Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!vsi1!daver!athsys!jim
From: jim@athsys.uucp (Jim Becker)
Newsgroups: comp.ivideodisc
Subject: Re: WANTED: I/O iface for CLD-900
Message-ID: <147@tityus.UUCP>
Date: 20 Sep 88 02:28:32 GMT
References: <4934@spca6.UUCP>
Organization: Athena Systems, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 44

From article <4934@spca6.UUCP>, by ray@spca6.UUCP (Ray Price):
> A last plea for help...  
> I have a Pioneer CLD-900, which I am very pleased with.  However, I'd like
> to be able to control it with a computer.   The CLD-900 has a DIN type
> connector on the back labeled I/O port.
>    ....
>
> ray price ray@spca6.uucp   mit-eddie!uccba!spca6!ray

	The DIN connector on the back is called a "eight-pin
non-standard DIN", which I believe that you can only easily get from
SwitchCraft in Chicago. It was also used with some consumer products,
but SwitchCraft is the best source.

	The connection is a timed pulse that simulates the remote
control chip in the handheld unit. It is at TTL levels, and you
shouldn't plug the cable into a standard RS-232 outlet -- as the
levels are a lot higher. The format of the data pulse you probabily
don't want to have to create, it takes some gritty work.

	There are a couple of chips or some other hardware setup that
can be used to control this guy, or you can do it in software. The
best way to do it is to buy the connector and software for the PC from
John Blakney, at Visual DataBase Systems. He is up in Scotts Valley,
Ca. Sorry, no phone number. I would assume that you can also get a
hookup from Optical Data Corp in Florham Park, NJ. The Blakney
solution is about $70. If you want to hook up to a Mac talk to the
HyperCard people. I'm sure that they have it figured out.

	Funny story, I originally got down and dirty figuring all this
out for an Amiga hyperinformation system I developed (Genlocked
videodisc). Getting the info from Pioneer was an amazing feat, as the
people that I was talking to seemed to change departments all the
time. When I finally got the docs for the hardware specs they were all
many generations of photocopies old. When the new players can out
(about a year later), I asked for the new specs. They sent me the
photocopied docs, but all the cut/paste charts had not been pasted in!
There were big, gaping holes in the docs where such things as the hex
code charts and the timing pluse charts were supposed to go!! They
didn't help much.

	If you want further information, ask!

-Jim Becker
Terrapin Software