USB output on the cheap

[dave]

See here:

http://www.lumax.de/

Found this, looks like a nice simple usb output device, would be nice and cheap to build too

[buffo]

My German is pretty rusty, but from what I can tell the software he's got can only send analog waveforms to the scanners at varying frequencies. So you can get lissajous patterns, and that's it.

I like the idea of an inexpensive DAC that uses the USB port, but it's not going to be worth building if I can't use something like Mamba Black to talk to it. (Or does a Mamba-capable driver exist for this DAC?)

Adam

[TL]

Yes, there is a .MLD driver for Mamba...
But there are 2 versions of the firmware for the lumax:
1) freeware: max scanrate 16000pps
2) you've to pay a "two-digit" amount of cash ( € ) for a max. scanrate of 70000...

Thomas

[dave]

Yup, it runs with mamba and he laserscan

[buffo]

hmmm... This is starting to get interesting then.

I need to wash that site through babelfish and see exactly what it says. (I used to be fluent in German, but that was 23 years ago when I was a foreign exchange student. Since then I've forgotten a lot!)

Adam

[dave]

I think minus the cost of the firmware, you would be looking at about $80US to build the device

[ABSolute]

I did build this device and it works great!

It is nice to have 12bit resolution for x and y for such low price.
There is even choice for two different dac IC's, the 2 times max536 or one TLV6510IDW with adapter board.
You can try to get it to work with the freeware and when it is fully operational you can buy the upgrade to full version.

By the way it has also DMX512 in and out!

[buffo]

It's too bad he doesn't have a board layout for this circuit. The backside of that thing looks like a rat's nest of jumper wires!

Still, $80 for a 12-bit DAC is a pretty good deal in my book - even if you have to burn your fingers a few times putting it together...

Adam

[ABSolute]

There is a board layout available it is even only single sided so quite easy to make it you're self!

http://www.lumax.de/platine.html

If you build it watch out for the polarity of the schottky diode it is printed the wrong way aroud on the board layout.