FSFIan Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 It all started in May 2012. I could not afford a touchscreen (those were starting at 600 EUR back then), but still wanted a better user experience than clicking switches with my mouse (which required taking my hand off the stick). With a budget of about 30 EUR, I built this: The ATMega168 microcontroller was programmed to appear as several USB joysticks (composite device) using the V-USB library. The lower rotary encoder switched the panel that was to be controlled. This construction has since fallen apart and its rotary encoders have been re-used in another project. A bit more than a month later, I found Helios and the EOS bus specification and built this: Not knowing that $3 Arduino boards are a thing, I saw the future of my low-cost user experience improvements in the TI Launchpad boards. (I also grabbed those during the initial launch promotion when they were $4.30 each.) In October 2012, I added a UFC built mostly out of paper, foamboard and scotch tape. Three months later, I redid my MFCD buttons and added a second set of them. Doing the MFCD buttons myself was not a good idea. After a few months of use, some buttons stopped working because there are too much wires in a cramped space directly under the push buttons, where they are pushed around every time you press a button. In the time it took me to wire up both MFCD panels, I could also have earned enough money to buy the TM Cougar MFD Pack... That UFC however works to this day (although I no longer use it). What I did discover at that point was that when I connected all three panels (UFC, left MFCD, right MFCD) to Helios using EOS, the latency started to get very noticeable. Helios asked for device updates a fixed number of times a second (I think it was 10), so for three devices it would mean that a single device would only be asked 3 or 4 times a second. After Windows 8 came out, touchscreens became affordable. I got a 23 inch full HD touch screen for about 250 EUR and have used Helios with that. On a Sunday in January 2014, I quickly put together this Autopilot panel for the Majestic Software Q400 in FSX: This one uses an Arduino Pro Mini and a Lua script that is run by FSUIPC. This was the last physical panel that I built. In my current situation (dorm room, no permanent dedicated space for a flight sim setup), a touchscreen is more convenient compared to setting up and stowing away extra panels whenever I want to fly. In April 2014, I started talking with WarHog about Arduino boards because he wanted to get the radio frequencies to a display. For a while, I started to read everything I could find about Lua scripting in DCS. In June 2014, I put a web server into a DCS mission just because I could. This evolved into DCS Witchcraft, which provided me with an interactive Lua console. In mid-July 2014, on a whim I built an Export.lua file that connected to the DCS Witchcraft Lua console. I discovered that the text of most cockpit displays (CMSP, CMSC, UHF Repeater) is available and also got a much better understanding of device IDs, argument numbers and the performClickableAction function. Around that time, the idea for DCS-BIOS was born. Starting from a rough idea of what I wanted the communication protocol to look like, over the next five months it grew into what I released three days ago. Now that that's done, I am playing with the idea of doing a few more of those foamboard panels again, in an easy-to-stow-away form factor. They are just so cheap and easy to make, and DCS-BIOS eliminates the hassle of setting up a Helios profile. DCS-BIOS | How to export CMSP, RWR, etc. through MonitorSetup.lua Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 Nice job. i7-4820k @ 3.7, Windows 7 64-bit, 16GB 1866mhz EVGA GTX 970 2GB, 256GB SSD, 500GB WD, TM Warthog, TM Cougar MFD's, Saitek Combat Pedals, TrackIR 5, G15 keyboard, 55" 4K LED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hansolo Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi Ian, Quite a journey you have made. I seem to recall seeing the MFCD setup at some point but my limited ability wasn't able to make heads and tails on it. I am really looking forward to the prospects of the new version of your software. Especially the ethernet solutions looks very appealing to me. Will be wathing your progress :thumbup: Cheers Hans 132nd Virtual Wing homepage & 132nd Virtual Wing YouTube channel My DCS-BIOS sketches & Cockpit Album Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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