USB to serial adaptor with FTDI or Prolific chipset on Apple TV : WORKS

[gerardwr]

Post removed

[gerardwr]

As I did not get any response on this issue here I moved the post earlier to another forum. I assumed at the time that this forum was more focussed on functional stuff rather than technical issues.

Considering the fact that this post gets quite some views it may be interesting to know that I solved the problem. I can now connect a USB serial device with either a FTDI or Prolific chipset to my Apple TV and access it from the BASH as /dev device.

The issue and solution is described here : http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2445

[tom1971]

May I ask what you use it for ?

[gerardwr]

May I ask what you use it for ?

Sure, I´m using it as a ¨poor mans¨Home Automation Server. Because the ATV is ¨always on¨ it´s an ideal candidate for such tasks.

Currently I use it to log the signal from the RF sensor from a cheap Weather Station. The RF signal from the sensor that is transmitted each minute is decoded by an Arduino and the Temprature and Humidity is sent out by the Arduino´s serial port. All messages are logged on ATV in a text file.

A small NC/NETCAT script acts as webserver, when adressing the URL of the ATV the content of the logfile file is displayed in the browser.

I´ve got 2 other experiments in my head:
- connect to an Ipod and control it by sending messages to a server on the ATV to control it. The principle works on my Windows PC.
- connect the transmitter of an cheap RF Remote mains switch to switch ON and OFF through te ATV. Think X10 stuff.

So far I used the BASH for user interface, as I am not yet sure if and how a Menu on the ATV can be created in a simple way. As I´m a windows guy developing ATV code on a Mac is not an option for me.

The only simple option I saw sofar is creating a number of scripts that can be started by the SCRIPTS menu of the SOFTWARE lugin. Any other suggestions for creating a GUI on an ATV using simple techniques?

[tom1971]

Thanks for the info, the "X10 light" idea sounds promising...
Regarding UI, check out our "Launchmore" plugin - it is nicer and much easier to use.
check http://patchstick.wikispaces.com/LaunchMore for more info

[gerardwr]

Thanks for the info, the "X10 light" idea sounds promising...
Regarding UI, check out our "Launchmore" plugin - it is nicer and much easier to use.
check http://patchstick.wikispaces.com/LaunchMore for more info

Thanks for the tip, i´ll check it out.

[b2xtreme]

Post removed

As I did not get any response on this issue here I moved the post earlier to another forum. I assumed at the time that this forum was more focussed on functional stuff rather than technical issues.

Considering the fact that this post gets quite some views it may be interesting to know that I solved the problem. I can now connect a USB serial device with either a FTDI or Prolific chipset to my Apple TV and access it from the BASH as /dev device.

The issue and solution is described here : http://forum.awkwardtv.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2445

hello,
The awkward tv forum is gone... Do you remember THE install instructions?