DCS-BIOS Discussion Thread

[byteman59]

Thank you No1sonuk for the update, much appreciated!

[virgo47]

I'm using DCS-BIOS via DCS-COINS for Touch Portal (Android). I noticed that common data offers ALT_MSL_FT only, while for speed we've got both imperial and metric systems. Is there a way to add some kind of ALT_MSL_M? And if so, is editing CommonData.json in DCS-BIOS all that needs to be done?

[No1sonuk]

1 hour ago, virgo47 said:

I'm using DCS-BIOS via DCS-COINS for Touch Portal (Android). I noticed that common data offers ALT_MSL_FT only, while for speed we've got both imperial and metric systems. Is there a way to add some kind of ALT_MSL_M? And if so, is editing CommonData.json in DCS-BIOS all that needs to be done?

Multiply ALT_MSL_FT by 0.3048 to get metres.

[virgo47]

5 minutes ago, No1sonuk said:

Multiply ALT_MSL_FT by 0.3048 to get metres.

I assume it is possible then. I also know how to convert feet to meters. (I actually do that in my head now when needed. ) But I don't know where to do it.

In my previous question, I asked about CommonData.json, but now I realize this is already part of DCS-COINS, not DCS-BIOS, as some kind of definition, or interface, between DCS-COINS and DCS-BIOS.

In DCS-BIOS there is only LUA file. Should I add another defineIntegerFomGetter there?

If the customization means I have to adjust files after upgrading DCS-BIOS, I'd probably just skip it. DCS-COINS will not introduce the definition if it's not in DCS-BIOS. Is it viable to request it on DCS-BIOS side?

[No1sonuk]

11 minutes ago, virgo47 said:

I assume it is possible then. I also know how to convert feet to meters. (I actually do that in my head now when needed. ) But I don't know where to do it.

In my previous question, I asked about CommonData.json, but now I realize this is already part of DCS-COINS, not DCS-BIOS, as some kind of definition, or interface, between DCS-COINS and DCS-BIOS.

In DCS-BIOS there is only LUA file. Should I add another defineIntegerFomGetter there?

If the customization means I have to adjust files after upgrading DCS-BIOS, I'd probably just skip it. DCS-COINS will not introduce the definition if it's not in DCS-BIOS. Is it viable to request it on DCS-BIOS side?

 

Something like this in the Arduino code?

unsigned int AltMetres = 0;   //  Put this at the top with your variable definitions.

void onAltMslFtChange(unsigned int newValue) {
    AltMetres = newValue * 0.3048;
   //  Add code here for what you want to do with the data or use the global variable in your main loop.
}
DcsBios::IntegerBuffer altMslFtBuffer(0x0434, 0xffff, 0, onAltMslFtChange);

 

[virgo47]

7 hours ago, No1sonuk said:

Something like this in the Arduino code?

Thank you for the example. On my end it's not Arduino device, but virtual Android panel with limited options. I will check with DCS-COINS project (an intermediate layer) if they can add some basic math into their definition files.

[Unbound]

Hi there
Struggling to get some code working and hoping someone can shed a light on what I'm doing wrong. This is for an active fan setup and if I can get this to work I will move on to a mapped range to take the airspeed and match to pwm fan speed. Canopy open, fans on - Eject, fans on FULL. Im VR only and need fans running for the first few minutes to combat the condensing on the lenses, so it might as well do something useful as well.

At the moment i just want the Monster Moto board on my Arduino uno to switch direction when the Canopy light status changes.

DCS Bios appears to be working as pushing the fire extinguisher in the A10c2 triggers the onboard LED (pin 13) perfectly and BORT also shows the canopy light status changing value from 0 to 1.
The boards work perfectly as I have a similar sketch I can upload to them that inputs values from an ir remote.
Normally I would watch the values change in the Serial Monitor, but thats a no go as its being used by DCS.

I just want to pass the newValue (0 or 1) from onCanopyunlockedChange to the Global usMotor_status which gets passed off to the MotorGo section.

I have tried for quite some time over the last week and got no result.
Thanks so much for your time!

DCS Bios Version 0.7.50

#define DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL

 

#define BRAKE 0

#define CW 1

#define CCW 2

#define CS_THRESHOLD 15  // Definition of safety current (Check: "1.3 Monster Shield Example").

//MOTOR 1

#define MOTOR_A1_PIN 7

#define MOTOR_B1_PIN 8

//MOTOR 2

#define MOTOR_A2_PIN 4

#define MOTOR_B2_PIN 9

 

#define PWM_MOTOR_1 5

#define PWM_MOTOR_2 6

 

#define MOTOR_1 0

#define MOTOR_2 1

 

#include "DcsBios.h"

 

int pwm = 0;

short usSpeed = 0;

unsigned short usMotor_Status = CW;

 

DcsBios::LED masterCaution(0x1012, 0x0800, 13);

 

void onCanopyUnlockedChange(unsigned int newValue) {

 

  if (newValue = 0) {

    usMotor_Status = CCW;

  } else if (newValue = 1) {

    usMotor_Status = CW;

  }

}

DcsBios::IntegerBuffer canopyUnlockedBuffer(0x10da, 0x0004, 2, onCanopyUnlockedChange);

 

void setup() {

 

  DcsBios::setup();

  pinMode(MOTOR_A1_PIN, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(MOTOR_B1_PIN, OUTPUT);

 

  pinMode(MOTOR_A2_PIN, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(MOTOR_B2_PIN, OUTPUT);

 

  pinMode(PWM_MOTOR_1, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(PWM_MOTOR_2, OUTPUT);

}

 

void loop() {

 

  motorGo(MOTOR_1, usMotor_Status, usSpeed);

  motorGo(MOTOR_2, usMotor_Status, usSpeed);

 

  DcsBios::loop();

}

 

void motorGo(uint8_t motor, uint8_t direct, uint8_t pwm)  //Function that controls the variables: motor(0 ou 1), direction (cw ou ccw) e pwm (entra 0 e 255);

{

  if (motor == MOTOR_1) {

    if (direct == CW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, HIGH);

    } else if (direct == CCW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, HIGH);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, LOW);

    } else {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, LOW);

    }

 

    analogWrite(PWM_MOTOR_1, pwm);

  } else if (motor == MOTOR_2) {

    if (direct == CW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, HIGH);

    } else if (direct == CCW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, HIGH);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, LOW);

    } else {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, LOW);

    }

 

    analogWrite(PWM_MOTOR_2, pwm);

  }

}

[Vinc_Vega]

18 hours ago, Unbound said:

Hi there
Struggling to get some code working and hoping someone can shed a light on what I'm doing wrong. This is for an active fan setup and if I can get this to work I will move on to a mapped range to take the airspeed and match to pwm fan speed. Canopy open, fans on - Eject, fans on FULL. Im VR only and need fans running for the first few minutes to combat the condensing on the lenses, so it might as well do something useful as well.

At the moment i just want the Monster Moto board on my Arduino uno to switch direction when the Canopy light status changes.

DCS Bios appears to be working as pushing the fire extinguisher in the A10c2 triggers the onboard LED (pin 13) perfectly and BORT also shows the canopy light status changing value from 0 to 1.
The boards work perfectly as I have a similar sketch I can upload to them that inputs values from an ir remote.
Normally I would watch the values change in the Serial Monitor, but thats a no go as its being used by DCS.

I just want to pass the newValue (0 or 1) from onCanopyunlockedChange to the Global usMotor_status which gets passed off to the MotorGo section.

I have tried for quite some time over the last week and got no result.
Thanks so much for your time!

DCS Bios Version 0.7.50

#define DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL

 

#define BRAKE 0

#define CW 1

#define CCW 2

#define CS_THRESHOLD 15  // Definition of safety current (Check: "1.3 Monster Shield Example").

//MOTOR 1

#define MOTOR_A1_PIN 7

#define MOTOR_B1_PIN 8

//MOTOR 2

#define MOTOR_A2_PIN 4

#define MOTOR_B2_PIN 9

 

#define PWM_MOTOR_1 5

#define PWM_MOTOR_2 6

 

#define MOTOR_1 0

#define MOTOR_2 1

 

#include "DcsBios.h"

 

int pwm = 0;

short usSpeed = 0;

unsigned short usMotor_Status = CW;

 

DcsBios::LED masterCaution(0x1012, 0x0800, 13);

 

void onCanopyUnlockedChange(unsigned int newValue) {

 

  if (newValue = 0) {

    usMotor_Status = CCW;

  } else if (newValue = 1) {

    usMotor_Status = CW;

  }

}

DcsBios::IntegerBuffer canopyUnlockedBuffer(0x10da, 0x0004, 2, onCanopyUnlockedChange);

 

void setup() {

 

  DcsBios::setup();

  pinMode(MOTOR_A1_PIN, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(MOTOR_B1_PIN, OUTPUT);

 

  pinMode(MOTOR_A2_PIN, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(MOTOR_B2_PIN, OUTPUT);

 

  pinMode(PWM_MOTOR_1, OUTPUT);

  pinMode(PWM_MOTOR_2, OUTPUT);

}

 

void loop() {

 

  motorGo(MOTOR_1, usMotor_Status, usSpeed);

  motorGo(MOTOR_2, usMotor_Status, usSpeed);

 

  DcsBios::loop();

}

 

void motorGo(uint8_t motor, uint8_t direct, uint8_t pwm)  //Function that controls the variables: motor(0 ou 1), direction (cw ou ccw) e pwm (entra 0 e 255);

{

  if (motor == MOTOR_1) {

    if (direct == CW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, HIGH);

    } else if (direct == CCW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, HIGH);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, LOW);

    } else {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A1_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B1_PIN, LOW);

    }

 

    analogWrite(PWM_MOTOR_1, pwm);

  } else if (motor == MOTOR_2) {

    if (direct == CW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, HIGH);

    } else if (direct == CCW) {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, HIGH);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, LOW);

    } else {

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_A2_PIN, LOW);

      digitalWrite(MOTOR_B2_PIN, LOW);

    }

 

    analogWrite(PWM_MOTOR_2, pwm);

  }

}

 Hi Unbound,

you don't use a compare statent within the onCanopyUnlockedChange section.

Just try the double "==" like this:

if (newValue == 0)
  {
   usMotor_Status = CCW;
  }

else if (newValue == 1)
  {
   usMotor_Status = CW;
  }

Regards, Vinc

[Unbound]

Thank you so much! Works as expected. That really was doing my head in!!
Cheers.

[Enabler]

@Vinc_Vega is the man!

[Bdoyle13]

Anyone experiencing bios disconnecting when you load in? I have multiple panels hooked up and DCS bios shows everything connected. When I launch in to DCS nothing works and I alt-tab to the hub and it shows no com ports at all in the hub? It’s had random disconnects in the past and no clue what’s causing these issues. Is there a program to debug the connections to see what might be causing this? 

[hrnet940]

Same thing has been happening to me as well.  No idea what is going on in the background.

[Bdoyle13]

1 hour ago, hrnet940 said:

Same thing has been happening to me as well.  No idea what is going on in the background.

Did it start recently? 

[hrnet940]

I just managed to get it back working.  More testing and flying will be required to make sure it is stable and not kicking itself out of working.

 

[Bdoyle13]

22 minutes ago, hrnet940 said:

I just managed to get it back working.  More testing and flying will be required to make sure it is stable and not kicking itself out of working.

 

If you find out what it was please let me know 

[lesthegrngo]

Hi all, you are using an older version of DCS Bios, you need the Skunkworks Flightpanels version,  which stops using that com port connection screen and replaces it with a fairly simple cmd file to connect multiple com ports

Cheers 

Les

[Msiipola]

I'm in the process building a simpit (Viggen AJS37) and now have 4 Arduion and several Leo Bordnar cards. I'm using the Skunkworks Flightpanels latest versions and DCS beta. I have several time had problems vid the USB ports. But by changing USB hubs and cables I now have stable connections (I think). But I don't like the idea of using USB for the connections. I feel it's unreliable, and when you get problems it's hard to know what the cause is and what to do.

[No1sonuk]

18 hours ago, Bdoyle13 said:

Anyone experiencing bios disconnecting when you load in? I have multiple panels hooked up and DCS bios shows everything connected. When I launch in to DCS nothing works and I alt-tab to the hub and it shows no com ports at all in the hub? It’s had random disconnects in the past and no clue what’s causing these issues. Is there a program to debug the connections to see what might be causing this? 

 

 

I'm surprised the Hub version of DCS-BIOS still works at all.  It hasn't been updated for years.

[hrnet940]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:32 PM, Bdoyle13 said:

If you find out what it was please let me know 

Will do!

Wayne

[ESzczesniak]

I came to find out I had been using the 4 year old hub rather than the new Fork to run a couple of my TekCreations panels.  I think I'm about ready to try doing a few of my own servo gauges and have updated to the DCS-BIOS Fork.  But I'm stuck trying to get BORT.  Is this still the current program to monitor DCS-BIOS I/O.  All I can find on the github is to download the source code.  I don't see any setup programs or anything.

[Msiipola]

On page https://github.com/DCS-Skunkworks/Bort select 'Latest' in the right column under 'Releases.'

Scroll down the page and to 'Assets'.

Download bort-0.2.4.Setup.exe. (Or a newer version if it exists).

Start BORT by clicking the setup-exe file.

No installation is necessary.

 

 

[ESzczesniak]

4 hours ago, Msiipola said:

On page https://github.com/DCS-Skunkworks/Bort select 'Latest' in the right column under 'Releases.'

Scroll down the page and to 'Assets'.

Download bort-0.2.4.Setup.exe. (Or a newer version if it exists).

Start BORT by clicking the setup-exe file.

No installation is necessary.

 

 

Thank you!  I've never fully spent the time to learn navigating GitHub and it showed!

[ESzczesniak]

As I'm endeavoring on my journey to move from Hub to Fork on DCS-BIOS and also start programming my own boards (servo gauges in particular), I have 3 questions:

1. Where's the best place for the most active support/help?  I'm guessing there's a discord somewhere, but Googling "DCS-BIOS Fork Discord" didn't get me very far.

2. Is there a way to automatically connect the com ports?  I've gotten far enough to use the multi-com-ports.cmd file, but I'd love to minimize anything I need to do beyond start DCS.

3. I'm having a problem with the connection to my Uno board only last a few seconds before getting "permission denied" in the connection window (screenshot attached).  I had one connection earlier today that was stable, but that was it.  It's been enough for me to almost have my first servo gauge running  (F/A-18C Battery Voltage Gauge), but I'm not sure what to do about this once I try to start flying. 

[Biggus]

1 hour ago, ESzczesniak said:

As I'm endeavoring on my journey to move from Hub to Fork on DCS-BIOS and also start programming my own boards (servo gauges in particular), I have 3 questions:

1. Where's the best place for the most active support/help?  I'm guessing there's a discord somewhere, but Googling "DCS-BIOS Fork Discord" didn't get me very far.

 

 

Hopefully this helps with your other questions.

[Msiipola]

" Is there a way to automatically connect the com ports?"
I start the script on boot time of my PC.
Google how to do it, if you don't know.

Remember to edit multi-com-ports.cmd by adding all you com ports to it.

If you have problems with the communication, use the serial-com-script and start they manually one by one.