maciekish

dcs-bios-master as in the downloaded zip file? I have no Programs folder in there. Can you give a full path please? I know it wont be the same on my box but it will make it easier to locate. Thanks

How do you connect an Arduino to the Flightpanels fork? There seems to be no COM port settings... The page that talks about connecting your own Arduinos mentions connect-serial-port.cmd but there is no such file anywhere.

Great stuff, ill migrate to that, thanks.

Im just starting out with DCS-BIOS, is the Flightpanels fork better? I’m building my own hardware, not using any off the shelf. Also, is anyone using DCS BIOS with all 3 RS485 buses at once? Im planning to use 1 bus per console and the third for the main instrument panel and saw an old post that its untested with more than 2.

Thanks for the idea. The reason i dont want to run a 5v rail is i already need a 12v rail for leds so i was considering 12v, gnd, a & b wires on a long bus that runs around the cockpit, with the arduino 5vrr to power tiny custom pcbs with a max487 + tip120 for each panel in the cockpit.

Thanks, i was considering that as well. If i read the datasheet correctly the MAX487CLA draws about 0.5mW so i guess it should be fine to power it like that.

Are you powering your MAX487's from 12v? Datasheet says absolute max is 12v and im a bit afraid to do this, is it working fine? --- OT: Just thought i would throw in a little PSA here after pulling my har for over an hour. I had RS485 working intermittentently so i thought it was a hardware or DCS BIOS issue. Turns out - if you disconnect your COM port in DCS BIOS, it will not work properly until you reload DCS. So the procedure is to connect the Ardiunos to power, launch DCS BIOS and connect the com port, then load the flight in DCS and don't reconnect COM port while DCS is running, then it just started working according to instructions in this thread. Thanks a lot for posting this!

Hi, as i now became aware, DCS BIOS doesn’t send initial control positions on sim load. And as some people may be aware, commercial sims have a convenient “controls not in agreement” window that pauses the sim until you move your physical switches and levers to be in agreement with the software. would this be feasible for DCS BIOS? Can a DCS addon put the sim in active pause and show a dialog with a list of switches which i guess would be feasible for this? Since DCS BIOS knows both software switch positions and physical positions it should easily be able to generate a list of all controls not in agreement. I have a lot of objc, swift & php experience but nothing in c/lua. I’m willing to learn and help out but would need some assistance on this if even possible please.

Was this ever implemented please? I can imagine things like for example the cockpit light pots would be left on if constantly flying night missions? That way i could do a normal flow but omit things i "left in place on purpose" like the correct amount of backlight i want. Right now, i have to touch the backlight pot just a little bit to make it sync with DCS which is mildly annoying. Really appreciate your time on this, thanks.

Hi, I'm designing some PCBs for my cockpit and im trying to cut down on unnecessary components. I currently have an L7805CV converting 12v to 5v for my Ardiuno and MAX487CPA RS485 chip. If i remove the L7805CV voltage regulator and connect 12v to VIN on the Arduino, and the MAX487CPA VCC pin to 5V on the Arduino, it works, but the question is is this sustainable? How much power does a MAX487CPA draw, will it slowly kill the Arduino? Photo just for reference, it is with the L7805CV.

Hi, Im pretty new to DCS BIOS and have the ELEC PWR panel of the A-10C II set up for testing. If i leave one of the switches in ON and restart the sim, it will start in the OFF position until i flick it OFF and then ON again. I have "Synchronize Cockpit Controls with HOTAS Controls at Mission Start" enabled in DCS, but i suspect this is for actual joystick HIDs which DCS BIOS is not. So how do i make DCS BIOS update all switch positions on sim load please? I don't mind doing full startups and shutdowns, thats the purpose of the physical panels, but i just want the state of the panels to sync into the sim on load. Photo just for reference.

I was actually worried about readability in the day, thanks for the tip about natural PLA. Just ordered a spool

Hi, I searched around for a bit but couldn’t find anything so ill ask instead. Does anyone have a tested concept for incorporating backlight into their 3d-printed panels? Do you print transparent first and swap the filament for the last 2-3 layers? Or is IDEX with full dual-material the way to go? I do have an IDEX capable printer but its a nightmare to calibrate the second extruder so i’m thinking maybe there is another simples solution i haven’t thought of? Here is my initial failed attempt where i thought my LED strip was powerful enough to shine through 0.2mm of PLA. Spoiler-warning: It wasn’t.

Nevermind, i figured it out myself. There is a type of switch i wasn't aware of, and that's a rotary switch which does exactly this. https://dcs-bios.readthedocs.io/en/latest/code-snippets.html#switchmultipos

Hi, I'm in the planning phase for some A-10 II panels and looking through the documentation for DCS BIOS i find that it supports potentiometers and rotary encoders. However, these knobs require knowing their absolute position. Finding potentiometers with detents seems very hard, and DCS BIOS doesn't seem to support absolute rotary encoders and i want the state of the physical panels to always match the sim on start-up. How are people managing this kind of knobs please?