Building a basic USB device?

Question

Greetings, all.I have a requirement for getting some external sensor-data (possiblyanalogue, possible digital, not sure yet) into a PC (Linux, notWindows).This will need to be a USB connection, as it needs to be easilyassembled by an untrained user.Can anyone recommend a good place to look for initial information aboutcreating a USB device, alternatives, etc?Basically, I'm not sure where to start.  Is there such a thing as ageneric USB controller that I can integrate into a circuit?  Am Ibarking up the wrong tree completely?Thanks.

Bob Monsen · Accepted Answer

You can buy USB cards here:-- Regards,  Bob MonsenI know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but WorldWar IV will be fought with sticks and stones.    Albert Einstein

Chris · Answer

Hi. To work on making a USB interface, get "USB Complete: Everything You Need to Develop Custom USB Peripherals", Third Edition by Jan Axelson. You could also look at the Jan Axelson/Lakeview Research USB homepage for supplemental information, as well as other weblinks.

formatting link

Good luck Chris

Don McKenzie · Answer

there are a heap of variants at:all the items based on the FTDI devices have Linux drivers.may give you some ideas.Don...-- Don McKenzieE-Mail Contact Page:               Micro,TTL,USB to 1.5" color LCD  or TTL to VGA Monitor 's smallest USB 2 TTL Conv

Leo Meyer · Answer

Hi,have a look at this one:$=main/howto/This one is Human Interface Device driver compatible which is present on almost every OS. Gives you 6 analog and 28 digital inputs with a minimal effort. Should be enough for most applications. (Haven't tested it though.)Regards, Leo schrieb im Newsbeitrag news:

cylindric · Answer

Thanks guys, that's exactly the sort of info I need to get started. I'm completely out of my depth, so it will be an interesting learning experience :D

Basically I need to get data from several environmental sensors to a black-box monitor PC (sbc/embedded/etc) for ultimate presentation via http. I think the sensor-data is probably going to be from analogue varying-resistance devices, so I may need to build a small component to enable multiple different types of sensors to interface with the monitor PC.

I'm new to programming anything with "real" devices, rather than data-only services like websites etc, so this should be an interesting project!

Chris · Answer

Good. You may want to look at the Lab Jack, a USB-interface device with built-in 20 digital I/O, 8 ea. 12-bit analog inputs and two 10-bit analog outputs. It's got a lot of other features. They do have Linux drivers, but they primarily support the Windows environment. If the hardware is appropriate, for $119 in single quantities you can just wire up your terminal blocks, plug the LabJack into the PC USB, and move on to the programming issues. It's worth checking out:

formatting link

Good luck Chris

Bob Monsen · Answer

Those futurlec guys are also selling some kind of web based sensor thingy,which you might want to take a look at.-- Regards,  Bob MonsenHe who cherishes the values of culture cannot fail to be a pacifist.    Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)

Bob Masta · Answer

Circuit Cellar magazine has had some hands-on articles in the last year or so, at least in the dead-tree version. You might check what they have on their Web site.

Best regards,

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

formatting link

Home of DaqGen, the FREEWARE signal generator

Building a basic USB device?

Join the Discussion

Didn't find your answer?