Interface between X50 & PC

[sethy]

When the zr3 shifter is hit, it will display ZR3 Shift on the 8500

[jimbonzzz]

Also I read in some other posts that if the X50 detects laser, it supposably acts as an extra sensor and will activate the ZR3.

[T-T]

I have seen BEL/Target Euro550 linked to a laptop. There was an extra opening on the side of the detector where the cable goes in. The detector sent out all infos about its DSP status and detected frequencies if any. The software seems to be a kind of Hyper Terminal.

[jamesd]

Also I read in some other posts that if the X50 detects laser, it supposably acts as an extra sensor and will activate the ZR3.

If that's the case than there should be a way to at least distinguish a laser alert from the X50. I really hope laser becomes widely adopted because the countermeasures are so much better, on our side, than things like POP and instant on.

Does anyone have any contacts inside Bel / Escort?

[compu44]

I was thinking about writing software for the BEL/Escort like I did for the Valentine, so I've probed around some on the RX-65. It really doesn't send any detailed information out the RJ-11. All it sends out are pulses that light up the LED in the smartcord. So, you could tell that an alert was in progress, but not the band, strength etc etc. So yeah, unfortunately to glean any other useful information from the X50, one would have to pop it open and interface with it inside somehow.

I remember reading something on mp3car.com where they were discussing developing a USB / serial interface for the V1 and that the V1 and X50 architectures were very different.

My software has a USB interface available, if you are unfamiliar with my software see the link in my signature.
There's a thread on mp3car.com concerning my software too. However, after I released mine, it inspired zpilott to release his V1 software that he had been working on for quite some time, so there is his project now as well.

Jim

I just went out and verified that the light on the smartcord does flash at a faster rate with a stronger signal, but it seems to have only three flash rates, as close as I could tell (it was hard to pay attention while driving, lighter placement in my car was an afterthought.) So in theory, a person could at least be able to determine a high-medium-low type of signal strength, and I would also think with an audio output, the different frequencies of audio output could be converted into a PC band ID.

A couple thoughts for you to play with.

[jamesd]

The audio would be a good place to start. The only way to know is to pull it apart and start poking around with an oscilloscope.