Recommendation for serial-controller digital IO/relay board?

[willmeyer]

Hi there. I'm looking for a recommendation on a digital io board for basic control of lights, response to switches, etc. I have a Make Controller, which is great but designed more for on-controller programming (like an Arduino), and a FusionBrain, which I would use except I really would rather just send and get signals over serial rather than programming in that thing's crazy tool and XML.

What's a good option for a simple board with some inputs and outputs that I can talk to via some simple sdk or serial IO, probably from Java?

Thanks!

Will

[malcom2073]

The Arduino really is the best and easiest solution for that. It would be fairly easy to write some firmware to take in serial commands to operate relays or read inputs. And since you already have one, it's cheap too Get a couple of ULN2803A's and use them to switch the ground on a relay on/off, and a couple optoisolators to read digital inputs and you're set.

Or you can take the easy way out and buy one of these:
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/co...lec/ck1610.htm

[Iamthehor]

There's also a VB2k8 example that works with the Fusion Brain's provided .dll - no need for the MDX that they are developing.

[willmeyer]

I did end up along the way toward some other stuff making a java interface for the fusionbrain, btw, using the serial protocol. Worked out fine.