Alex_rcpilot

I just hope the PCIP module will be fully compatible with current workarounds we guys have been using, so our prototypes won't turn out to be a waste of time and efforts. Other than that, I don't expect ED to rush anything. Actually I presume the more aircrafts released before the PCIP, the more generic and robust a foundation it will feature? Just said so because I think the key part of the module for us users - communication protocol - is likely to be loaded into micro chips and not bound to change once shipped. They could release many new revisions of this PCIP module in future like people always do with other software, but changing or expanding protocols might cause some little unpleasant consequences. People with hardware which are not very versatile may need to replace our upgrade what they spent money on. I mean, not all cards are built to update their own firmware. So instead of going through all these minor set-backs, it'd be better to get it right in the first place.

Well it's called the Physical Cockpit Interface Package (PCIP). And I'm sure ED is working on it. But I don't think it's even close to be ready for release. Please refer to this thread by wags: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=31052&highlight=PCIP

No problem, it's okay as long as it works for what you've got. I haven't heard about the PICkit2 before, just checked Microchip site to find out that it's not the same with the expensive ICD3. I'd go with a PICkit too if I wanna mess with PIC32. Yes, even 7$ won't be considered expensive given all those other pricy fancy toys. However, comparing with other similar chips, I'd say $3- should be an acceptable price for me. Of course when there's only a plan to build a few boards, we wouldn't need to care about a few extra bucks. It'd be a different story when it comes to mass production. Please keep us updated with your awesome project. And if there's stuff considering hardware design, I'd be interested to join the discussion :)

Saw your space navigator again. lol

Are you using an ICD3 to debug your PIC32 testbed? I haven't had the pleasure to experience PIC32 chips, they do look powerful according to the datasheets, just seem to be a little too expensive. Even 18F4550's aren't cheap either. Prices are different here in Beijing, which directly affected my decision for chip selection. I'll try and see what I can do with what I have.

Well, bear in mind that I'm 7 hours ahead of you, "later tonight" for you will be early in the morning for me, and I often sleep in....:music_whistling: Anyway, I'll try to catch you on. Need some feedback regarding the amplifier. There happens to be a local guy with the same PCB who requires a same amplifier. I will have the opportunity to test the circuit for myself with an oscilloscope, and take a look at the PWM.:)

Cool, I'm also using RS-485, but with an ARM chip rather than PIC. I do have a bunch of PIC18F4550 chips in a box, but I need to make sure all the workload can be handled by the relatively low system speed. I'll have to find out as I progress.

sweeeeet. Usually girlfriends don't do this kinda stuff. You're one lucky guy, lol. :thumbup: By the way, that's a cool PIC32 demo board, those connectors aren't quite easy to get by. Look at the component density of the piggy back, it's always fun to play with such delicate devices. Just outta curiousity, what type of data bus did you implement to mux and demux?

Glad to hear you're back, trigger. We've still got some work to do, lol.

I will go with CNC. gotta find a company nearby to do this for me. the electronics doesn't seem difficult. I'll reserve all the I/O interfaces for game data exchage.

It looks like the needle arrow is made of a transparent triangular window, and when the back light is on, the window is illuminated as well, truely awesome.

Cool, can't wait to see some action...

Ah....now you gotta pick a new spot for each old item. I personally don't enjoy figuring out the shelf layout of new houses.:doh: Back to topic, as I cropped the CDU panel from wags' screenshot and zoomed to scale to measure on the monitor, I found the screen slightly off proportion from previous confirmed data (Screen size 3.25 in. x 2.60 in. ) I had to stretch its height in photoshop to make it fit. And this makes me wonder if someone want's to go precise, how much more correction does he need to carry out?

I think I will start with the HOTAS and CDU. BTW, how's your new house? Are you done with the moving?

I wanna build one as well, but I'd probably need to move to a bigger apartment before I start.

Well, when I game with SoftTH at 5040 x 1050, I can run the game in full-screen mode, which sometimes yields 53FPS on my rig. But running in a window in the same size, I lose about 15FPS at the same scene. Now I add a fourth monitor and make an extra margin of 192 in width to hold the CDU, although the CDU image could be treated in a more efficient way, I'd probably still lose some extra FPS at 5232 x 1050. Well......I don't know, maybe I can live with it, just need to see for myself. *edit: I missed so many replies just while I was typing my own....

Well, that's a good point. I agree with you on the possibility that the CDU being treated this way, let's wait for some insiders to clarify this. However, I still tend to favor the *.lua export idea, it's not exclusive anyway. We may have access to both if ED is willing to do this. Yet I wouldn't bring up that image, because I like wider natural view, and it costs space when it's on the main monitors. If I add a monitor dedicated for the CDU, I will have problem finding a tiny one to fit into the right panel, and the expaned window size as a result to the extra monitor also reduces framerate. With a routinely updated brief data packet, the workload on the PC will be significantly reduced. And there are many professional engineers in the community who can take advantage of these data packets and transform them into fancy looking gadgets, I'd like to see that happen.:D I seriously don't mean to urge ED on anything by mentioning this. Just sharing some thoughts. I guess he'd still need those cropped edges to join up with other sheets. Perhaps he would have to combine the images into a huge one on the PC and split them again in pieces of letter sized printouts.

Then you're no luckier than I am. Go get some professional help from a copy shop.:megalol: *Edit: or you may tailor your own A4 paper out of A3 if your printer can hold it. lol

Well, you know, sometimes we see stuff that we think is odd, but we could be wrong. :music_whistling: Yeah that's what I meant, if there were any non-standard characters, they ought to be converted to some sort of special strings. We will need to know what exactly they are when the time comes.:)

Is it possible for you to find a piece of A3-sized paper and set the printwork to 1:1 scale output?

Thanks for the links, Chibawang. Those modules are really cool. Driven Technologies certainly has a really nice product line. Those square LCDs are pretty impressive. Back to the topic, I wonder how we may export the CDU display content from the game to, say, a custom USB CDC device. It seems to have some none-ASCII characters, I don't know how they'd show up in the raw data packets.

The switch reminds me of radios. This type of pot is used to tune the receiver's frequency. Some volume pots also have switches built inside, and they are used in portable cassette players to control the volume. When you adjust the volume all the way down, it shuts off the power to the entire device, kind of like a master switch. In the cockpit, there's no need to incorporate such mechanism, but if you don't have other choice, it doesn't hurt anything to install this type of pots.

Shawn, I was yelling at you on msn...lol

Deadman, thanks for the correction. I think I need to go with something bigger, probably a 5.7" TFT for a 82.68 x 66.81 mm opening. Shawn, volume pots, a.k.a. logarithmic taper pots are built to complement the non-linear characteristics of human hearing. We use decibel(dB) to measure the volume of sound, and logarithmic pots have similar output characteristics. The output voltage changes much more rapidly on one end than on the other end. The way I call it, is VERY, VERY non-linear. When you don't apply it to acoustic uses, it's gonna act funny to your other senses.

Cool, I need to go out and find a printer to do that - don't have my own. 7.5 x 5.5cm sounds right for the 4.3" wide screen in the middle. The 4.3" has got a 9.87 x 5.75 cm display area, if I put the 7.5 x 5.5cm window over it, I will have an area of 364 x 260 pixels to display my content. I'll download the files and have them printed soon.