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The difference between our project and the TandemMaster

A project log for Puff-Suck interface for fast text input

A tube connected to a bipolar pressure switch drives an Arduino which translates puffing and sucking into Morse code and then into text.

anaAna 08/09/2018 at 17:170 Comments

In the last project log, we briefly mentioned that we found an existing product that is similar to ours.  

We had searched before we started our project and didn't find anything like it.  But searching for our own project from another computer, brought it up when we misspelled some term.  Searching for morse puff auck interface brought up this "Morse Codes for Computer Access" page.

Let's have a look at the differences between our project and the TandemMaster.

We've never seen a TandemMaster but from the description it seems to be a similar device that accepts switch inputs and generates Morse code and then emulates a USB keyboard and mouse.  It costs $500 + $20 shipping.

The switches you need to connect to it can be obtained from multiple sources.  Some we've seen for $160, some more than $200.

We think they all work very good but they seem expensive to us.

Our project includes both the switch assembly and the electronics that generate Morse code and then the text and control commands.

Being open source, it can be configured to also emulate a keyboard and mouse for a computer; it can connect to a smart-phone/tablet through Bluetooth or it can be integrated in a more complex embedded system for mobility/portability.

It can be modified to be compatible with the same codes a user may have already learned.

Other/any switches can be used instead of the presented puff-suck switch.

The cost to make this complete system should be below $50.

The tube and membrane switch assembly is not too difficult to make, and we may eventually provide a 3D printable version.

Though our project shares many similarities with the TandemMaster, it is different!

-Ana

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