Hi Todd,

yes, Eriks "quizmaster" method sounds good and easy.
But you need on any 8051 to control the transmitter, since only 1 transmitter can be active. Otherwise data of 2 active transmitters fighting, the current increase and the transceiver chip get very hot. Thus, why most transceivers have a thermal protection.

But the easier way, use CAN transceivers, e.g. Philips PCA82C250.
They are cheap and in a little 8 pin case. They are working similiar to an open drain output, so no overcurrent can occur.
They are also good to connect up to 110 nodes together.


Peter