Build Your Own Universal Computer Interface

The book shows step-by-step how you can use interfacing circuits with your computer to control just about anything - from home security systems and robotics to model train layouts and all types of industrial control operations.

How to construct and connect an interface that lets your computer control any external hardware. Ever consider using your personal computer to control the electrical appliances and systems in your home or office? It's a complex topic, but the task itself is very easy to accomplish-thanks in large part to Dr. Bruce Chubb's groundbreaking work, the first to make a device called the universal computer interface system (UCIS) accessible to everyone, from neophytes to professionals. Now he has updated that classic guide, providing complete, step-by-step instructions for assembling a UCIS and connecting it to virtually any of today's most popular computers. The Second Edition features: Serial and parallel interface connections for IBM Pcs and compatibles, XT, XT-286, AT, 386, 486, and Pentiums, plus the complete line of Apple/Macintosh machines; A ready-to-use disk containing all of the computer code necessary for hardware implementation; Information on general purpose input-output, analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog cards for connecting to all types of external hardware including switches, LEDs, lamps, relays, and motors; New description of interfacing stepper motors, a very important development for emerging robotics applications. Here is the boundless technology of computer interfacing, presented in a unique style that is both detailed and amazingly simple to follow. Whether you are a beginning hobbyist or an electronics engineer, Bruce chubb once again provides everything you need to know about hardware, software, interface theory, and building-block assembly of a UCIS that can be used to control practically any electrical device you can imagine.