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Subject: 
Re: NQC software for Mac? (Robolab back ordered)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.robotics
Date: 
Thu, 17 Dec 1998 00:12:08 GMT
Original-From: 
Medical Informatics Consulting <medinfo@aros+stopspammers+.net>
Viewed: 
1078 times
  
I seem to remember seeing an add-in board which would add PC style serial
ports to Macs.  Now this was several years ago; it was for the NuBus; and
it was rather expensive.  I believe it was done so you could interface lab
equipment to Macs.  It may have even been sold as a Labview add-on.  I'll
check with my local Mac guru.  He's done all sorts of wacky (sort
of) things with his Mac (controlling servo motors, real-time data
collection, etc).

Now theoretically, it should be possible to pop a PCI serial port card
into a Mac, hack out or buy a driver, and then use the interface on the
new card.  Doesn't really help the people who have iMacs though.  Another
possible avenue is a USB to serial convertor (if they exist).  I know that
USB -> parallel adapters exist for the PC side, but as I'm using Windows
NT (doesn't yet support USB), I haven't really looked into exploiting the
capabilities of USB.

Matt

Matt Sailors
medinfo@aros.net

On Wed, 16 Dec 1998, Chris Osborn wrote:

On Dec. 16 98, 15:10 PST, "Eric Hodges" <eric.hodges@platinum.com>
wrote:

It's been a long time since I worked with serial hardware, but
isn't there an alternative pair of pins to RTS/CTS?  DTR/DTS or
something like that? If the Mac sets the other pins you might be
able to short them to the RTS/CTS pins.  I know I've done this on
special cables built to connect the 2 types of equipment.

DTR/CD aren't alternatives, they serve an entirely different purpose.

The PC software toggles the CTS signal, which the tower shorts to
RTS, so that it can tell if the tower is connected.

Since the Mac serial port doesn't have those pins, there's no way
to use the PC software under emulation.

---
Chris Osborn                            FozzTexx Enterprises
707 226 7629 - Voice                    2136 Coronado Ave.
707 253 3063 - Fax                      Napa, CA 94559
<fozztexx@fozztexx.com>           <http://www.fozztexx.com/>




Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: NQC software for Mac? (Robolab back ordered)
 
There are USB to Serial port adapters. Don't know if they work with a MAC or IMAC, but they are real. John A. Donaldson (...) (25 years ago, 16-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: NQC software for Mac? (Robolab back ordered)
 
(...) DTR/CD aren't alternatives, they serve an entirely different purpose. The PC software toggles the CTS signal, which the tower shorts to RTS, so that it can tell if the tower is connected. Since the Mac serial port doesn't have those pins, (...) (25 years ago, 17-Dec-98, to lugnet.robotics)

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