Re: Controlling Holiday Lights

[sylvan butler <ZsdbUse1+noZs_0610@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 18 Oct 2006 23:35:59 +0000 (UTC), John Haskey <johnh@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> In article <slrnejam1g.thm.ZsdbUse1+noZs_0610@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> sylvan butler  <ZsdbUse1+noZs_0610@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>Anybody have a source for cheap PCI parallel port cards (e.g. four
>>parallel ports on one card)?
>
> Why not use MIDI?

SsssssssLlllllllOoooooooWwwwwwwww

Granted, MIDI is probably 10x the speed (in theory) of X10, but I
haven't seen a complete solution to know what is achievable.  And that
still means only about 10 cycles per second (Hertz or Hz), which still
limits you to only basic on/off effects.  (Compare to 50-60Hz for a
zero-crossing A.C. relay or way over 1000Hz for a PC parallel port.)

With a direct access binary I/O (eg parallel port or a normal digital
I/O pin of a microcontroller such as PIC) it is trivial to PWM a light
from dark to full on and back to off to create fades.  If all I wanted
to do was turn on and off there are innumerable ways, and X10 is darn
effective.  But once you add speed into the mix, it changes the problem
dramatically.

As for midibox, it appears to be a midi controller primarily, with some
direct I/O capability included.  I don't see the direct applicability
unless I wanted to replace to the PC as a controller, and then I see no
obvious reason to introduce the complexity and delays of MIDI.

sdb
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