• Interfaces

Overview of Interfaces for home cockpitbuilders

First look here for an overview / comparison table between the available/planned HC Interfacing Solutions :

• http://cockpit.varxec.net/electronics/interface_solutions.html

If all you want is a few joystick axis for your self made yoke & pedal set or throttles .. consider this:

Get a Sidewinder Precision Pro joystick or any other non-MS joystick. Those have potentiometers and a print inside. Open it up and take out the print. Solder flatcable to all the wires that are connected to the potentiometers. Then make sure to make note of the color-order of the wires soldered to the flatcable. Then make sure the flatcable exits where the usual USB cable used to exit your joystick. Hang a female flatcable connector on the cable. Now hang a male flatcable connector on the print-side. Wire the pots from your sim up in such a way that you can hang an other female flatcable connector at the end of the cable. Now you can hang the print (interface) of the joystick on your sim. But whenever you feel like .. you can still make use of your joystick as it used to be without having to open it up and put the print inside again. See it as "the joystick with external interface"-method. Works very well. Now build a nice box around the print to protect it as much as possible.

EPIC:

• website: http://www.mindspring.com/~rrelect/ Emulates a keyboard, hence input only.

• ISA Interface card

  • Now Obsolete ()

• USB Interface

  • Supports 16+ Analog channels

  • support for 300+ buttons

  • Easy programmability (includes it's onw macro type language)

  • Microsoft Windows only (MS Flight Simulator)

FSBus:

• website: http://www.fsbus.de

• Bus card:

  • FSBus NG (new from 2005) and FSBus COM III (prior 2005)

  • permits the connection of up to 31 microcontrollers to a data cable

  • Uses AVR microcontrollers. (Older version used PIC micro)

• individual PIC Controllers for COM III:

  • Key: for 64 toggleswitches, buttons and rotary switches

  • LED: for 32 LED's

  • Analog: for 8 analog inputs such as potentiometers

• Integratet FSBus NG Controller:

  • 64 toggleswitches, buttons and rotary switches

  • 32 LED's

  • Servo

• Software: FSBus Router (uses MS-FlightSim commands and ProjectMagenta commands)

Photon

• website: http://www.iflightsystems.com

• master card:

  • can hold up to 4 input cards (4*128 inputs = 512 inputs)

  • can hold up to 14 output cards (112 display digits OR 896 signle LEDs OR a combination of your choise)

• input card:

  • switches, push buttons, rotary switches, rotary encoders

• output card:

  • 64 single LED's or up to 8 seven-segment-displays

IOcards

• website: http://www.opencockpits.com/index.php

• The USB expansion card expands the possibilities of the IOCards system by connecting up to 4 Master Cards to one USB port. It has the following features:

  • 72x4 (288) inputs: switches, rotaries, encoders, buttons, etc.

  • 64x4 (256) 7-segment displays or 256x7 (1792) LEDs connected to the Displays Cards

  • 45x4 (180) outputs: LEDs, servo motors, DC motors, stepper motors, etc.

  • The USB expansion card includes 4 A/D converters. You can connect potentiometers for throttles, propeller pitch, etc.

Multiple USB expansion cards can be connected to one PC as well.

• Beside all that OC also offers independant USB cards. These don't require any master card to be present. At this moment they have:

  • USB-keyboard (88 keys in a matrix)

  • USB-joystick (5 analogue axes + 24 keys)

  • USB-servo (6 servos + 4 analogue axes)

  • USB-stepper (3 steppers + 4 analogue axes)

  • USB-lcd (4 lcd's per card)

  • USB-relais (7 relays + 5 analogue axes)

  • USB-DC-motor (6 DC motors + 5 analogue axes)

• The software available with IOcards is very powerfull and user friendly.

MJoy16

• website: http://www.mindaugas.com

• USB circuit board for 64 buttons, 16 toggle switches, 4 rotary switches and coolie-hat

• optional expansion board for easier cabeling

Plasma MiniME

• website: http://www.betainnovations.com/hardware/minime.html

• Ideal replacement for gameport - no fluttering signals.

• 5 analog axis, 12 buttons, looks like a standard joystick controller to computer (no drivers needed)

• Needs PIC microcontroller flashing hardware - though it can be built inexpensively.

PHCC

• PHCC stands for "PIC HomeCockpit Controller"

• website: http://cockpit.varxec.net/electronics/PHCC.html

• forum: http://forums.varxec.net

• Hardware and Software is open-source under the GNU Public License (GPL)

  • unlike the other "free" designs, commercial use is not prohibited

• Software runs on multiple Operating Systems, unlike all other solutions

  • primarily developed under Linux (and should work on most unices)

  • software has been ported to Windows

• support for several Simulators is on the way:

  • FlightGear

  • Falcon4

  • MSFS

• Inputs:

  • 35 analog inputs with custom filtering algorithm

  • 1024 digital inputs

• Output Daughterboards:

  • 'no hard limit' for outputs

  • servo driver

  • analog output driver

  • LED, 7segment, 14/16 segment(starburst) driver

  • driver board for high current outputs rated 1A (for DC motors, relays, solenoids, lamps,...)

  • stepper driver

  • character LCD driver

  • quadrature rotary decoder

  • more boards in desgin stage or planned

• the motherboard is the most expensive part, daughterboards are cheaper than most other solutions

• industrially made PCBs (or full kits) available upon request

• all boards are DIY friendly (ie. single sided designs)

Phidgets

• website: http://www.phidgets.com/

• USB Plug&Play interfaces

LPT-switch

• website: http://users.skynet.be/plipke/PF50HC/LPTswitch/index2.html

• Allows for 40 switches or push buttons on the LPT port. Supports multiple LPT ports.

• Open source

• Use PPJoy and brig up the total to 60 per LPT port using it as a joystick buttons input interface. More info: http://www.geocities.com/deonvdw/Docs/PPJoyMain.htm == This problem is described there so so ... ==