USB Control Intro
Want to control pretty much any electrical device that’s operated by DC electrical switch(s) via USB? Me to!
The the guys over at PC in CONTROL have the perfect solution, the USB Mini-Bee. It has 14 high voltage switches for you to play around with (never hook it up to the mains), and comes with their own BeeStep software and DLL so you can write your own VB or C++ code. If none of this makes sense, don’t worry, it doesn’t have to. I aim to provide a range of cool tutorials and projects that use this board, starting with this introduction.
I first found the Mini-Bee when I wanted a way to control a radio controlled car via the PC, and then via the net. It got me thinking that there’s a whole lot more you can use it for as well. If you can hack open a remote control car controller, then why not a TV remote, home automation remote (giving you cheap DIY PC home automation)… anything!
But before that, here is my take on the very basic PC controlled lamp. It doesn’t have much practical use, but serves as nice easy way to get into PC control or electronics.
The original tutorial can be found at PC in CONROL tutorials.
