With all the hype that do-it-yourself IoT is getting today, we're seing solderless boards connected to computers. That brings back good old memories to me.
At the back of my books you can read that I controlled my electric train using an Atari ST. It was HO scale and I used the computer's parallel port connected to some relays. That was circa 1990.
Well I don't have pictures of that but then I moved on to controlling a tinier train with a Psion Series 3 circa 1992. Same solderless boards and relays. I don't have pictures from that time either but I do still have the hardware, thanks to my parents:
Unfortunately it's disconnected now, but wouldn't require much to get connected again. Between the parallel port and relays there where (one for each output) a transistor and a resistor. 8 relays, 8 resistors, 8 transistors: I managed to control 8 independent outputs. Which allowed me in turn to control the train's movement (forward, backwards), plus rail switches. That was hell of a funny DIY project. Bad part was that the computer couldn't receive feedback from the train.
An Atari ST couldn't be connected to the internet. But the Psion Series 3 had a 14K modem which allowed it to connect to the newborn internet. So it could have been IoT. In fact it wasn't, since you could not connect at the same time the parallel adapter and the modem: they were on the same port. Anyway, back in 1991 who would have been crazy enough to think that internet could be connected to hardware? ;-)
At the back of my books you can read that I controlled my electric train using an Atari ST. It was HO scale and I used the computer's parallel port connected to some relays. That was circa 1990.
Well I don't have pictures of that but then I moved on to controlling a tinier train with a Psion Series 3 circa 1992. Same solderless boards and relays. I don't have pictures from that time either but I do still have the hardware, thanks to my parents:
Unfortunately it's disconnected now, but wouldn't require much to get connected again. Between the parallel port and relays there where (one for each output) a transistor and a resistor. 8 relays, 8 resistors, 8 transistors: I managed to control 8 independent outputs. Which allowed me in turn to control the train's movement (forward, backwards), plus rail switches. That was hell of a funny DIY project. Bad part was that the computer couldn't receive feedback from the train.
An Atari ST couldn't be connected to the internet. But the Psion Series 3 had a 14K modem which allowed it to connect to the newborn internet. So it could have been IoT. In fact it wasn't, since you could not connect at the same time the parallel adapter and the modem: they were on the same port. Anyway, back in 1991 who would have been crazy enough to think that internet could be connected to hardware? ;-)
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