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Documents behind the Midon Design 1-Wire kits: manuals and datasheets
Every Midon Design kit came with written material: a user manual for the board, datasheets for the chips on it, and articles explaining how 1-Wire sensing worked in practice. This page describes that document set, links the two documents available here, and points to the manufacturers who now publish the official datasheets.
First published August 3, 2002 · Text rewritten 2026
What the document set contained
The company organized its paperwork into five groups. The largest was a shelf of specification sheets for the parts used on the boards. A second group held PC software, a third held technical articles and application notes, a fourth held the user manuals for each kit, and a small last group covered X-10.
Specification sheets
The datasheets matched the parts list of the kits: the DS18S20 temperature sensor, the DS2405 and DS2406 addressable switches, the DS2423 counter and the DS2438 battery monitor that sat inside humidity sensors. Alongside them were the RJ-12 wiring standard for 1-Wire and a cross-reference table for RJ-12 pinouts, the LM78L05 regulator, the MAX232 and MAX233 RS232 drivers, 93C56, 93C66 and 93C86 Microwire EEPROMs, the M93S46, M93S56 and M93S66 Microwire EEPROMs with block protection, the AT25256 SPI EEPROM, the Motorola 68HC705C8 and two 68HC908 microcontrollers, HIH-3610 and HIH-4000 humidity sensors, the P&B relay used on RELAY05, the CD4094 shift register and the MPXA4115 pressure sensor.
Software
Software was limited: PROG7, a DOS program for the 68HC705C8 programmer, and interface software for the CIR-II infrared board, including a Windows XP/2000 build that the company marked as unsupported.
Articles and application notes
The articles are the most useful part today. They covered humidity sensor accuracy, calculating wind speed and direction from the AAG weather station, sending data and power over one wire, the 1-Wire rain gauge, the original 1-Wire weather station, a humidity sensor design and a modification of the early HS01K humidity sensor for local power. Others explained parasitic power, the DS1820-PAR and DS1822-PAR parts, 1-Wire instruments for environmental monitoring, and reliable 1-Wire network design.
User manuals by kit
Each kit had its own manual, and TEMP05 had two, because the version 5 firmware upgrade changed enough commands to need a separate edition. The list below shows what each manual covered. The kit pages on this site summarize the same material in plain language, including commands and connector pinouts.
| Manual | Covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TEMP05 User Manual (v4.25 or lower) | TEMP05 with early firmware | Separate edition for boards before the version 5 upgrade |
| TEMP05 User Manual (v5.00 and higher) | TEMP05 after the version 5 upgrade | Matches the later command set |
| TEMP08 User Manual | TEMP08 interface | Commands, options, sensor support and wiring |
| LOG08 User Manual | LOG08 logger | Logging setup and sample download |
| LOG08-II User Manual | LOG08-II logger | Second-generation logger commands |
| 1WSwitch User Manual | 1WSwitch interface | Switch and I/O device handling |
| 1WIO User Manual | 1WIO module | Relay, input and LED build options |
| RELAY05 User Manual | RELAY05 relay board | Construction and testing |
| PROG05 User Manual | PROG05 programmer | Use with the PROG7 DOS program |
| MD3020 Rev B Manual | MD3020 humidity and temperature sensor | Schematic and parts list |
Two documents available on this site
Two documents remain available here as files. The first is the 1-Wire Application Guide for TEMP08, 1WSwitch and LOG08-II, a five-page practical guide to building sensor networks around those interfaces. It explains how the serial boards relate to the 1-Wire bus, how sensors are attached, which wiring habits keep a network stable, and how the same sensors are read today with a Raspberry Pi, OWFS or Home Assistant. It is the best single document for anyone maintaining one of those boards.
The second is a CD4094 shift register reference. The CD4094 is an 8-stage shift-and-store bus register from the CMOS 4000 series: data is clocked in serially and latched onto eight parallel outputs. The three-page sheet gives the pinout, truth table and electrical ratings from the Texas Instruments datasheet. The part appeared in the original datasheet list and remains a common part in hobby projects that need extra outputs from a few microcontroller pins.
Datasheets from the manufacturers
Datasheets change over time. Manufacturers correct errors, add package options and mark parts as obsolete, so a copy saved years ago can be out of date. The safest source is always the company that makes the part now.
The 1-Wire family began at Dallas Semiconductor, which Maxim Integrated acquired; Maxim is now part of Analog Devices. Current datasheets for the DS18S20, DS18B20, DS2438, DS2408 and the rest of the 1-Wire range are published on analog.com, each on its own product page with the datasheet, application notes and ordering status.
The same approach works for the other parts. The Motorola microcontroller line passed to Freescale and then to NXP, which holds the documentation for the parts it still supports. Regulators such as the 78L05 and CMOS logic such as the CD4094 are made by several manufacturers, so any major vendor's datasheet will do. Humidity sensor datasheets come from Honeywell.
Guides that build on these documents
Several articles in the old document set are summarized and updated in the guides on this site. The 1-Wire weather station guide covers the wind, temperature and rain sensors that TEMP05 and TEMP08 were built around. The 1-Wire humidity sensor guide explains how a DS2438 and an analog humidity element work together and where the accuracy limits come from. For cable choice, topology and connectors, the 1-Wire network wiring guide brings the reliable-network material together in one place.
Further reading: DS18B20 product page (Analog Devices) · DS2438 product page (Analog Devices)
Questions and answers
Where is the official DS18B20 or DS2438 datasheet published?
From Analog Devices, which now owns the former Dallas Semiconductor and Maxim 1-Wire range. Each part has a product page on analog.com with the current datasheet, application notes and production status. That copy is more reliable than any older file, because datasheets are revised and obsolete parts are marked as such.
Which documents can be downloaded from this site?
Two files are available here: the 1-Wire Application Guide for TEMP08, 1WSwitch and LOG08-II, and a CD4094 shift register reference. The kit manuals are summarized on the individual kit pages instead, with commands, connectors and configuration options written out in plain language.
Why did TEMP05 have two different user manuals?
The version 5 firmware upgrade changed the TEMP05 command set enough that one manual could not describe both. One edition covered boards running version 4.25 or lower, the other covered version 5.00 and higher. Anyone working with an old TEMP05 should check the firmware version before relying on a command description.
Is the CIR-II software still usable on modern Windows?
Almost certainly not. The CIR-II talks to the PC parallel port directly, and the company already stated that the hardware did not work with Windows 2000 or Windows XP, because those systems block direct access to low-level port signals. Newer versions of Windows are more restrictive still, and most current PCs have no parallel port.
Related pages
Products
All Midon Design 1-Wire kits in one catalogue: TEMP05, TEMP08, LOG08, 1WSwitch, 1WIO, relay boards and programmers, compared by host link, function, era.
Parts
The parts used inside Midon 1-Wire kits: DS18S20, DS2438, DS2408 and other sensor chips, 68HC705 controllers, RS232 drivers, regulators, relays and jacks.
1-Wire Network Wiring
1-Wire network wiring explained: linear bus versus star topology, CAT-5 pairs, cable length up to 300 ft, parasite power and RJ11 and RJ12 jack pinouts.
TEMP08 Serial One Wire Interface
TEMP08 linked a PC serial port to the 1-Wire bus: up to 60 sensors for temperature, humidity, rain, wind and relays, plus a real-time clock and RJ-12 jack.