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Prop Plugs are not just for Propellers. — Parallax Forums

Prop Plugs are not just for Propellers.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
edited 2010-06-20 18:08 in General Discussion
The Prop Plug can find a lot of uses beyond just programming and communicating with Propellers. Its compactness and logic-level I/O make it suitable for any app requiring these traits. One that I've found it useful for is an adapter cable for my FT-817 ham transceiver. It has an accessory jack that allows programming and control from a PC, such as with the Ham Radio Deluxe program.

Here's the schematic for the cable adapter I built. (The Mini DIN 8 pinout is oriented looking into the transceiver socket, not into the end of the plug.)

attachment.php?attachmentid=71021

The 10K resistor is there to protect the FT232R in the Prop Plug from the FT-817's 5V logic levels.

Here's a photo of the completed adapter cable plugged into the radio. (The orange tag on the Prop Plug is just there to keep me from misplacing it when it's detached from the USB cable.)

attachment.php?attachmentid=71022

-Phil

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Comments

  • mikedivmikediv Posts: 825
    edited 2010-06-09 21:35
    very cool,, Phil do you do any work or know about the Icom IC-R7100 I always wanted to control it from my PC someone even told me there was software to turn it into a spectrum analyzer but I never found it
    ·
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-06-09 22:06
    I'm not familiar with the iCom stuff. 'Sorry. I think to get any kind of spectrum display you need access to the signal ahead of any audio detection, just to get the necessary bandwidth.

    -Phil
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2010-06-09 22:14
    Put a bright red tag on my plug so I don't keep losing it on the bench, now why didn't I think of that? [noparse];)[/noparse]

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    - Stephen
  • eod_punkeod_punk Posts: 146
    edited 2010-06-10 00:47
    Very cool Phil. I need to get a radio one day, especially since I got my technician license last year.

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    There is no problem that can't be solved with a suitable amount of explosives!

    EOD Memorial
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-06-10 12:41
    I needed a TTL serial link to flash new firmware into a Rogue Robotics uMP3 (so it could recognize a SDHC card) and I was stumped until I realized I could use the propplug. I plugged the MP3 player and a pin header for the propplug into a wireless breadboard to match up the connections.
  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2010-06-20 09:13
    The prop plug also works nicely to flash new firmware onto an XBee.

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    Powered by enthusiasm
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2010-06-20 15:21
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) said...
    I'm not familiar with the iCom stuff. 'Sorry. I think to get any kind of spectrum display you need access to the signal ahead of any audio detection, just to get the necessary bandwidth.

    -Phil

    He might be referring to the spectrum display that most radios have these days - showing the signals in the band.

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    Leon Heller
    Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2010-06-20 16:31
    ·(The orange tag on the Prop Plug is just there to keep me from misplacing it when it's detached from the USB cable.)
    Phil,

    You made my day! I prefer to look for mine - while trying to blame the dog or who ever is in the vicinity for
    messing with my workspace.

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    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • HollyMinkowskiHollyMinkowski Posts: 1,398
    edited 2010-06-20 18:08
    I just super glued a prop plug onto a USB cable.

    Now it's harder to lose smile.gif
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