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Full Version: Looking for HP-IL to RS-232 Converter Design Solution
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Anyone know if there is a design available for conversion between HP-IL and RS-232? I know there exists the 82164A and that will do in a pinch but I'm looking for something a bit smaller. I guess I could take the time to design one but that would take quite a while.

I don't need to implement the entire HP-IL specification but the interface has to be complete enough to control a serial device. It will one way communications, from 71B to HP-IL device. The hp-il device will never have to be the HP-IL controller. That is, it will just respond to and receive HP-IL data, from a 71B. The HP-71B will never have to accept data from the device.

I can also use a 82166A, which might be a partial solution to my project but those are a little hard to find.

Anyone know of a simple solution to this, other than using the 82164A?


Edited: 20 May 2006, 11:51 a.m.

There was also the FSI164A multi-channel HPIL-RS232 interface made by Firmware Specialists, Inc. in where else but Corvallis, OR. It's virtually 100% compatible with the 82164A, but the standard model had two RS-232 channels, and spending more would get you up to 8. I think you could get it battery-powered too. Mine is just wall-wart-powered and 2-channel.

Can you take a photo of the innards, and/or list the part numbers of the chips inside? If there's an EPROM, can you dump it?

There exist also a battery powered HP-IL/RS232 interface device from handheld products. The housing is identical to the HP82164A box.

Furthermore exist a RS232 option for the battery powered RAM-DISC from CMT. CMT also produced a poore RS232 interface without the RAM-DISC.

Furthermore some HP-IL/RS232 interface solutions exist for special surveying applications...

Actutual Jean-Francois Garnier added a virtual RS232 interface or gateway option to his EMU41 and EMU71. By using this new feature now you are able to transfer data and programms from the handheld computer to EMU41/EMU71 (upload) or from EMU41/EMU71 to your handheld (download). As Jean-Francois explaines this new gateway also works with an additionally RS232 to USB-Bus converter. Some modern Laptop- and Notebook PC´s only support the USB-Bus interface....

Regards - Christoph Klug

Quote:
Can you take a photo of the innards, and/or list the part numbers of the chips inside? If there's an EPROM, can you dump it?

I don't have a digital camera. Next time I run a roll of film in my 35mm I can take pictures with my close-up lenses. (I always spend the extra buck or two now to get the CD when I get film developed.) The interface converter has a Hitachi HD6303XP 64-pin microcontroller and a separate 8Kx8 EPROM which I copied and refreshed a couple of years ago to avoid losing the program. I can E-mail you the Intel hex code, but without source code it won't be easy figuring out what they're doing. Besides, the HPIL stuff is probably all being done in an HP IC that says on it:
1LB3 0003
85113
SGP
which I suspect is a proprietary HP mask-programmed microcontroller. I'm sure others here can tell us. This IC is physically between the other circuitry and the pulse transformers. The little thing that undoubtedly contains HPIL pulse transformers says on it:
VALOR PT3493
9100-4226
MEX 8637J

I am considering to do something with HP-IL as well. Are the exact charateristics of the transformers known?

Meindert