New USB Controller and Sim Experimeter's PCB

[Pilotgil]

Hello, I am not sure if anyone is interested but I will just tell you a bit about my USB controllers. Even though I worked for Boeing in flight simulation (with CAE and FlightSafety Full-Flight Simulators) and have hundreds of hours in certified full motion "real" flight simulators (MD-11, MD-90, MD-90EFD, B-717, etc.), when I decided to "get" into PC-based flight "sims"several years ago, I found that the learning curve was fairly steep (FS9, FSX, P3D, etc.). Like all of you, I just kept plugging away for a long time. This is not a simple hobby to learn.

Since then, we have built several projects and each day I become more enthusiastic about PC-based flight training. As a flight instructor myself, I use PC-based flight training devices with every student. This is a revolution in training effectiveness!

As we built our "training devices", we needed the standard I/O items (analog and digital - push button, rotary, etc. ) so we built our own. We have a website if anyone is interested.  I am hoping that if we can help "new simmers" get up to speed quickly with our simple boards, we all benefit with new customers which will buy add-ons such as scenery, aircraft, etc. which will keep developers making the great products.

If you are interested:

htt://www.atsimulation.com

[Trevor Hale]

Interesting concept using the rj45 connectors. Nice job.

Trev

[Pilotgil]

Thanks! I find them very reliable. Also, the twisted pair works great for noise reduction. My newest "sim" is a Piper Seminole with 160 degree FOV for IFR procedures training. The toughest part was getting the "sim" to really fly like the plane but with the span corrected design, curve fitting at the A/D before being sent out over the USB, model tweaks, and a working trim, she flys really well.

[HondaCop]

Nice!!! Like the other guy said, why didn't I think of that first (reference using RJ45 connectors)! LOL This is why I love surfing other home made cockpits, because people can be so creative and one can learn a lot.

Good luck, buddy!

[Pilotgil]

Just remember to not "ground" the twisted pair at "both" ends. Otherwise...ground loops...take a look at my webpage under tech support and you'll see an example in the documentation.  What makes these connectors great is I have the USB PCB also provide the USB bus voltage which also is the reference for the A/D. Meaning, let it float but provide the bus voltage to your sensors (pots, hall effect, etc.) and do not try to scale for absolute voltages. The entire signal chain will remain ratiometric. Using distribution boards, it's an easily "click" to get something wired rather that a rats nest of wires. Plus, I don't have to make up the cables. You can buy the CAT cable in many different lengths.

If you really want to go nuts, set the end points (max and min voltages) in EEPROM, in a ratiometric process, everything scales across the A/D resolution rather than wasting bits even if the scale span is different for each channel (of course, each channel has unique EEPROM data). This is what I do because just adding bits isn't the answer.

Good luck, I hope the connector idea helps.