My A-10C preparation

[avlolga]

great work rocketeer :thumbup:

[rocketeer]

Thanks Avlolga.

[rocketeer]

ADI and HSI.

[rocketeer]

Now CMSC.

 

 

[rocketeer]

UHF display

 

 

Together with HARS and MFDs,

 

Getting there, one day.

[reactorone]

Nice job Rocketeer :thumbup:

 

R1

[rocketeer]

Thanks R1.

 

Has anyone figured out how to use encoders in lua? I know how to use encoders in Helios, but there are functions that require encoders that are not yet in Helios. So any help is appreciated.

[Gremlin77]

you can use rotary either with sioc or witch the arcaze interface very easy. arcaze emulates joystick presses out of the encoder signal which you can directly connect in the a-10 option with the apropriate function.

[rocketeer]

Thanks gremlin for the info. But if I don't arcaze, is there a generic way of editing lua in the controller text file to make encoder work? Do you have to edit lua when using arcaze for encoder?

[metalnwood]

Thanks gremlin for the info. But if I don't arcaze, is there a generic way of editing lua in the controller text file to make encoder work? Do you have to edit lua when using arcaze for encoder?

 

I am not sure if I understand you 100% but you cannot interface with external controls like encoders directly from lua. So, if you mean a hardware encoder that might be attached to a controller board then there is no way to do it, you have to do as gremlin has said and map that encoders output in the game controls to something.

[rocketeer]

You are right. Just map them to something. I got spoilt by helios. I thought anything that are not push buttons or toggles that are not using helios will need lua script, like pots and encoders. Forgot that encoders are just two buttons in the game controls. Yes it works. My bad.

[rocketeer]

Hello guys. I've been away for a long time. Survived two family bad events. Now finally into continuing my A10C project.

 

After evaluating interface cards from Leo's boards, Brydling, Groovy gear, Hagstrom, OC, etc. I decided to go for Brydling's. It has the most number of pins for the buck. But after a long time finally heard from him and he said he said he no longer sells those cards. I still wasn't keen on the other cards, and definitely not keen on learning SOIC for OC cards. I recently read about DCS BIOS, but was reluctant to try as I was a bit intimidated by arduino. Its totally foreign to me. And the coding in arduino its like you have to be a java programmer or something.

 

But after watching Ian's youtube videos demoing about easy it is to copy and paste the code and get things working, I decided to take the plunge and bought the mega.

 

Here's the thing. Mega is sold at radio shack at $64. Heard they are slashing prices due to closing down, but not on the price on the mega! At Fry's it sells for $57. Amazon goes for about $42 or $48. I bought the clone at around $17+! One third the price of that at radio shack. In fact I bought three and qualified for free shipping!

 

Since receiving the cards, and after some roadblocks, once I figured out what I was doing wrong, it was smooth sailing. Now I've gotten the fourth panel working (mostly, with some questions about two switches). For those of you still on the fence about arduino and dcs bios, I'd share my lessons learned and you decide for yourself. I'm glad I did. Now every night after work it's wiring and testing the panels. Feels better than beer and ice cream!

[Deadman]

Hey That is great it is good to have you back building. Looking forward to seeing your pit completed.

[Potalien]

Good to see you're back in the, uh.. Pit? Looking forward to see where you go with the Pit next. Best of luck to you!

[rocketeer]

It's been exactly a week since I figured out how to get dcs bios working. Since then, I've wired and tested 8 panels in a week and got them working, mostly, except for the pots that are acting up :cry_2:

 

These are the panels that are wired up and works in the game.

 

Copying and pasting the code for toggles, push buttons, rotary switches are easy.

Yet to get pots to work consistently.

Yet to try encoders.

 

Thanks so much to Ian for the DCS BIOS library, else I wouldn't have considered Arduino as the interface option.

 

[Warhog]

With respect to potentiometers, they are somewhat problematic at the moment. It all because of how they were manufactured. The more expensive ones do not act up as much. I believe that DCS-BIOS will be revised in the near future to deal with this.

 

However, you may wish to go the same route as I have done. That is, to substitute pots for rotary encoders. Rot. Enc. work really well and noise will not make them jitter unlike pots. Other than the fact they have continuous rotation there really is no other reason not to use them. Ian's DCS-BIOS provides the same cut n paste code for rotary encoders. Every control that uses a pot, there is code for both pot and rotary encoder.:smilewink:

[rocketeer]

I believe someone posted some code change at Ian's thread for pots. I haven't tried that yet. Not sure how that works. I have a whole bunch of pots. Will be great if it makes pots work. Else I have to buy a whole bunch of encoders and the pots go to waste.

[rocketeer]

I've made changes to my panels. In the past I used wood, one layer, drill holes at the corners, stuck some printed paper and used masking tape to stick it to the one. Very crude prototyping. Now I use two layers, spray paint the sides black.

 

 

Before painting I sand the middle to spread the light, if one day I decide to do backlighting. For now, I just want to finish the panels, wire them and learn to use all the switches. Using a dremel multi tool to sand is much easier than by hand. just loud.

 

This time instead of plain paper, I print on white shipping labels that are self adhesive. Double print them to make the black darker.

 

Then I spray them with crystal clear enamel, which protects the printouts, and actually also makes the black darker yet again.

 

 

Also this time with the top layer I have the C shaped ears at the four corners.

And bury most toggles under the top layer so that the locking ring does show on top. Sometimes for small toggles they are not long enough, then I'd place the ring/nut at the top layer else the shaft doesn't protrude above the surface far enough. Same with small push buttons.

 

Finished a few panels.

 

Added a barricade for this one.

 

 

To prop the acrylic block up and prevent from falling through the rectangular hole, I use this. Thin acrylic sheet hot clued together. Always looking for the simplest solution. or just lazy.

 

CNCed panels look very nice. And more precise for cutting and drilling than by hand. But I don't have a cnc machine to mill the wordings. I can only paste paper on top. But I'm satisfied with this version using the hand tools I have, to manually cut and drill.

 

CNCs can also make nice square and round buttons for UFC and CDU. And the many required square holes that is impossible to make by hand. I'd just use plastic ones over push buttons over a breadboard.

 

Knobs are made out of molds to create many cheap replicas.

[rocketeer]

From Ace hardware store. Looks like the right shape and size to me.

[Warhog]

Shawn, I have to say that you are one of the most creative cockpit builders I have had the pleasure of meeting. What you can accomplish without the use of CNC and lasers and fancy materials is absolutely astounding. You maximize what you have at your disposal and if its not in your inventory you figure out solutions to move forward anyways.

 

I hope all new cockpit builders have an opportunity to see what you have accomplished and what you can do with a minimum of tools and materials. You just need the motivation to make it happen regardless of what tools and materials you have. Shawn, you really are an inspiration. :thumbup:

[rocketeer]

Warhog, thanks for your words of encouragement. Coming from a guru means a lot.

[rocketeer]

Guys, on the navigation select mode panel, some buttons light up with single triangle, some two. Those that show one, will also show only one, and those that show two always two?

I mean they don't sometimes show one and sometimes two right?

Any meaning behind one or two triangles?

[Boltz]

Hi rocketeer do you have a picture to show this? I believe all the indicators should only have one triangle

[FSFIan]

The EGI, STR PT and ANCHR buttons have a double triangle when lit up, the others have a single one:

 

 

The symbol is always the same for each button as far as I know. Internally each of these lights is defined just like any other indicator light in the A-10C's Lua files. If there were a case where the symbol was different, I'd be very surprised (and would have to fix DCS-BIOS).

[Boltz]

The real manual has no mention of any double triangle or dual indicators. This photo is of a trainer but it looks like the 2 triangles are there on the EGI light.

 

If it is there in a real A-10 then both triangles will be illuminated at the same time.