A new USB2DMX based on PIC18F24K50 chip

I was in need of a cheap USB->DMX interface and decided to build my own. Searching the web I fould quite a lot DIY solutions. But most of them were unsuitable for me.

My design features:

  • low cost (about 10€)
  • open source: schematic and board are licensed CC-BY-NC-SA, the firmware is GPL (except microchip files)
  • a real rs485 transceiver
  • signal-generation by the Microcontroller (no bit-banging like the ftdi-dmx interfaces)
  • bootloader to update the firmware (thats what the switch is for – rescue mode)
  • fits into a ‘G027’ case (kemo-electronic)

If you take a look at the schematic you will see that the processor used is a 18F2550. But its possible and recommended to use the 18F24K50 which is cheaper and doesnt require a crystal oszillator. This is due to the fact that i made the initial design with the older controller (which i had at hand during the time).

On the software side there is a patch for ola. You will notice that reworked the ‘opendmx’ driver (i failed adding a new driver/directory to the build system).

There is no need to patch ola anymore. The karate-plugin is now in the mainline-tree.

 

Please respect the CC-BY-NC-SA licence when downloading and using it 🙂

20130506_kldmx_usb2dmx_Firmware

20130506_kldmx_usb2dmx_board