need help finding a I/O board to run from PC via serial(or even usb)

[Robotboy86]

I can't seem to find a decent I/O board that will report to the PC and take commands.. nothing fancy, just say 8 inputs of analog/digital and even a PWM controller would be nice to have.  Something controllable by serial..

Anyone know of anything?

Thanks

[nanob0t]

Well, I started on a BASIC Atom Pro chip. 

http://www.basicmicro.com/Category.aspx?CategoryID=2

Then, I purchased a 'Bot board'.

http://www.lynxmotion.com/Product.aspx?productID=252&CategoryID=66

This allows you to plug in your chip, and has many I/O pins.   You can use the PWM pin on the Atom for your uses.

Just an idea.  It worked great for me when I started.  I now make my own boards with support electronics.  You probably don't want to get into that.  It's enough hassle as it is, and my dad doesn't appreciate the billions of questions either.

[Robotboy86]

Great stuff So I plug in the basicATOM Pro 24-M into the mini-atom bot board and then just program the basicatom chip?  Awesome!

In your experience, can I have it report back the up-to-date status on all the IO's and PWMS at a relatively quick rate?  I am looking to make a balance bot and need pretty accurate readings at a fast rate..  IE a few times a second? say 50hz or more??

Thanks

[nanob0t]

Great stuff So I plug in the basicATOM Pro 24-M into the mini-atom bot board and then just program the basicatom chip?  Awesome!

In your experience, can I have it report back the up-to-date status on all the IO's and PWMS at a relatively quick rate?  I am looking to make a balance bot and need pretty accurate readings at a fast rate..  IE a few times a second? say 50hz or more??

Thanks

Oh yeah.  I had it testing IRPDs and I made an A/D converter specifically for IRPD except it outputted a custom bit signal.   It's pretty nice for many applications.  The only issue is it's programmed in BASIC, and when you get into bigger applications, it lacks.   BASIC is a limited language, but it's very useful if you're not planning on getting too big.  And the chip should be compatable with anything you throw on it.

In terms of the rate it Inputs.  I don't know.  I used an IRPD, which pulse every amount of time.  I'm sure you could program it.

[Robotboy86]

Oh my friend I am the god of basic programming

I have written a MILLION basic rpg's

[Kohanbash]

http://www.labjack.com/results.php?category=2 these I/O boards are relatively cheap.

[Robotboy86]

Thanks for the links Never would of found that page without you..  really love the options.  Kinda leaning towards the basic module..   appreciate the options though guys!

[Steve Joblin]

There are several microcontrollers similar to the BASIC Atom... I would check out the Parallax BASIC STAMP, PICAXE, BASICX.  For someone that is still a bit new at things, I always recommend Parallax... they have incredible customer service and one of the (if not the most) active forums.  Their documentation is free to download.  They have a bunch of tutorials called "Stamps In Class" that guide you through all sorts of topics (I would recommend the "What's a Microcontroller" for anyone just starting out).