DCS-BIOS and Arduino Mega

[GivenToFly17]

I cannot seem to get an Arduino mega to work with DCS-BIOS, is there a compatibility issue that anyone knows about?  I can't get it to do anything, even the basic master caution light flash, but if i plug in an Arduino Uno, or Nano and load the same sketch, it works fine, so i'm assuming it's not the sketch itself as that's the most basic task.  Does anyone have any insights on this?  I was hoping to build a custom radio stack with my kids as a fun project, and the mega would be perfect as it has enough I/O to do all 3 radios in the A10, but I just can't get it to work.  As far as i Know, the mega isn't dead, as I can load up sketches and it will work standalone with switches and LEDs, so the circuitry seems fine.

Thanks

[No1sonuk]

Some things to check/try:

Check you have the right com port. Different Arduinos connect slightly differently and use different ports. Your IDE software should tell you the correct port.

I would have added to check you have the right device selected in the IDE, but you said you have other projects working.

Try changing between "default" and "IRQ" in the initial serial definition. 

Lastly: Do you really want all 3 radios in one Arduino? It'll complicate the code quite a bit.

[GivenToFly17]

I'll give changing the serial definition a shot later today.  

I figured having one Arduino for all 3 radios would cut down on the number of USB devices I need to have plugged in, as I want to make other panels still too.

[crash test pilot]

Megas and DCS-BIOS seem to be a bit hit and miss. I personally had no problems connecting several (different manufacturerers) megas to DCS-BIOS, but i often read about someone not getting theirs to work. For More Panels i would recommend going the rs485 route, you need one mega as master controller (the only one connected to your pc via usb) and you can connect up to 127 slaves (nanos, unos, megas of your choice). My A10 radios are build on 6 arduinos (1 for each radios buttons and switches, 1 for each radios displays).

[FordPrefect]

You probably resolved the issue with serial definition.

I recently built a HUD controller, 2 DDIs and AMPCD running off one Arduino Mega 2560, so I get wanting multiple panels running off one Mega

The DDIs and AMPCD are fastened to the hud controller, and they are mounted on a monitor. Wiring it was a pain, but it all works pretty well.

[molevitch]

On 12/3/2022 at 2:45 PM, GivenToFly17 said:

I'll give changing the serial definition a shot later today.  

I figured having one Arduino for all 3 radios would cut down on the number of USB devices I need to have plugged in, as I want to make other panels still too.

I used to use a ton of Nanos but as my pit project grew, so did the quantity of Nanos, and therefore sketches, wiring, mounts, etc. I now have 9 I!) Megas running the whole pit…. 1 is the master on a RS485 network of 6 Megas and 1 Nano, the other 3 are currently standard serially connected. All Arduino clones from Elegoo, but I did find some bizarre issues with getting them to work when mounted on those handy screw connection shields. So I dumped those in a box and 3d printed my own mounts for the Megas, and all connections are soldered to header pins. 
All radios are on Megas under DCSBIOS FlightPanels branch. All the other cockpit switches etc are also running the same way. I kept my main controllers (cyclic, collective and pedals) on a Bodnar board because DCSBIOS can still occasionally fall over mid session, usually I find if switching between programs with alt-tab, or something…. Works like magic for the most part. (Though sometimes, as we all know, DCSBIOS can drive me insane for days at a time…)

So, which version of DCSBIOS are you running? Where are your Megas from? And, how are you connecting them to DCS?

Edited December 6, 2022 by molevitch

[GivenToFly17]

I finally got a chance to mess with this some more, and no luck, no matter which way i do it, using DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL or DCSBIOS_DEFAULT_SERIAL, It still doesn't work. 

I'm just going to get a few more UNOs and try again.   Thanks for the help.

[parkerfly51505]

On 12/6/2022 at 7:56 PM, GivenToFly17 said:

I finally got a chance to mess with this some more, and no luck, no matter which way i do it, using DCSBIOS_IRQ_SERIAL or DCSBIOS_DEFAULT_SERIAL, It still doesn't work. 

I'm just going to get a few more UNOs and try again.   Thanks for the help.

You may have already moved on but just wanted to throw this out there.  I use the mega clones from eBay. 

By default, Windows didn't recognize them within device manager.  I had to download a CH340 driver for them before they would be recognized properly.  https://www.drduino.com/blogs/news/ch340-usb-drivers

They work flawlessly for me with DCS-BIOS.

[No1sonuk]

@parkerfly51505 They said the Megas work independently, implying that they were connecting to be programmed.  That being the case, the USB interface driver shouldn't be the problem.