I am relatively new to Arduino’s and have only used them for a few fairly basic projects so far. I probably understand enough about programming to get myself into trouble (and sometimes out!) but I am by no means an expert.
I would love to get your opinion on a project that I am considering to see if it might be possible using an Arduino.
I have a scoreboard controller for a basketball scoreboard that I would like to replicate to create a second controller. The controller connects to the scoreboard using 5 pins of a rs232 connector and is also powered through these pins.
I would like to replicate the signals using an Arduino to be able to control this scoreboard and I was wondering if you think it would be possible to ‘sniff’ the output of the original controller and then to assign button presses through the Arduino to send the same signals, or am I simplifying this process too much?
I believe the controller might be the “brain” of this scoreboard, so it may just be outputting the signal to go on the board, rather than the button presses triggering something inside the scoreboard.
Please let me know if you need more information or if you think I am completely on the wrong track here.
Hello simonduncan08
Do you know the physical and logical characteristics of this interface?
If YES you can design a sniffer by using an Arduino MEGA.
Have a nice day and enjoy coding in C++.
Дайте миру шанс!
It certainly sounds possible…
You need to collect as much info about the display & controller interface as possible.
The controller could be the brains, but just as easily, the thinking could be happening inside the display panel.
The first thing you need to determine is the bitrate of the serial interface - a bit(!) of reading, or a scope… and/or 30 minutes of fiddling with an arduino - and an RS232 level shifter will help.
Until you know which end is thinking, you don’t know what work you have to do, but it is a great learning experience and you’ll pick up a lot while you tackle through it.
Remember to plan your power supply, it could be quite chunky for the display panel.
To sniff you need the RX half of TWO serial comms. Tap into the line and feed both lines, one to each RX tap. Since the Arduino runs on +5 and "real" RS-232-C is +-12V you'll need a level shifter. I don't recall a P/N off the top of my head but they're a common part.
Then what you see on Serial1 is TX and Serial2 is RX, easy-peasy.
Use a Mega for the extra ports (it has four), programming and three extra, Serial1, 2, & 3. You probably won't need a Mega for the final project but they're under $20 USD at Walmart.