Sending linear encoder data to PC?

Other Hardware Sensors
1

I'm an Arduino noob so just learning. I'm working on a project with the goal to display on a PC in a simple text field the output from a SENC 150 linear encoder (basic x-axis location, numerically). Basically, the laptop display will mirror the X-axis coordinates that are being shown on the Acu-Rite Vue DRO in real-time.

The encoder is fed to an Acu-Rite Vue DRO and then the data can be outputted via a USB-B on the back of the DRO. I thought I could connect the DRO directly to the laptop (running Windows 7 if that matters)and write a VBA script to read the USB-A port and output the data but no luck so now I'm going to try to output from the DRO through an Arduino to my laptop using Arduino code to display the output on my laptop display. I saw a YT vid (Rotary Encoder Tutorial with Arduino Code - YouTube) that did similar with a rotary encoder so it sounds feasible.

  1. Is this approach (Output from DRO via USB to Arduino to PC via USB and using Arduino code to display the output on my laptop) feasible and sound?
  2. If so, does anyone have code that is available to tinker with that would be a good start?
  3. If not, open to suggestions.

thanks
Chris

2

That doesn't sound feasible. If the DRO has a USB B then it's expecting to be plugged into a PC and act as a slave device. It will need a driver or software on the PC to talk to it.

Yes, you could use a USB Host shield to allow an Arduino to take the place of a PC but since the thing's not working with a PC, your chances of getting an Arduino to do it are pretty much zero.

Does it have a real RS232 serial output, or perhaps a TTL serial? (3V or 5V is OK.)

It's possible that the Arduino could take the place of the DRO by decoding the encoder directly. I've never interfaced with that type of device so I don't know how it works.

3

Morgan,
Thanks for the feedback. The DRO only has a USB-B out, no RS232 output. I was able to grab a static output from the DRO using HyperTerminal on my laptop (USB-B out from DRO to USB-A in to laptop) but nothing real-time. I know this isn't the forum for non-Arduino stuff like HyperTerminal but do you have any forums/resources you could suggest that would lead me to a potential solution?

thanks
Chris