[GreenKeys] TTY-CONNECT loop adapter thingy

Thu, 14 Aug 2003 19:28:22 -0700

Looks good Gil.  Just a note about the HeavyMetal program here.  HeavyMetal
at present doesn't work with WinNT, Win2K or WinXP, and I don't know when
I'm going to find the time to make that happen.  However, with Gil's loop
adapter thingy the problem (which is related to setting up the odd baud
rates we need) will go away.  So, if you've been wanting to drive your TTY
with Heavymetal from a computer running Windows XP, this should make it
possible.
...Bill Buzbee

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of gil smith
> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 12:17 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [GreenKeys] TTY-CONNECT loop adapter thingy
> 
> 
> Hi folks:
> 
> Well, an update on the new 232-to-loop adapter board for 
> hooking up the 
> Dovetrons to your machines (and doing other stuff).  I am calling it 
> TTY-CONNECT, unless I think of something with a catchier ring 
> to it.  We 
> discussed a wish-list and some prelim specs many months ago, 
> but I have not 
> had much spare time.  Now that the Dovetrons are shipping I 
> need to get 
> this moving.
> 
> Some of you have my first-generation board, TTY-232, from a few years 
> ago.  It had a full/half-duplex high-voltage loop (for 
> M14/15/19/28...), a 
> half-duplex low-voltage loop (for M32/33...), and an RS-232 
> interface.  Loop supplies were all built into the case, and 
> everything was 
> opto-isolated.  It also had an optional microcontroller, 
> which I set up to 
> automatically convert 19200-baud ascii on the 232 port, to 
> 60/66/75/100-wpm 
> baudot, or 110-baud ascii, on either of the tty loops.  With no micro 
> installed, the 232 port must be driven with the appropriate 
> speed baudot or 
> ascii stream, as needed -- this can be done by Bytheway's 
> RTTYArt program, 
> or Buzbee's HeavyMetal program.  You can also connect your 
> Dovetron's 232 
> output to tty loops with this board, provided the machines 
> are operating at 
> the appropriate WPM.
> 
> Which brings us to TTY-CONNECT.  For this board, since the 
> 232 output from 
> a TU is likely to be 60 or 75-wpm and your machine may not, I 
> want to add 
> baudot-to-baudot speed conversion as well (yes, there are buffering 
> limitations for hi-to-low speed).  Also, 232 output from a TU will be 
> low-speed baudot, so this should have a second 232 port, since it is 
> handled differently in the micro.  Hmm, a logical extension 
> of this is to 
> connect two tty machines at different speeds, so I am going 
> to add a second 
> HV loop as well.  And the low-volt loop might as well get a 
> duplex switch 
> as well.  So what we have then, are five different "ports," 
> that connect to 
> different types of hardware.  An optional micro can sit in 
> the middle of 
> everything, and provide interconnection and conversion, or 
> you can simply 
> jumper port-to-port directly.  You only need to populate the 
> board for the 
> ports you need (eg: just 232 and one loop).  The five ports are:
> 
> - PC-232:  a high-speed 232 port for a PC, with a DB9-F jack
>      -ascii-only with 8/N/1/XON required, programmable for 
> 9600/19200/38400-baud
> 
> - TU-232:  a low-speed 232 port for a TU such as a Dovetron, 
> with screw 
> terminals
>      - programmable for 60/66/75/100-wpm baudot, or 110/300-baud ascii
> 
> - HV-LOOP-1:  an opto-isolated high-voltage (150V) tty loop 
> with two 1/4" jacks
>     - for M14/15/19/28...
>     - switch-selectable for full- or half-duplex
>     - programmable for 60/66/75/100-wpm baudot
> 
> - HV-LOOP-2:  an opto-isolated high-voltage (150V) tty loop 
> with two 1/4" jacks
>     - for M14/15/19/28...
>     - switch-selectable for full- or half-duplex
>     - programmable for 60/66/75/100-wpm baudot
> 
> - LV-LOOP:  an opto-isolated low-voltage (30V) tty loop with 
> two 3.5mm 
> (1/8") jacks
>     - for M32/33...
>     - switch-selectable for full- or half-duplex
>     - programmable for 60/66/75/100-wpm baudot, or 110/300-baud ascii
> 
> It looks like the board will be about 8-inches wide by about 3-inches 
> deep.  All connectors and the full/half-duplex switches will 
> be on the rear 
> of the board.  Connections to the four transformers (one for 
> 5V, one for 
> 30V, and two for 150V) will be along the front of the board.  
> I envision 
> this mounted in an aluminum box or rack chassis, with the 
> board at the 
> rear-center, and the transformers mounted in front of it.  
> The two HV loops 
> are at the right and left sides of the board, so the power 
> resistors and 
> heatsinks will be on either side of the board.  Various 
> status leds can be 
> mounted on the board, or wired to front-panel led indicators. 
>  I'm also 
> thinking of adding connections to a small text lcd that will 
> scroll along 
> with the data stream.
> 
> Once again, you only need to build the sections you need.  
> You can simply 
> jumper the sections together if speeds are the same, or you 
> can add the 
> optional micro.
> 
> There are a lot of features for the micro that don't need to 
> be finalized 
> at this point -- I am just wanting to get the hardware 
> defined so I can get 
> the board off to the pcb house.
> 
> Still time for changes.  All feedback appreciated.  I'd also 
> like a rough 
> head count of those who are interested in a board, full-kit, 
> or partial kit.
> 
> thanks,
> 
> gil
> 
> 
> 
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