Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!sgiblab!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!csc.ti.com!tilde.csc.ti.com!mksol!strohm
From: strohm@mksol.dseg.ti.com (john r strohm)
Subject: Re: Interface to RS232
Message-ID: <1994Jan28.001704.21256@mksol.dseg.ti.com>
Organization: Texas Instruments, Inc
References: <2i2bmt$o85@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu>
Date: Fri, 28 Jan 1994 00:17:04 GMT
Lines: 22

In article <2i2bmt$o85@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu> ind00052@pegasus (Sen) writes:
>
>I'm currently working on my senior design project here at UCF.  We're 
>building a computer controlled spyghmomanometer (blood pressure 
>monitor).  The problem I've run into is linking with the PC through the 
>RS232 port.  We have data comming from an analog (5-20 mA) pressure guage.
>I'm assuming we need to go through an analog to digital converter then to 
>a UART of some type to be able to read the data using the RS232?
>
>I know *absolutely* nothing about UARTs - nor do I know this is the right 
>way to go.  I'm sure there is a common solution to this problem?  Please 
>help!  A reference to an old article in Radio Electronics or BYTE, or 
>whatever, would be of great help.  Thanks guys!

Actually, your best bet would be to grab something like a Motorola 68HC811E2FN
single-chip microcontroller with on-board EEPROM, A/D converter, and serial
ports, and something like a Maxim MAX233 TTL-to-RS-232 level converter, and
hack the A/D and serial interface.  Something like the MIT Miniboard would
be absolutely ideal.

You might try New Micros, Inc., here in Dallas: one of their 68HC11 FORTH
boards might be a very good match for this.
