TomA320 0 Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Hi, I'm building my own home simulator and it has got to the stage where I need to start building my own switches. I bought the opencockpits master card and expansion card along with two encoders. I am looking to build a trim wheel and other general switches like a parking brake, mags etc, however I am very confused on where to go next. I would be most grateful if someone could give me a list of everything I need and how to go about building the switches. I am aware that I can buy products to avoid having to solder, however I would rather solder myself to keep costs down. I have seen some of the manuals that go along with the opencockpits cards but they are double Dutch to me. I would really appreciate any help. Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Hi Tom, Firstly, have you established a firm connection between the master card and the USBExpansion card? I also reccommend you download and install the SIOC software package from Opencockpits' website. Without it, you cannot test or interface your switches. Regards, Jack Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Hi, no not yet, I still need to buy the cabel to connect the expansion card to the master card. Is this the ribbon cable? Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 8, 2011 Report Share Posted June 8, 2011 Tom, This connection is made via a parallel port cable. Te be fair, no cable is required to connect the two cards. You'll notice the master card (male) plugs right into the USBExpansion Card (female). There is, however, a metal sheaf in the way of the connection (just try it). Simply unscrew this sheaf adn you're away. Jack Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 Thanks Jack, what do you mean by the shaft being in the way, could you please point to it on my picture below. Also, does it matter what femail port I plug the mastercard in on the expansion card as there are 4? Thnaks Tom Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted June 9, 2011 Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 A question, Tom - sorry, no answer! - how long did OpenCockpits take sending their stuff to you? Or did you order from a U.K. supplier? I ask as I've only just put in an order for the Analogue Axes cards and some bits... BTW, what are you building... Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi, it took about 2 weeks to arrive, they quoted 2-4 days though! I think it was because of banks holidays, weekends etc. I'm building a simulator with a pedestal, overhead, MIP etc, if you want to see some pics have a look here: http://forum.justflight.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=16118&PN=1 Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted June 9, 2011 Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 Looks good - all those knobs and dials! I'm just making some heli controls with an old joystick and the OC Axes card - when the stuff arrives ... Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 9, 2011 Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 Hi Tom, this should help: Jack Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 Ok, thanks Jack, I'll get them put together and post back once finished. Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi Jack, I've now got the cards joined together and I can see that they are working through the SIOC software. What should I do now? Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 10, 2011 Report Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi Tom, Now that they are recognised and working, you should connect a 40-pin female IDC cable (ribbon cable) connector to your desired "Block". There are 4 blocks. One isn't used (well, not useful for you. It powers a displays card which I have, but you don't). One is for outputs, and the other two are for inputs. Check below for which input block you need to use. It should be the first one logically. IE: There are 72 inputs. J3 handles 0-35 J4 handles 36-72 Use Block J3. Regards, Jack Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 Ok, thanks Jack, I've ordered the IDC cabel so as soon as I've got it connected I'll post back. Thanks again for your help! Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Ok, I've connected the ribbon cabel to J3. Just wanted to check something, one end is blue and the other is black, I've connected the black end, is this correct? What's the next step? Thanks Tom Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi Tom, Please may you post a photograph? Cheers, Jack Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi Jack, here are some photos: Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 21, 2011 Report Share Posted June 21, 2011 Hi Tom, Provided that all 40 female pins fit into the 40 male pins, that is correct. Now, snip the other end off so you have one end in the master card, and the other end with just the chopped off wires showing. Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Is there any way to check that the black side is the 40 female pins one as both sides fit? I don't want to cut of the wrong one! Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 Tom, as far as I know, both ends are exactly the same (40-pin Female). Tip: Cut of the end that will give you the most "length". EG: C = Connector --- = Wires C--------------------C----------------------------------------------------C Here, for example, you would plug the "C" on the far right into the card, and snip just before (on the right hand side) the middle "C". I appreciate it is a strange text example, but I'm pretty sure your IDC cable looks like that. Jack Link to post Share on other sites
kiek 1 Posted June 25, 2011 Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Hi, Here links to more info about Opencockpits hardware (IOCards )and software(SIOC, Confiog_SIOC). kind regards, Nico Kaan Link to post Share on other sites
TomA320 0 Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 Thanks for the tip Jack, I've now connected the blue end as that would give me the most cabel. What do I do now I've cut the cabel? Great link Nico, thanks! Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 Hi Tom, You should now seperate the cable into its individual 40 wires. One end is in the master card; leave that there. The other end, which has the cut 40 cables on, should be seperated out until you can touch each cable individually and connect it to whatever you want. So yes, for now, just seperate out the 40 wires so that they're free to connect. Jack Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 28, 2011 Report Share Posted June 28, 2011 IE: There are 72 inputs.J3 handles 0-35 J4 handles 36-72 @ Jack - Following this with interest. Would that be 36-71 for J4, since J3 is zero-based? Just being my anal self... Those cards are pretty amazing. Need to learn more about rotary encoders - I'm not interested in cockpit building in the general sense, but wouldn't mind putting together a generic hardware radio stack. That's pretty general stuff and would not tend to lock me into any particular AC class or type, which is my problem with hardware cockpits. John Link to post Share on other sites
Aircraft Aviation 2 Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 Hi John, That is correct. As 0 IS counted and 71 IS counted it is correct to say 0-71, not 1-72. I just thought it would be easier to explain that way; alot of people say that zero doesn't count, etc, etc... Jack Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted June 29, 2011 Report Share Posted June 29, 2011 If anyone is going to fool around with computers at anything expcept the most basic level, they'd better get used to the idea of zero-based counting. Keep up the good work, Jack. You and your dad amaze me. John Link to post Share on other sites
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