markjhall

I have my seat height adjustment mapped to the keyboard: Seat Adjustment Down LAlt + LCtrl + D Seat Adjustment Up LAlt + LCtrl + U

I tried the canopy open/close controls today 28 Dec 2022 with DCS World v 2.8.1.34667.2. The keyboard control does work now "LCtrl + C" it toggles the canopy to open / close. However it is still only possible to open (not close) the canopy using DCS-BIOS.

Well I found a way to work with the problem. To recap: I found the Arduino MEGA 2560 to be unreliable with DCS-BIOS, compared to the Arduino NANO, using A-10C & A-10C II modules, and not involving any RS-485 communications, just USB leads: What I found is that the MEGA is fussy about the order in which the various components are started: This always WORKS for a MEGA: start DCS-BIOS and serial comms to the MEGA before starting a flight in DCS World There many other combinations of starting/stopping the various parts that do not work. E.g. I cannot start a flight first and then start serial comms from DCS-BIOS to the MEGA, nor can I stop and restart serial comms from DCS-BIOS to the MEGA during a flight. By leaving some test code running in the MEGA I can see that when DCS-BIOS serial comms to the MEGA fail, the MEGA "crashes" - it's not just the DCS-BIOS code that stops, the test code also stops running on the MEGA. The MEGA recovers when the DCS World flight stops. Arduino NANOs are not so fussy: for every combination I tried of starting and stopping DCS world / DCS-BIOS / serial comms to the NANO, it always picks up the connection and starts working. #define DCSBIOS_DEFAULT_SERIAL and #define DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL do not make a difference to these effects I tried these tests on several genuine and clone MEGAs and on several PCs / laptops always with the same results. With the latest versions (April 2022) of DCS World & modules / DCS-BIOS and modules. The only clue I found to the cause of this is maybe related to the baud rate / comms speed that DCS-BIOS uses for its serial comms to the Arduino but I can't verify this. I will try to post a video on YouTube A10SimPilot channel when I have some time...

I saw a nice old document here ref the "Gordon" fonts: http://luc.devroye.org/fonts-80708.html

Example code #define DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL #include "DcsBios.h" DcsBios::Switch2Pos downlockOverride("DOWNLOCK_OVERRIDE", 2); void setup() { DcsBios::setup(); } void loop() { DcsBios::loop(); } This sketch works with NANOs and UNOs, but not with 3 different MEGA 2560s (genuine, SainSmart, Elegoo). When I connect DCS-BIOS via the Hub, with DCS A-10C running, the Rx LED on the MEGA starts flashing quickly. Shorting MEGA digital pin 2 to ground does not operate the downlock override in DCS World and the Tx LED does not flash on the MEGA.

Thank you Hans, yes I change the COM ports accordingly and in fact the MEGA’s Rx LED indicates data is streaming to it from DCS-BIOS but the Tx light does not light. Your confirmation that the MEGA should work standalone over USB inspires me to try again I. If I can’t crack it I will try to upload a video to A10SimPilot YouTube to show the problem.

Thank for the replies very helpful. I see the MEGA often used with DCS-BIOS as a master with NANO slave(s) over RS-485: PC---(USB)---MEGA---(RS-485)---NANO(s)---LEDs, switches etc Putting the RS-485 aside, I always had success with NANOs over USB. PC---(USB)---NANO---LEDs, switches etc but always struggled with MEGAs over USB using the same sketch as the NANOs. PC---(USB)---MEGA---LEDs, switches etc For example using a single NANO connected to PC by USB I can run a simple sketch showing the Master Caution light on an LED and operating the Master Caution reset from a pushbutton. If I remove the NANO and replace it with a MEGA and upload the same sketch I cannot get it to work with DCS-BIOS. There seems to be something about the MEGA that stops it being used to interface hardware I/O directly over USB, without using any RS-485. It's a shame because the MEGA has such a large number of I/O it would be useful sometimes to use it over USB with no RS-485, for interfacing LEDs, switches etc. I suppose my fundamental question is what is the difference to DCS-BIOS between a NANO and a MEGA, and is there a way to get the MEGA working for hardware I/O without involving RS-485? Thanks again. Mark

I have several panels with servos, toggles, rotary encoders & LEDs running DCS-BIOS using Arduino NANOs but I cannot get any of it working with the same sketches on a MEGA 2560 even though the code uploads and DCS-BIOS can connect to the board. I’m starting to wonder if the MEGA can only be used e.g. as a master for RS-485 comes but not physical I/O. I can’t find this stated explicitly. I’ve tried a genuine MEGA and two different clones. I have the latest Arduino IDE and DCS-BIOS. It would be great to have a list of which Arduinos will do what with DCS-BIOS. If I get good info I’ll make a YouTube video to share the info...

I have a couple of vids that include the simparts.de gear panel on my YouTube channel “A10SimPilot” these might provide some inspiration

Honeywell 26ET61-T Electrically Held Toggle Switch M5594/2-1 Honeywell 26ET61-T Electrically Held Toggle Switch M5594/2-1 Video now up on YouTube.

Here's a close-up and links for the Honeywell 12W1-12A locking toggle switch

Have a look at the simparts.de gear panel here:

Video of 2TL6-1

I have detailed set up and test of the Buddy-Fox A-10C UFC here:

set up and test of the Buddy-Fox A-10C UFC I have detailed set up and test of the Buddy-Fox A-10C UFC here: