Open Cockpits help

[TomA320 0]

Thanks Jack, so just to confirm I seperated the ends all the way down to the mastercard?

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

Hi Tom,

Seperate out the wires as much as you want. For example, if your switches are located a long way from the Card, you'll need to seperate all the way down to the master card to get a good wire length.

If, however, your switches are right next to your card, then only seperate out what you need.

Also, get a pair of wire strippers handy, as you'll need to strip the ends off the wires so that the metal core shows (so you can solder/connect it to things).

Jack

[TomA320 0]

Ok Jack, that's now done, do I now solder my rotery encoder onto the wire?

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

Hi Tom,

Yes that's correct, but first lets establish exactly which terminals you are soldering to and from.

How many terminals does your rotary encoder have? I assume it has 5 (2 for the push-button, and 3 for the encoder itself); but I'm pretty sure last time I bought an encoder from Opencockpits it had 6. So that I don't get confused, please could you tell me how many terminals your encoder has?

Actually, in theory, it could have just four if the ground is shared across the entire encoder.

Regards,

Jack :001_th_smiles89:

[TomA320 0]

Hi Jack, I think it has 5 but to be honest I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Does this picture help?

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

Aha yes that's perfect. The "top" three terminals are for the rotary encoder.

The "bottom" two terminals accmodate for the push-button. Incase you didn't know, try "pushing" the rotary encoder down into its base. You'll hear a slight click; this is a built in push button.

Think of it like the heading knob on a 767. You turn the rotary encoder to select your heading, then PUSH it to confirm your heading.

So yes, use the top three for the encoder, but if you also want the push-button, then you can use the bottom two aswell.

On the "bottom" two terminals, the wiring is as follows:

1 2

GND +5V

On the "top" three terminals, the connections are as follows (according to the datasheet):

1 2 3

+5V GND +5V

To connect to the master card, you'll need to connect pin 2 (GND) to a "ground" on the master card (which is every tenth pin, see the manual for more information). The other pins (1 and 3) connect to "inputs" on the master card (two seperate inputs). Note: You must use the inputs appropriate for each ground. There are 40 pins, each split into blocks of 10.

Each block of 10 consists of 9 inputs and 1 ground. When I wired my first master card, I produced this diagram. I hope it helps:

Basically, the top row is facing INTO the master card, and the bottom row OUT. Also, make sure you've connected the 40-pin ribbon cable to block "J3".

I appreciate it's alot of information to stomach, but unfortunately it has to be understood if you want to use these cards.

Regards,

Jack

EDIT: Tom, I made that diagram a while bcak and I'd like you to check if it's still correct.

Please can you get wires 39 (5V) and 40 (GND) and hold them with your fingers onto the appropriate terminals on your rotary encoder. I'm talking about the BOTTOM two terminals; hold the negative terminal on wire "40", and the positive wire on wire "39".

Then, start up a program called "controlador.exe" (found in the SIOC folder in your PC).

After ensuring you have connected your master card and USBExpansion card, PRESS the push-button on the rotary encoder (as I mentioned above), and tell me if you get a reaction on the large white box near the bottom of the interface.

[TomA320 0]

Thanks Jack for your detailed reply I'll go and see if I can test them and I'll post back.

Tom

[TomA320 0]

Ok , I've tried but can't seem to get it to work. When you were talking about wires 39 5v and 40 GRD, I am assuming you are referring to wires 39 and 40 on the ribbon cable? Also, one more question, how do I know which terminal is positive and which is negative?

Thanks

Tom

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

Hi Tom,

All the pins on the master card input connectors are positive, with the exceptions of the GND pins.

So that'll be:

0-9, 11-19, 21-29, 31-39 - With pins 10, 20, 30 and 40 being negative or GND (ground).

When I say "pin 39" or "pin 40"; I mean the pins on the input connector. I'm assuming that pin 1 on your ribbon cable goes to pin 1 (pin 0 actually, if we use the proper logic) on your master card.

If you are really stuck, you can make the job alot easier by purchasing these:

http://www.opencockpits.com/catalog/inputs-connection-p-70.html?cPath=21_27

These plug into the connector block, just like your ribbon cable, but then they go to a dedicated PCB which seperates all the inputs out into nice screw-in terminals. All the pins are also labelled 1, 2, 3... etc.

The reason I did not suggest buying this before is because:

A.) It's cheaper not to

B.) I have never used them (although come to think of it, they'd probably make things easier)

C.) They aren't necessary; they just make the job easier

Regards,

Jack :001_th_smiles89:

[TomA320 0]

Hi Jack, thanks for that just one question, when you say the "input connector" does this mean the opencockpits encoder or the ribbon cabel?

I think I'll just stick with what I've got, I don't want to be spending any more money on the cards but thanks for the link anyway.

Tom

[Aircraft Aviation 2]

The "input connector" is the 40-pin IDC block on the Master Card.

Jack :001_th_smiles89: