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1990-01-01
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Chopper Glasses Driver (CHOP.PRG)
Initial Release - Version 1.0
Created By: Glen Sescila, October 1,1992
This archive contains a terminate and stay resident program which
will control the SEGA chopper glasses (or equivalent?) through the RS-232
port on the ST using the same circuit as the PC folks use. This is only
the first release of this driver and a much more complete package will
replace it soon. The main purpose of this driver is to allow you to use
the RS-232 interface with older software which was written for the now
defunct StereoTek glasses for the ST. However, new software which could
benefit from stereo-vision could also either make use of this driver or
control the glasses itself. It is also nice to have one pair of glasses
with one interface which I can use on the ST and on the PCs at work. I am
hoping to see more support for these glasses in the future, especially
due to the increasing amount of interest in virtual reality. The files
in this archive are described below:
CHOP.DOC This document.
SEGA.DOC The circuit that interfaces the glasses to RS-232.
CHOP.PRG The driver.
CHOPTEST.PRG A program to test your glasses.
The SEGA.DOC file contains a description of the circuit which
you need to build to plug your glasses into. The author (Frank?) is
unknown, I downloaded the file from an MS-DOS ftp site but I still like
to give credit where credit is due. I am currently experimenting with
the .01uF cap and the 22K resistors which make up an oscillator to try
and get the lenses of the glasses to be a bit darker than they are
getting now. I think if I slow down the oscillator some (it currently
runs around 2KHz) the lenses will get darker. If you would rather buy
the circuit than build it you can contact me and we will work something
out. I got my glasses from SEGA but I think other brands would also
work with the same circuit, you would just have to figure out the pin-out
of the jack on your glasses (common, left, and right). In SEGA.DOC, by
'outside' he means the contact closest to the cable connected to the
glasses, 'centre' is the next one and 'middle' is the tip (I hope that
cleared things up instead of making it worse). If you are interested in
buying the SEGA glasses, call 1-800-USA-SEGA, at least that's what I did.
CHOP.PRG is a TSR that will control the glasses via the RS-232
port while you run your software, well actually it will control the
glasses from when you run it until you reboot. Sorry, they will be
running while you are on the GEM desktop but your desktop will not be
in 3-D ;-). This will be fixed in the next release by a CPX. Just run
the program and then your glasses should be operating and you can run
other software. As far as I know, it should work from your AUTO folder
but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. The only software I have had
a chance to try with this TSR is Cyber Studio (CAD 3D 2.0; a commercial
program) and MOLECULE.ARC (a public domain program available on
atari.archive.umich.edu in the Demos directory). The author of MOLECULE
is again unknown but it is a superb program for the glasses. CHOP.PRG
works beautifully with both of these programs.
CHOPTEST.PRG is just a little program you can use to turn on one
lense at a time to test your circuit. Commands are [L] for the left eye,
[R] for the right eye, [B] for both, and [Q] to quit. This program will
be much better in the next release. DO NOT run CHOP.PRG before running
CHOPTEST.PRG. CHOPTEST.PRG does not need the driver and will not work
properly with it. This will also be fixed in the next release via the
cookie jar.
=========================================================================
Please let me know of any other software which was written for
LCD chopper glasses and which ones work, which ones don't, and which
ones work 50% of the time. The ones that only work 50% of the time can
be detected by putting the glasses on upside-down if you suspect the
lenses are reversed and the image should appear normal. I am also
working on a way to fix this in software (it will require some sort of
input from the user when he suspects that the lenses are reversed). I
believe that both CyberCAD 2.0 and MOLECULE.ARC fall into the 'works
every time' category!
Donations, comments, complaints, and questions on using or
programming the glasses can be sent to me at either the E-mail or
traditional addresses shown below. Donations of $1 U.S. or more (yes,
that's one American dollar) will get you on the registerd user list and
entitles you to the next release free of charge and possibly some more
3-D software in the future. The next release will come with a control
panel (CPX) version of the driver which lets you enable and disable
(clear both lenses) the glasses. Don't send the donation if you don't
think it is worth it, keep the program anyway if you want.
See ya,
Glen Sescila
3506 Cornerstone
Round Rock, TX 78681
U.S.A.
E-mail address: glens@natinst.com