# On a DRO kick..question about glass vs magnetic compatibility.



## GunsOfNavarone (May 8, 2020)

So, I have a Griz G0602Z... it came with magnetic (?) scales. It's DRO is BASIC and with my memory (in my head) I could use a better DRO. I'm very happy so far with the upgrade I did on my mill's DRO and want to do similar with my lathe. In a perfect world, I would use the mill's (Easson EA8a) DRO on my lathe, however, The Easson has RS-232 plugs and the Griz scales are some sort of 3 pin DIN plug. I don't know if I can put an adapter on it or, if there is a DRO that I can buy that would plug and play. This stuff is new to me, I've done plenty of online research, but don't really know enough about them to even know what kind of adapter or what kind of compatible DRO to search for.
As always, thank you much!


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## JimDawson (May 9, 2020)

I'm trying to imagine what kind of read head would use a 3 wire output.  Never heard of that before.  I would think the minimum number of wires would be four, unless they are using the plug shield as a conductor.  Without knowing exactly what the Griz DRO scale outputs, it would be impossible to try to spec a DRO.  Most DROs use single ended or differential quadrature output, and this requires either 4 or 6 wires, hence the use of the 9-pin D sub connector (RS-232)


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## GunsOfNavarone (May 9, 2020)

I'll have to put a multimeter on the pins, but not sure it will mean much to me. Are glass vs magnetic much different in their outputs?


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## JimDawson (May 9, 2020)

As far as I know there are two common outputs from scales of any type.  Sin/Cos analog, and 2 or 4 channel digital quadrature.  There are some other possible variations that you might find on very high end machines, but they are not common.  I think digital quadrature is the most common today.

Sin/Cos is normally a 1V P to P sine wave

Digital quadrature is a square wave pulse train, normally 5V peaks.


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## mksj (May 9, 2020)

I do not think they use magnetic scales, nor do they follow typical scale outputs. Most likely they are similar to the Igaging type scales which are capacitive linear DRO scales, and use 3 wires plus a ground. If you are looking at changing the display then I would look into a Touch DRO. Might also check with Yuri who participates in the HM forum.






						Reading Grizzly iGaging DRO Scales with Arduino
					

Blog dedicated to DIY digital readout TouchDRO and other hobby machining and engineering subjects.




					www.yuriystoys.com
				











						Adapter Board for Shahe and iGaging Capacitive DRO Scales
					

Blog dedicated to DIY digital readout TouchDRO and other hobby machining and engineering subjects.




					www.yuriystoys.com


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## GunsOfNavarone (May 9, 2020)

I have run into that Arduino a few times now. No doubt that would work, I just don't want to have to learn how to build and program it. If that Yuriy would sell plug and pay units as well, he'd probably even sell more units. I feel like there are many ike me that just don't want to get knee deep into that "computer building" stuff....


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