Decision Time . . . Open Cockpits or Phidgets???

[Tom_G_2010]

I'm at that point in my build where it's time to purchase I/O cards and start to build out my panel and control interfaces.  In fact I'm looking to order my first cards in the next day or so.

I've read about as many different brands and types of I/O as I could find on the forums and other sources.  I've narrowed my search down to a combination of Leo Bodnar, & Phidgets,  or Open Cockpit.

For what I want to do (a GA twin prop) the I/O I need comes out about $200 more for the L.B./Phid. combination as compared to O.C.  My dilemma is that I've heard many stories good and bad about the complexities of SIOC and also some concerns posted on line about the responsiveness of OC in both shipping product and responding to e-mail.  Where as Leo seems to be way more accessible and the folks at Phidgets are always at the other end of an 800 number 5 days a week.

So, for $200 more it seems I get much better support, but for the $200 less I save money and get "from what I've read" more programming flexibility, but poorer support form the manufacturer.

I would welcome any thoughts and opinions that might help me finalize my decisions.

THANKS!

[jackpilot]

My humble 2¢:
Do not base your choice on cost but on your real needs.

$200 is peanuts VS the total cost of your Sim, and the cards are one vital element of success.
I cant comment on those as I use SYS Cards, but just relying on forum content, I see that all OC stuff require abilities which go way above my head.
Also the GA Twin does not have a 737overhead  to deal with and the programming flexibility factor just might  be a non- issue?
Just saying!

[Tom_G_2010]

Good Points Jack, thx!

I see some amazing stuff done with SIOC but also read many stories of coding nightmares as people hunt for resolutions.

One other issue that may throw my decision is the growing availability of hardware modules for the aviation stack that are showing up with much better price points.  The more prefab'd avionics that are available, the fewer 7 segment displays I have to setup myself, and therefore the less appealing the OC solution is.

[jackpilot]

The moment you invest in a plug and play avionics stack, you just cut the sim completion time and workload in Two.
Worth every penny.
Plus reliability.

[DarrylH]

I have to agree!

For the F-16 I used custom written software (NOT  written by me!!) for everything as the complexity was far beyond what I could ever have achieved in Phidgets/Leo Bodnar. Luckily there were people who could set everything independantly and give us a GUI for finishing touches. THEY did the equiv of the SOIC programming.

For "simple" aircraft, the Spitfire or light GA, the leo Bodnar cards handle absolutely everything input wise and FS2Phidget is quite easy to use even by the "computerly challenged" such as me.

If the aircraft is "simple" and what you enjoy is flying rather than spending hours making a light blink every 2.4 seconds instead of every 2.65...then $200 is nothing.


Just my 0.2987c (inflation adjusted)


Darryl
   

[mikeh]

I am a OC person
I built their Master card, USB expansion and dispaly cards + seven segments
The SIOC is actually very easy. Strange thing is if you are (like me) a conventional programmer then getting your head around the event driven logic is actually harder than if you have very little knowledge
I have friends with Leo Bods kit and for a small simple setup with some switches etc then it does the trick
where OC or other systems score is their ability to integrate with other systems
I use gauge composer for the MIP panels and this uses IOCP - a sister system with OC using SIOC and they merge well. Also if you then decide to buy rather than build some particular element and it is SIOC complient then its relatively easy to integrate.
I'm not saying anything is 'easy peasy' but if you are determined to learn a little and are supported (I am happy to help anyone in anyway I can) though not an expert like Nico Kaan - I use his pages to help me - but at least I understand where he is coming from & I have a background in programming and electronics

[fordgt40]

Mike

I fully agree with your comments and have a multitude of OC cards happily running, will shortly be hooking up the DC motors card for the throttles. SIOC can be  easy or difficult dependent on your expectations and "your own internal logic ability". Other than OC "plug and play" modules, it is not for those who cannot be bothered to properly read manuals or invest time in fully understanding how it works. There is no short cut to success - try simple texts first and then build on that. Once understood it is extremely powerful, fast and flexible - you can even programme in random failures of key systems provided their h/w is controlled by SIOC

As an amateur  C programmer from back in the 70`s I too had difficulty with event driven logic, but once understood it is great

David

[Emesis]

My vote goes to the OC cards also. I started out with some DesktopAviator cards, simple and cheap. I thought a few switches here with an input card, and a rotary encoder card here and there for some knobs, and I'm all set. Well that was fine for awhile, but when I started adding more components to my build I soon discovered that the simple I/O cards were not going to work. SIOC is kind of tough to learn at first, and the docs are hard to decipher. But once you see the sequence of how it works, then the possibilities are wide open.

Cheers,
Rand