From: John Goggan Subject: Re: HOME-BREW: Power Glove Interface Date: Sun, 06 Apr 1997 19:18:30 -0400 Message-ID: <33482F46.7E19@sojourn.com> Robin Hollands wrote: > I'll probably upset a lot of homebrewers when I suggest this, but if True. :) > you don't know what your doing, then *don't build the PowerGlove > interface*. The circuit does work, but it requires that you build it > correctly and know enough to debug it! I'd have to disagree with this. As far as "circuits" go, the PowerGlove parallel-port interface is probably one of the easiest things to build. I mean, it doesn't even require solder! How much simpler can you get? :) I do agree that if there are problems, it takes a bit of tinkering to figure it out, but that is true of almost any project -- and with the simplicity of this one, I'd say it is much easier to debug than most real circuits (say, for instance, the minelli box). So, I think it is a great starter project for Homebrew-VR enthusiasts. It was my first such project many years ago, and I've always been more than happy that I gave it a try. Heck, it was only a 20-minute project before it was up and running! > The Printer Port PowerGlove interface is a hack and nothing more. It > requires quite precise timing to work properly, and often fails on > fast computers. This I wil agree with. I did have problems using a known-working interface on a P-100 a while back. Then again, that same interface (which I originally built for my 486DX/2-50) still works fine today on my P-120 (running at 133). So, although I agree that some fast machines have problems -- I think it is still much worth a try for beginners. > If you feel you are not competant to build and debug your own > interface, then you can buy new gloves pre-converted for PC use for > around $55. Um, can you really? I mean, I know some of the old information says this. But, to be honest, I haven't seen any hacked Gloves for sale at a reasonable price in the last 6 months. If they were available pre-hacked for like $50 or so, then I think it'd be worth it. But, again, I really think that people wanting to get into Homebrew-VR can do almost no better than picking up a used glove for $30-$40 and building their own interface (for another $5-$10). I say this for two reasons: one, because I think building the hack is part of the fun and two, because I really don't see them available prehacked for a reasonable amount of money. You said $55, but I couldn't find any at that price and trust me, I looked. Looking a Chris Hand's "sources" list, I have checked the most common sources in the past few weeks with the following results: Informatica (antonio@informatica.com) - Ad says: - prehacked gloves for $55+shipping - My findings: - no such user. Mail also bounces at his other address (the old, old address that he originally posted the ad under many moons ago :) 3Space Inc. (3space@io.org) - Ad says: - unhacked gloves coming soon for $35+$10 shipping - My findings: - no such user. Mail bounces. AVR Corp. (pkelman@io.org) - Ad says: - prehacked gloves for $60+shipping - My findings: - no such user. Mail bounces. FringeWare, Inc. (patrick@fringeware.com) - Ad says: - unhacked gloves for $70+$5 shipping - also says that they were only going to have 6 of them! - My findings: - this was posted in May of 1995 and they long ago sold all 6! :) So, basically, ALL of the sources listed there are no longer valid, except for one (Cyberception, Inc. (Canada)) that I could not verify. Mail did not bounce, but no response was yet received. Note that no price is listed for that one. So, long story short, I haven't found a reliable source for PowerGloves (new or used, prehacked or not) anywhere for a reasonable price (I've seen a couple places that may have them at an over $100 price that I have yet to hear back from -- but I don't consider that a reasonable price yet, so they don't count in my book... :) Anyways, because of my original love of the PowerGlove (since it is what got me into VR in the first place) -- and because I couldn't find any myself, I sold a bunch of them a couple months ago. I had come across a source of about two dozen used gloves, so I offered them to my fellow VR-Homebrewists on the Ultimate Future mailing list (and a couple of other lists). Unfortunately, I did not have any remaining for a post to sci.virtual-worlds at that time (note that this has changed, as I just got some more used PGs and will be posting them forsale soon to sci.virtual-worlds). In any case, just to sum it up -- I'm not trying to be "against" Robin or anything. I just wanted to state my point that I think that based on what is really available for low-cost homebrew VR, beginners are best off going with the PowerGlove hack. For under $50-$70, they can do a fairly easy project that provides a good starting point for those new to at-home VR. - John (Goggan)... jgoggan@sojourn.com / jgoggan@dcg.com P.S. On a related note, I have recently gotten permission from J. Eric Townsend (thanks, jet!) to take over and update the PowerGlove FAQ. I think renewed interest in the PowerGlove would be good for VR at this time, and I hope to provide an accurate and current source for PowerGlove information. I'll announce as soon as it is ready.