Non push button interfacing

[sweinhart3]

Has anyone come up with a way to synchronize the sim with non push button switches? The only way I can think of is to have an application or firmware that sends a key input only on switch change. But that still leaves the dilema that if the sim starts with switches in the wrong position, it will no longer be synced. Since missions sometimes start as a cold start and other times already on the runway ready for take off, its not possible to always preplan all the switches in the correct position. If it was always a cold start I could implement a reminder to reset the switches to their default state but thats not always going to work.

 

I have largely been putting off the programming until we know all the variables that will be in the sim and if export.lua will be the same. It was different between FC2 and BS and thats a lot of programming to have to redo or debug if the coding is different. I am trying to find a way to use opencockpits usb cards but I probably cant use them without reprogramming the chip. Id like to avoid having to design my own hardware because wiring is complicated and having them custom made is expensive. The company I looked at will only do a minimum of 3 cards for every design.

Edited July 13, 2010 by sweinhart3

[Joe Kurr]

I use a Velleman K8055 board, which accommodates five on/off switches.

To make it work with Lockon (and FC2) I wrote a small application which reads the switch states from the board.

My export.lua then connects to this application via TCP to get this data in the LoExportBeforeNextFrame function.

 

At the moment, I use four switches, for engines on/off (left + right), flaps up/down and gear up/down.

These functions all have two separate command codes (for LoSetCommand) so if a switch is down, it will always be sending the 'down' code to Lockon.

 

I can for example put the gear switch up while starting my take-off roll, and the gear will go up as soon as I rotate.

 

I do however have to manually reset the switches when I crash, or when I am set to take off from the runway instead of the ramp.

[y2kiah]

sweinhart I plan to have a "send all" button somewhere in my pit that will tell my firmware to treat all inputs as changed on the next loop, thereby sending all control positions once. At the start of each mission, I will optionally press this button to sync the sim to physical switches. For air starts, I'll probably run my startup checklists prior to starting the mission to get most switches into their typical in-flight positions, and then I'll just press the "send all" button when the mission starts and go from there. I might also put a "quick start" button next to the "send all" button and a bunch of other useful sim commands. Luckily there are a bunch of blank panels available for this kind of stuff.

[sweinhart3]

Thank you, that is a good idea. Ive noticed that the sim already does this for buttons that are assigned through directx input. Ive noticed this already as a problem on my cougar for the non momentary switches. Starting the sim with it on requires me to cycle it before take off, or else bad things happen. Perhaps a popup should be brought up that allows you to select between cold start and take-off readiness and reminds you to reset the switches to their appropriate position before first unpausing the flight. Having your switches in off positions before starting an in flight game would be bad. Im a bit curious how they plan to implement this sort of thing on the Hotas Warthog if your supposed to be flying and your throttle/switches are in shutdown positions.

[digital_steve]

I have a goflight switch panel that is used to send keystrokes for cockpit switches

I set them preflight to wherever they need to be for where i'll start the flight (on the ground, in the air etc).

 

I guess it's no different from a real pilot pre flight checklist and setting everything as needed. The software can't do everything for you.

[sweinhart3]

no but when you have 20 switches that need to be set to a certain setting depending on the flight condition this can be a hassle at best. If you get shot down or crash it can really become a pain in the ass to have to reset them all every time.

[talisman]

i have around 140 switches and pushbuttons. I use the pause method of making everything is set correctly. After around a month or so of constant flying i can simply run my hands over the panels and place each switch in the correct position.

 

I dont need to use software to tell the sim where the switches are set - because i still need to set them anyway. I just used a checklist and learnt it by heart.

 

This is by far the best insentive to not get shot down in the first place. lol

[Krebs20]

Pause method? I assume you mean you can set all the switches from pause so they line up? Clever.