Ok. Here's my story.
I am writing an application which I intend to link with some external
hardware via the serial port. In particular, I want to run a cable to an
interface 'cradle' made for a Citizen dive watch. The interface is meant to
plug into the serial port on PCs, through which data from the watch can be
downloaded. I have the specs I need on how data is transferred to/from the
interface, but I'm kind of worried about power usage.
I've been told, and have seen mentioned in several places, that the Palm
serial port cannot/shouldn't be used to power external devices. The
hardware I'm using is not my own (manufactured by Citizen, no official docs
for it), so I'm not sure what it might try to draw from the serial port.
The interface iteslf has a bit of circuitry in it (not just a cable), but
no battery, which leads me to believe that it must get some power from
either the PC end or the watch (though that wouldn't be the smart one to
use...!).
Soooo...is there any way I can test what the device sucks from the serial
port of my PC? How much is too much, or does this sound like something I
needn't worry about?
So far, I'm working under the assumption that trying this on my Palm will
destroy/fry/damage/mangle the serial port (or worse). The whole thing seems
pretty innocuous, but I don't want to take chances.
Thanks,
Kris Wilk
ReefNet Software
www.reefnet.on.ca
