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Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: airman00 on July 03, 2007, 03:18:35 PM

Title: Input to Computer
Post by: airman00 on July 03, 2007, 03:18:35 PM

Right now I'm using a keyboard for input to a computer. I changed the keyboard so that  instead of  a keypress a logical signal is applied. then  in my visual basic program I just checked for keypresses to get digital input.
Does anyone know of a better way to do this, because what i have now is fine.
,Eric

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: sotu on July 03, 2007, 04:25:57 PM

Quote from: airman00 on July 03, 2007, 03:18:35 PM

because what i have now is fine.
,Eric

I dont get it, if the method u use now is fine why do u want to do it a different way?

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: S. Karim on July 03, 2007, 04:45:24 PM

Quote from: airman00 on July 03, 2007, 03:18:35 PM

Does anyone know of a better way to do this

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: airman00 on July 04, 2007, 06:42:35 AM

I need another way because I just heard from someone that a keyboard can only handle three inputs occuring simultaenously. I need much more than that. Does anyone know of a way to get many simultaneous inputs to a computer?

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: hazzer123 on July 04, 2007, 02:15:52 PM

The parallel port has about 8 input pins i think. It is also easy to code an interface that uses it.

Here is a nice link. http://www.beyondlogic.org/spp/parallel.htm (http://www.beyondlogic.org/spp/parallel.htm)

Also you could get a 40-pin PIC with plenty of I/O (about 32 inputs i think) to interface to your logic signals and then send the states of the pins down a serial data line to your computer. I think that serial ports are also pretty easy to code for.

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: KambeiX on July 04, 2007, 03:24:41 PM

You can get serial speed (115200) from any 40 pin pic or full usb speed using a pic with USB. Also with CDC (serial) firmware for USB pics you can use the pic as a virtual serial port but you will get like 1Mbps speed.

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: Admin on July 11, 2007, 09:21:21 PM

Quote

I need another way because I just heard from someone that a keyboard can only handle three inputs occuring simultaenously. I need much more than that.

You mean if you take a hammer to it or sit on it? :P
Just curious why . . .

Title: Re: Input to Computer
Post by: kingpin094 on July 12, 2007, 06:44:48 AM

Depending on the need a keyboard encoder would do the trick.  They are commercially avalible and people use them to make homemade arcade cabinets.  I have built my own PS2 keyboard encoder to interface an arcade console to a PC.

If you are more ambitios there are USB joystick devices that use the USB HID interface to allow people to create there own arplane cockpits.  You can google for them.

Either of the above allow for up to 32+ simultanious inputs.