Rather than making significant modifications to the instrument and directly controlling the display, [porkfreezer] opted to design a circuit that generates the necessary signals for the DME. The board, equipped with a PIC16 and an MCP47C dual 10-bit digital-to-analog converter, generates the required voltages, while a USB-powered DC-DC converter provides the ±15 volt supply needed for the DME display.
The entire assembly conveniently fits on a PCB at the back of the instrument. However, due to the high cost of the connector required to match up with the one on the instrument, the board had to be soldered directly to the DME’s pins. Nevertheless, this is an intriguing reuse of an unconventional piece of equipment, while endeavoring to retain the original design as much as possible. This approach is certainly praiseworthy.
