RE: Re: Alternative circuit for caller ID converter?

["Ward, David" <DAvid.Ward@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Id' deffinateley Opto-Isolate

A quick look at the LCD and maybe a poke with a 'scope should tell you what
format it uses

Sureley the UKHA_D way would be to have an addon board that talked Xap or
Xpl over ethernet, incorperated a WEB server, RSS feed, sendMyText
messages,
poped up OSD via Tivo and paused Tivo so that you could collect your
coffee.

Of course it would also have the Axis webcam, but incorperate OCR from the
images and announce them via AT&T natural voices ;-)

Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Stuart Grimshaw [mailto:stuart@xxxxxxx]
Sent: 16 April 2004 13:33
To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [ukha_d] Re: Alternative circuit for caller ID converter?


On Fri, Apr 16, 2004 at 11:05:54AM -0000, Patrick Lidstone wrote:
> --- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, Stuart Grimshaw <stuart@s...> wrote:
> > Maxim have the following datasheet for http://pdfserv.maxim-
> ic.com/en/ds/MAX250-MAX251.pdf
> >
> > Does figure3 look like a circuit that could be used instead of
the
> one described on Jon Payne's website?
> >
>
> You don't really need the optoisolated element of this solution. Look
> for a MAX232 data sheet instead.

Are you sure? Isn't it safer to isolate the PC from the other equipment in
this manner?

>
> > My idea is to try and grab the serial data as it's sent to an
> existing LCD, much like the CLID, but instead this is a vending
> machine, I'm fed up trapesing all the way downstairs only to find out
> it's out of coffe/cups/change
> >
>
> Are you sure the data is sent to existing LCD on a serial basis - it
> would be a bit surprising if it was. The caller id hack doesn't
> intercept LCD data, it intercepts what is effectively the modem data
> stream that is the CID data.

Maybe it's sent in serial form somwhere on the way to the LCD, in a similar
way to the caller ID?

>
> You'll probably hate me for saying this, but I reckon you'd be better
> off with an axis-type wireless webcam, zoomed in on the panel. Plus,
> then you can also see if there is a queue :-)

That would be the easy solution, not the UKHA solution :-)


I doubt this will make it past the ideas stage, I bet we rent those
machines, rather than own them so hackery of this kind ist verbotten.

--

-S



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