My favorite 'Byte' article
by RandomTroll from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6JVZB)
@sundialsvcs mentioned 'the immortal Byte magazine' in another thread. I remember my favorite article, a short note in answer to a reader query by Steve Ciarcia, the 'Circuit Cellar' (hardware) guy.
The reader wanted to have their computer record the output of their seismometers (used to draw with ink on an infinitely-scrolling paper roll). He had in mind an IEEE-488 connection, an expensive complicated protocol the IEEE had promulgated for science, engineering, and medicine devices. Ciarcia explained how to connect to the joystick port with only a resistor and capacitor.
The reader wanted to have their computer record the output of their seismometers (used to draw with ink on an infinitely-scrolling paper roll). He had in mind an IEEE-488 connection, an expensive complicated protocol the IEEE had promulgated for science, engineering, and medicine devices. Ciarcia explained how to connect to the joystick port with only a resistor and capacitor.