW, and vice versa. Usually the timing range is between 1 to 2 ms. From one sets of timing signal, the minimum delay is about 20 to 30ms is required to protect the gear of the SM. With some modification the SM turning degrees can be adjusted up to user requirement. Even for some cases, it is possible to modify up to basic DC motor.

Due to this features of the SM, so the conclusion for my SM problems can only be conclude once I managed to come out with perfect timing with correct equipment such as oscilloscope.

The Futaba S3003 Servo Motor PWM Signal Testing

Today I assembled the circuit for the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to generate the signal to run the Futaba s3003 servo motor.

Here is the circuit for PWM,

and here is the Futaba S3003 servo just for information.
The circuit is asembled on the protoboard to shorten the testing period. A few parts changes had to be made due to unavailability of the accurate items. The 80.5kohm was replaced by 84kohm, the 36nF capacitor was replaced by 47.3 nF, and the two 47kohm & 560k ohm variable resistors were replaced by 500kohm and 1Mohm. Once the circuit is completely assembled, I add on one Single Pole Double Throw (SPDT) toggle switch as a signal trigger point. Since last time I bought 4 pieces so I tried all. Out of four, only one can fully turn 180 degree when the PWM signal is and return to actual location once the PWM signal is off. The other three, once received the PWM signal it turned a bit,but never return to actual position once the signal is off. For the time being I'm not sure whether the problem is due to faulty servos, or PWM signal incorrect. The best hypothesis that I can say now is there could be a problem with the servos as when I manually turn the three servos, they do turn 180 degrees once the PWM signal is applied. The only thing is that they cannot return to actual position once the signal is OFF.

This is the completed assembled circuit on the protoboard

The 5IO TIB cold solder and connector quality problem

Its quite a while the project have been delayed due to holidays and Information System task requirement. So today I managed to spend a few hours time troubleshooting the 5io Trial Interface Board (5IOTIB).

What I found is that, there is no problem with the design. This is confirmed by testing on the prototype board of the circuit design. The main problem was due to the cold solder of the previous old PCB and low soldering quality of the upgraded circuit. After replacing the jumper wires and resoldering the power connections, then the circuit is back to as designed. However, when the testing is being done with the PPI8255 IIB, there board still failed to make connections. Further troubleshooting reveals that some of the crocodile connectors are faulty. Once replaced, everything is back to normal. Now since the hardware is OK already, then Mr Khow can proceed with his own software programming.

Later, when I tried with the 5iotest software, something weird is happening. The program is now failed to switch off the 8255 switches. In other words it failed to ZERO all of the ports. However, when I checked with the test5.exe, the IOs are managed to be cleared to ZERO = off. One thing that I can inferred is that the 5iotest software is corrupted, or in other words it is not original anymore. Maybe some part of the program is being mistakenly altered. So for the time being I will let Mr Khow to play around with his own switch software since my IT tasks have not been completed yet. Yet another, the servo motor PWM also haven't been started yet, and the tester board for USB just one sided wiring completed only.

The quest for CS-600 FET Jumbo Servo

I have been seeking for the simillar type of FET Jumbo Servo for quite sometime. This is the actual CS-600 Servo Motor that I'm looking for.

In fact, this servo is suposedly the most powerful of its kind. This is the big one! The CS-600 is the strongest servo you will find. And, thanks to the special FET motor drivers, you do not have to sacrifice speed to achieve high torque. This servo boasts an incredible 333 oz./in. of torque (6v supply), yet it is one of the fastest servos in the Cirrus line! We recommend the use of a high capacity 6.0v battery pack when using this servo.

So far I have two official quotation from HS-422 for RM85 which torque is about 4.1kg/cm at 6V. The other is Hitecc china brand 4kg/cm = RM70, 7kg/cm=90, and 13kg/cm=RM110.
As this CS-600 is 333 oz/in which is about 23.3kg/cm. Thus, I have to narrow down the replacement for this jumbo servo. Else it would be small enough to carry the weight of the projected robot.

The Discovery of Actual IIB CN1 Pin Assignment

This morning I went to SS2 again to get the components for the PWM circuit. I also bought a breadboard so that I can use it to test any circuit prior to actual assembly and soldering on the PCB to avoid unnecessary rework. Today's purchase is RM29.50 and rm30.40

Later in the afternoon I troubleshoot the 8255 Intermediate Interface Board (IIB) again and come out with the new pins assignment especially for Port A. Actuallyy the reason yesterday work cannot run properly is simply due to wrong wiring of the some port A which is pin PAO and PA1 that incidentally plug on to the OUT and CLOCK causinng the 8255 board to malfunction.

Today, once I found the right configuration and tested with yesterday 5iotest.c program everything working fine. This is the pins configuration for CN1 of the IIB.

The 8255 Tester Board Upgrade Problem

The 8255 5 i/o upgaded board giving trouble today. The I/O were not in tally with the Intermediate Interface board (IIB). Troubleshoot and found out that the IIB configuration is not exactly the same as in the book as designed by the Taiwan group. Doublecheck with the one done by Mr Khow couple weeks ago. It doesnt match that one as well. Check the port 1 configuration and sketch the layout configuration for the IIB from the IDC 40P to the screw type connectors. Here is the layout found.


Later, connect the IIB to the 8255 5 I/O Tester Board. The connection failed as well where the 12VDC LED indicator is not light up. Check the upgraded PCB and found some wiring problem. Disconnect the upgraded part from the old 5 output ports. Test the old output port only. It's OK, meaning the trouble was caused by the upgraded circuitry.


Write simple program to use the input and output of the 8255. Test against IIB, and 8255 5O Tester Board. It can work but the program need to be fine tune to get more stable result.

The Beginning of the Assembly Language Tutorial

Today I gather some information regarding the quick way of learning assembly. This simply because the existed Assembly Programming book is too thick to teach a beginner in a short period of time. I found this tutorial by MAD is helpful so for those who are interested can download it here. This is the book that I make.

It is classified into four chapters for easy reference.
Chapter 1, Example1 (Examp1.asm),
Chapter 2,
Chapter 3,
Chapter 4, Example1 (Exbin.asm), Example2 (Exdec.asm), Example3 (Exvga.asm)

Yet another reason I collect all these is to help Mr Khow learning it the faster way rather than just simply copy the old program that I did three years ago.
As for the USB Board Tester board wiring, I did complete port A wiring yesterday, and today I plan to complete the other half of port B.

The Servo Motor PWM Generator Part 1

Today I do some study on the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). There are few methods to generate the signals :
1-Analogue method,
2-Digital Method,
3-Discrete Method,
4-Onboard MicroController.
As for the beginning I think I will start with the digital method using the 2 input nor gates since this is the easiest to assemble. This is the circuit that I'm going to assemble after raya break.
This circuit board components requirement are listed below :
1-Variable resistor (potentiometer) 47kohm, 560kohm
2-Ceramic capacitor, 36nF, 100nF
3-Electrolytic capacitor, 10uF
4-2 input nor gates IC4001 with IC base
5-Discrete 1/4W resistor, 1 Mohm, 80.5 kohm, 46.3 kohm
6-PCB with 10mm stands
7-Connectors, 2 set of 2p for DC input and PWM output

I also continue doing the PCB for the USB Port Tester Board. Now all components are soldered already. However, the wiring I guess would only be completed by next month after raya break as well. Once the wiring is completed, it would looks something like this one.

As for Mr Khow, today he already started with the hardware programming using Borland Turbo C Compiler. To jumpstart, I advised him to simply rewrite the old 8255 working program and learn it while doing it hands on. Yet, to understand better for port assigning, I advised him to learn how to use the keyboard key first as it is easier to understand.

The Futaba S3003 DC Servo Motor

Today Mr Khow and I went to Vanguard in KL to buy 4 pieces of DC Servo Motor for RM280. Mr Robin from Vanguard and his friend Mr Wong did some demonstrations of their Bioloid robot stuff together with some ready made robotic hardwares. This is how the servos looks like.

As advised by Mr Wong this servo requires a (Pulse Width Modulation) PWM signal in order to be activated. The timing for PWM should be less than 100 ms. This means that I need to supply my PWM signal on my own- required a scope for signal checking. Yet another, he said the best way is to use the microprocessor to supply the signal of PWM. However, the easy way is to buy his readymade servo controller board that cost hundred plus for beginner version and three hundred plus for higher version.

One disadvantage of using this servo is that it doesn't have a feedback signal telling the location of the specified movement. The new and updated version of servo which cost RM350 each is capbale of doing so and can be link by network of 4 lines only.

Manufacturer Specs
This is the Futaba S3003 Standard Servo. This basic servo is used in cars, boats, or where standard servos are used. This is the replacement for the following servos, S138,S148,S22,S38 and S12.

This servo can produce high-current draw from your batteries. If using NiMH or LiPo batteries, make sure they are capable of delivering sufficient amps.

INCLUDES: One S3003 standard servo with preinstalled round servo horn FUTM00311 Four brass eyelets Four black rectangular rubber grommets (FUTM2348) Four servo mount screws One servo wheel 1-3/8" (35mm) in diameter One X shape servo arm 1.5" (38mm) across One star shaped arm 1-1/4" (32mm) across

SPECS: Speed: 0.23sec/60 deg @ 4.8V or 0.16 sec/60 deg @ 6V. Torque: 44 oz-in @ 4.8V or 56.8 oz-in @ 6V (3.2 kg-cm @ 4.8V or 4.1 kg-cm @ 6V) Size: 1.6"L x .8"W x 1.4"H (41x20x36mm) w/o output shaft Weight: 1.3 oz (37.2g) Connector: "J" type with approx. 5" lead

The USB Tester Board Part 2

The assembly for the USB Tester Board begins today. I managed to aligned all of the components except the 100k ohm where I discovered that I only have 5 pieces instead of 20 pcs. This means that I have to go to SS2 again to buy the part sometime this week. After rearrange the components, unfortunately not according to the layout as proposed earlier since I found out that its better to change due to space constraint on the actual PCB. The wiring would be completed once I get the 100k ohm resistors. This is how the new layout looks like.

As for the USB black box, today I also managed to connect all ports A, B, C from 3 X 10pins to 40IDC. So what left is to check with the written software that I did couple weeks ago. This is how it looks like once all the connectors inside are plugged in. As you can see I only do for one of the USB board since I planned to use the other for 8255 upgrade. As the IBM Thinkpad is with Mr Khow for him to study C programming, I will continue with the hardware fabrication.

Give short briefing regarding the Borland Turbo C programming method to Mr Khow. Show him how the program works as well as setting up the PC and Thinkpad for programming training. Mr Yu also brief him the basic of PC interfacing using the 8255 PPI board.

Meanwhile Mr Yu TT request to go ahead with the Robot project while waiting for Mr Khow to learn C. So he asked to get the quotation for required items such as servo motor from Vanguard as well as aluminum from Sg Besi. If possible he wants it to be available by Wednesday so that the work can be carried out to built the robot after holiday, end of this month. The priority now is to built the robot, then followed by Mooncake slider with pneumatic pusher. As for the pusher, the control would be hardwire rather than exclusive electronic control.

The drawing of USB Port Tester Board

Today I sketch an official drawing for the USB Port Tester Board. This circuit basically tie the input to input high (1) when there is not input present. Connecting a switch to GND would trigger the INPUT port to low (0). In short, so (1) is OFF and (0) is ON then. As indicator, when the input is on then the LED will light on. This is the circuit diagram for the design.

Once the circuit diagram is completed, then I design the parts/components layout to facilitate the PCB fabrication later on. This is the TOP view (component side) of the PCB. Here is the board layout design. As for the parts required to built the circuit, they are just some common parts only. To make board nicer actually its better to use the array type resistors. But then since it is not available in SS2 that day so I just use the discrete type which occupy more space and more wiring. However, the result would be the same then. The 1kohm is R1, 100kohm is R2 and the R3 is 100 ohm. As for LED I will use two different colors, GREEN and YELLOW to differentiate the ports. The usage of IC socket just simply to make the IC replacement easy in case of IC faulty.

To get the full version of the design click here

The USB Tester Board Part 1

Today I managed to complete the 40P IDC Female connector interfacing from USB board ports A,B,and C to the black box USB casing. However in this diagram the 40P IDC is shown into two categories, port A and port B. In actual it is a 40P IDC female connector attached to the black box where 40P IDC pin number 1 is on the top left (GND pin) beside PB7. Another typeoerror is the PAO OV in which the correct one is PB0 OV. This view is from TOP (component side) for USB I/O 24MK3 and BOTTOM (wiring side) for 40P IDC. Click here to get this diagram.

I also install a 5V LED indicator for the LED board. The LED will light on once any hot USB cable from hot PC is connected to the black box. This is how the black box looks like from outside. However, for the ports A, B, and C 10pins connector are not ready yet since now it is about time to go back. I will do it tomorrow.

8255 desktop PC that having problem with the display yesterday, now come back to normal after servicing the motherboard. One thing to note, if this PC spoilt again, we might be in trouble. This is simply because the other spare PCs do not have ISA bus type slot that is required fort the PPI 8255 to work with. This is how the 8255 looks like.

The Beginning of Tester Board Assembly

Went to SS2 PJ to buy 2.2k ohm resistors and casing LED to complete the tester board assmebly.
Mr Yu TT assemble the DC motor trial PCB driller for Mr Khow. Next Mr Khow project is to design the mechanical holder for that driller.

8255 Terminal Board
This is how this board looks like. Mr Khow completed the 8255 terminal board connector tracing. Now it's my job to double check that it is correct. I'm lucky since the notes that I prepared 3 years ago that being kept by Mr Yu comprise this board connection. It saves my precious time indeed. Here is the board layout diagram. To download this layout diagram, click here.














8255 Tester I/O Board
Give the design schematic diagram to Mr Khow to assemble. Assemble one input circuit components for reference and let him complete the other 4 as well as DC 5V and 12V input to the tester board. He managed to complete it by end of the day and now I have to double check it to ensure everything is allright. This is how it looks like.

USB User Port Tester Board
Drill a hole for 40P IDC Female connector at USB black box. It will takes some time to finish due to job priority now is for 8255 refurbishment as well as upgrading Mr How knowledge about PC interfacing.

Get the photocopy of the old 8255 journal from Mr Yu files. Make 2 copies for myself and Mr Khow. The objective is to help Mr Khow understand the C programming and Assembly Language faster. Another problem that I face today is suddenly the old P3 8255 desktop PC no display come out.

The silly mistakes are happening ...

Resistor
The Shopkeeper gave 22kohm instead of 2.2kohm, and I also did not check that day. So today when I gather components for 8255 TBU, I just discovered it. So next Wednesday I guess I have to go to SS2 again. Yet another, the 100ohm and 100kohm I supposed to buy the array type to reduce wiring, but then he gave the discrete type. What a waste of time.

8255 Tester Board Upgrade (TBU)
The schematic drawing as well as components layout diagram have been completed. However since, the 2.2kohm resistor is not available yet, so Mr Khow cannot complete the fabrication of the board by Wednesday. The rest of other components are already gathered and keep in the store.

USB Port Tester Board Fabrication
The layout and and schematic diagram to fabricate the board already completed. However, the usage of array resistor and 2.2k ohm are required for better design. Need to go to SS2 again to get the parts.

8255 Automatic Egg Rolls Machine Test
The I/O cards are OK as well as the software and hardware. However, one stupid thing is not there. Some idiot had cut the pneumatic tube that used to supply the compressed air from air compressor to the machine. Since the replacement tube is not available for the time being, so the full test cannot be carried out. What a waste of time and effort for today, and what a stupid idiot dare to do such thing to the machine.

The Start of the 2nd Stage USB Project

Since the AC to DC 15V power supply with DC motor testing (as shown in the picture below) and the Visual Basic Coding are successfully completed, now it is the time move on to the next stage.


USB 24 I/O MK3 Input Tester Board
The design was completed and hardwares components were bought from SS2 PJ and ready to be assembled anytime. Some modifications to original design are required due to project target to replace the old 8255 PIT board. Since the connectors pins assignment are different, so two types of IDC 40P female adapter needs to be assembled. Yet another, the USB board do not have 12VDC supply. This means that I have to add an external 12VDC from other sources such as an AC to DC 12V power supply.

8255 PIT I/O Test Board
This part is actually a twofold mission. First, it's purpose is to help Mr Khow to familiarize with the PC interfacing world. Next it is to upgrade the old test board that I did for 8255 that comprise 5 output with a few connectors missing. Now it will be upgraded to 5 input and 5 output with full featured connectors.
Before he will proceed to the circuit assembly, first I have to redrawn the design for the upgrade. Next he himself have to troubleshoot the IDC 40PF board connectors to 32pin screw type interface board. The reason is just simply I lost my circuit design. Since it's quite simple, so the best way for him to learn to do it hands on.

Here is the list of today's purchase.

The Ports of the USB 24IO mk3

The Port Layout
Here is the ports layout of the board.


The Port Pins Configuration
Here is the port pins configuration.


The Port Pins Description
Each I/O pin can be configured individually as an input or output. An input pin is TTL level compatibble and an output pin can sink or source up to 30mA. Here is the description of the port pins configuration.


The USB I/O 24 module is designed to enable digital input/output signals to be interfaced to the USB port of a PC. The interface cards that can be used with ISA and PCI slots of PCs are based upon the Intel 8255A PPI and it is possible to configure the USB I/O 24 module to mimic this device.

The beginning of the hardwares assembly...

USB Board Housing
A black harden plastic box sizing 160x95x50mm is used to housed 2 USB 24 I/O mk3 boards. Now those two USB's are placed inside the box already which make it easier to use and safer to play with.

Tester Board
The components to built are being grouped so that later on they can be hatced or soldered into PCB. This board is very important in future usage as USB board confirmation OK incase some technical problem arised.

AC to DC Power Supply
Mr Khow is started to gather all necessary components to built the DC supply board. It is merely a 15VDC output circuit gained from an AC240V step down to 15VAC. The AC then is converted into DC using 4 pins bridge rectifier in which tied to 2200uF 35V electrolytic capacitor. Next the DC passes through an IC 7815 DC regulator with 2A current limiting to smoothen it that coupled with 2 ceramic 100nF capacitor. Here is the built circuit diagram.
Once the circuit is fully assembled, then it will be tested against 15VDC Motor.

The test softwares and hardwares

On 28/9/06 the work for board tester softwares was started. There are two program involves, the input and the output. These 2 programs are very important to check that the system is working.


Input Tester
As for the input program, a User Port Tester Input Form is generated to read the data fed from the User Board Tester Board to the USB I/O 24 module connected to the PC. Click here to get the copy of the codes. This is how it looks like once it is running.

Output Tester
The next program is for the board ouput. This program produces a User Port Tester Output Form to feed data out from the PC into the USB I/O 24 module. Data is generated using a Scroll Bar on the Visual Basic Form. The output reading is displayed in decimal format in the Text Box and in binary form on the User Port Tester LEDs. Click here to get the copy of the codes. This is how it looks like once it is running.


Hardware Tester
On 29/9/06 the hardwares required components to built the User Port Tester board are purchased from SS2 Electronics shop in PJ, costing for RM297.50. Actually this amount includes the purchase of a few tools as well as AC to DC power supply components for Mr Khow to built for the feel of electronics work.

The preliminaries work is about to begin..

As the mooncake season is about to over in a week time, so today the workshop where the USB project would take place is being cleared up. All unnecessary and unused items are disposed to give ways and spaces to the project to begin.

As the IBM Thinkpad is ready, as shown in the picture, now we have two USB 24 io mk3 boards. The blue device on the keypads is the USB to LAN adapter, the one I use to connect to the network to access the internet for this journal.

The desktop is looks like a Mac OS X due to the installation of the WinMAC program, to give some outstanding appearance to replace the dull looking Windows 98SE.

As for the next stage is to get the electronic components from Pasar Road, followed by giving the circuit diagram to my partner Hong Lee to assemble and as to give him some hands on experience of the electronic world. This should be happening next week as this week schedule is already full. Meanwhile, me myself will write the coding in Visual Basic 6.0 for the io interface as described in the chapter three of the book 'PC Interfacing Using USB' by Peter Bates.
The io_usb.bas module1 is already written last night. Click here to get the pdf version of it.

The difference of two simmilar USB 24 I/O MK3

2nd Board Arrival
The 2nd USB board ordered from Australia arrived today. It looks the same as the other previous one externally. So far the a few noticeable difference is the FTDI chip. This one is FTDI 245BL 612-1 while the previous one is FTDI245BL 607-1. While the new one a bit dusty the old one looks brand new. Next the sticker for new one is slanted while the old one nicely stamped.

IBM Thinkpad
The Windows 98SE has been fully installed as well as the Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Professional Edition. To make it nicer, the WinMac utility also has been installed. Now the Thinkpad looks like running Mac Os X server version. Next, the Borland Turbo C for DOS also has been installed as to test the old 8255 Program.

FTDI FT8U2XX Device Driver
The driver has been downloaded from the net. The are two options available. The firts is VLP and the other one is D2xx. The VCP driver emulates a standard PC serial port such that the USB device may be communicated with as a standard RS232 device. The D2XX driver allows direct access to a USB device via a DLL interface. As for our devices, I choose D2XX because our PC do have both USB and serial port. no need for emulation.

USB I/O 24 Test Utility
Download the test utility Visual Basic sample codes from elexol and compile using the VB6Pro under sample1 name. This is the putility rogram that I produce from the sample codes and use to test the two USB boards.



Test Result
As for board number 1 (hobby engr), when data 0 are written to Port A, Port B and Port C, then followed by reading them back, the answer are 0, 0 , 0. Even by running the continious testing with different input numbers, the values still 0 for all ports. ?
However for 2nd board, when 0 data were written, and followed by reading the port again, the data were 20H for Port A, 15H for Port B, and 0 for Port C. Even after reset all, when the procedures were repeated, the numbers read changed to different values. ?


Temporary Conclusion
I also confused which board is really OK, both OK or both NG. Further testing are arequired I guess!!!

The 6-Axis Robotic Arm

Today I received the quotation from Bizchip RM4600 for the Robotic Arm complete set. When I check out the 6-Axis SG6-UT Robotic Arm from www.crustcrawler.com it turn out to be USD618 only. Well, one thing for sure whether we built our own or buy the ready made one, it would move something like this one. Just click on the picture to see it movement.

Nice isn' it. Unfortunately, for the time being, the USB I/O 24MK3 cannot be programmed yet due to the inavailability of the Visual Basic compiler. So the next stage is to get the IBM P2 Thinkpad running Windows 98SE, then install the Visual Basic. On the meantime, there's not much thing can be done.

The Arrival of USB I/O 24 V3 Board

This morning, the long awaited board from www. hobbyengineering.com has been delivered. I thought it is big. However, once the box is opened, its only 38X69mm only. Yet another the IC being used is FT245BL instead.

Actually the FT245BL is the lead free version of the 2nd generation of FTDI's popular USB FIFO I.C. This device not only adds extra functionality to its FT8U245AM predecessor and reduces external component count, but also maintains a high degree of pin compatibility with the original, making it easy to upgrade or cost reduce existing designs as well as increasing the potential for using the device in new application areas.

Check the device using the Dell Notebook. And this is the test program that use Microsoft Visual Basic Express Edition 2005 on Windows XP. Suppose this program is used to detect more than one USB board. However, since for the time being this is the only one, what the heck then.

The point is the board is working fine. The next stage is to explore it using Windows 98 platform since that's the one we actually plan to use. The old IBM P2 Thinkpad running WIndows 98, that's the next target.

Robot Arm 2 Kit

Today I called Bizchip for their robot availability. They said they do not keep stock and instead they will quote us any robot we want. SInce we are looking for the robot that can lift more than 250 grams, so they offer this one.

Model Number [ARM_A2-KT]
Robotic Arm 2 Basic Kit

This Robotic Arrm 2 basic kit included :
1 Hardware Kit
1 Assemble Manual
3 HS-645MG Ultra Torque Servos
(2 x shoulder & 1 x elbow)
3 HS-475H Heavy Duty Servos
(rotating base, wrist, & gripper )

· Gripper :
Inside width = 3.25" (8.26cm)
Depth = 3.25" (8.26cm)
Height = 1.12" (2.85cm)

· Arm height = 17.75" (45.1cm)

· Base to elbow pivot holes C/L(center line) = 4 7/8" (20cm)

· Wrist pivot hole C/L to center of gripper = 7" (17.8cm)

· Elbow to wrist pivot holes C/L = 5.5" (14cm)

· Max lift capability = 14.23oz (403.41g)

· Base rotation = 180 degrees

· Weight (including servos) = 2.34 lbs (1.06kg)

Building My Own Humanoid Robot

Today is a special day because we already decided to go ahead with the USB project. As for the things to explore with this USB capability, we would build a humanoid robot. This is not a joke. We already read through a book 'Build your own humanoid robot'. This is the book.
Based on the design, and the required parts, it is possible to make it. So from today now on, we will collect the necessary items to make this thing work.

There are 6 Austounding Projects given in this book
1- Robotic Arm
2- Personal Computer Interface
3- Visual Basic Control Software
4- Voice Recognition Control
5- Expressive Speaking Face
6- Bipedal Walking Robot

Of course we would not do all of them. But one thing for sure, once the USB hardaware arrived, we will make full use of it to modify the sample project to be controlled by a PC through USB interface. Good luck to all of the team members.

The beginning of the USB projects

Today I received an email from www.hobbyengineering.com saying that the purchase order for USB I/O 24MK3 has been proceeded. So while waiting for the hardware to arrive, I will spent some time reading and understanding the USB port functions and how to configure it. By the way the hardware would be like this.. costing USD107.5 each including shipping and handling from USA.

Its pretty cool hardware, so this is what inside it ...