Re: translator question

["BruceR" <br@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sounds like an ambitious project well worth the effort. The TTL
interface would, IMO, be far superior to translating PLC signals.  I'd
be willing to participate financially and otherwise. Let me know how I
can help.

From:Dave Houston
nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx

> I'm considering tackling the TW523 emulator translator.
>
> Which of the controllers which might make use of this send for all
> three phases and which only send for a single phase? I know ADI only
> sends for one and think HAI is the same. I'm not sure this is
> critical but would like to know, just in case.
>
> My thoughts are to make it with TTL input/output and with mutiple
> serial input/output ports. That way it could interface with any PLC
> (or other) system for which there is a serial interface and for which
> the translator knows the protocol.
>
> If I do this it will be a DIY project and will probably use a ZX-24
> processor so it won't be as cheap as a PIC based device. The ZX-24
> has one hardware UART and can support up to four interrupt driven
> full-duplex software UARTs (9600 bps or less) so it could deal with
> multiple protocols/devices and be programmable from a PC serial port.
> It's code execution speed is 10x as fast as the original BX-24 and
> has a more efficient compiler so there should be ample EEPROM
> available for user instructions.
>
> I'm willing to try to develop the code and to design a printed
> circuit board but I'm not willing to buy all of the various hardware
> needed to develop and test (and reverse engineer protocols) for the
> new PLC (and other) systems.
>
> I envision it as a "monkey see, monkey do" system that listens for
> inputs on any port and translates it to whatever action on whatever
> port the user specifies. In essence, it would just be a multilingual
> switchboard.
>
> I can probably do most of the development using a board I already have
> (BX24-AHT). That way the board design could come after the coding and
> list of devices supported is near completion or it might turn out
> that the existing board design will prove adequate with some simple
> surgery.
>
> I think it could support...
>
>     TW523
>     CM11A
>     CPU-XA, Ocelot, Leopard
>     2414S PowerLinc V2 Serial (if I can reverse engineer the protocol)
>     UPB Powerline Interface Module
>     LynX-10 PLC
>     Other serial interfaces (if the protocol is available)
>     X-10 RF (if all the above leave enough memory)
>
> I need to keep this as simple as possible so as not to put too much
> pressure on my health so would probably take on one protocol at a
> time.
>
> I've had some preliminary discussion with the ZX-24 developer about
> publishing this as an Application Note on the ZX-24 web site. I do
> not want to set up and maintain another web page.