Simple Interface Parts in Toronto

[Phobia]

Hi all,

Yesterday I went to Supremetronic on Queen Street to pick up the necessary parts to build my first JP1 cable. I had planned to purchase the 1K resistors and a Schottky 1N5818 diode. They have sold out of that particular Schottky diode but I think they did have 1N4148 diodes there. I am planning on using the interface with a desktop PC, but I had read that the Schottky diode was still the more reliable way to go. True?

They had several varieties of Schottky diodes available, but I wasn't sure if there was an equivalent that would work? (or should I just use the 1N4148?) Is there another Toronto electronics shop that would carry the Schottky diodes?

Thanks for any help you guys can offer... I'm sure I'll have more questions after building the cable, but I am looking forward to getting my 15-2116 up and running with some device specific / long keypress macros.

-- Phob

PS - Should I purchase "Helping Hands" or can I just tape the DB25 down while soldering? This adds somewhat to the cost of the project, but I guess then I'll have the tool down the road.

[mathboy]

Try AA Electronics on Matheson 905-206-0931.

[Mark Pierson]

I had read that the Schottky diode was still the more reliable way to go.

The Schottky diode generally helps low-voltage port laptops. The regular 1N4148 diode for use on a desktop should be fine. Keep in mind that it's called a Simple interface for good reason... it's not a complicated circuit, so there's no guarantee that it will or won't work as advertised with any given remote/PC combination. You may still need to do the battery shuffle, etc, to communicate with the remote.

[Phobia]

Thanks for the replies.

I went back today and just finished building the cable using a 1N4148. It seems to work... started by getting error messages, but I've found if the connector to the remote is seated all the way down on the pins, it won't work ... go figure. By just barely having the contact made, the software passes the interface check and I've now downloaded my remote configuration a few times.

I ended up spending $10.01 including the helping hands... not too bad considering the cheapest assembled JP1 cable I could find was $17. (Canadian dollars)

Now to learn how to actually do something useful with the software! LOL

Thanks for this excellent resource.

-- Phob