Connecting the XBox Kinect to PC- Making Things See

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JeLC50
 
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Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:29 pm

Connecting the XBox Kinect to PC- Making Things See

Post by JeLC50 »

Bought the book "Making Things See", which is a primer on connecting the XBox Kinect to my PC. (I might add that it has a section dedicated to that world renowned electronics guru Ladyada.) Anyway, from reading thru it, it doesn't appear to use the motors on the Kinect at all. My Kinect came bundled with the XBox, so it has a proprietary plug which connects to the back of the console. There are adapters out there to go from this plug to USB, but being a dedicated DIYer (and a little bit cheap), I thought I could make a small breakout board for my Kinect plug to USB (similar to the small breakout PCB for Nunchuck). So my question, do I have to wire 12 volts to the connector or could I use it without 12 volts? My understanding is that the motor runs off of 12 volts and everything else uses the +5 volts from the USB connection.

JeLC50
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:29 pm

Re: Connecting the XBox Kinect to PC- Making Things See

Post by JeLC50 »

Well, I guess I'm going to have to answer my own question, since I've got numerous views and no responses. :D . It does need the 12v connected to work. At least that is what the Kinect SDK (put out by Mircosoft) says.

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jasonwebb
 
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Joined: Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:15 pm

Re: Connecting the XBox Kinect to PC- Making Things See

Post by jasonwebb »

Strange, the Kinect I bought just after launch came with a USB connector that plugged into my computer with no problem. How much are the USB adapters you've found? If they are less than $10, I would just buy it - you'll probably spend that much trying to make your own anyway.

JeLC50
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2011 12:29 pm

Re: Connecting the XBox Kinect to PC- Making Things See

Post by JeLC50 »

I bought an XBox 360 that came bundled with the Kinect. The bundled Kinect uses a proprietary connector, not USB. If you have the Kinect with a USB connector, that is normally sold separately and is for XBoxes sold before the launch of the Kinect/XBox 360 bundle. Still works the same way, only uses a different type of connector. I would have to assume the one you have has some provisions for supplying the 12 volts to the motors, as USB only can supply 5 volts. I've seen them at Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, BestBuy, etc for around $150.
I ended up ordering a Kinect power supply/cable adapter. It converts the proprietary connector to USB, plus has a 12 volt wall wart to supply voltage to the motors. Paid about $15 for it, and yes, it was cheaper than trying to 'reinvent the wheel'.

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