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Usable USB 3.0 HID interface boards?


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After reading about the problems that existing USB 1.1/2.0 devices have with USB 3.0, I have decided to start a project to develop a USB 3.0 flight-controls system suitable for the simpit. Otto Engineering, a United States electrical-hardware company, has several devices that I can potentially use for this project, including but not limited to Hall-effect sensors; control-grip switches (including T1, T4, and T8 multi-way toggles, T2 two-way toggle/pushbuttons, T5 four-way toggle/pushbuttons, P1 straight pushbuttons, SL-2221 three-position slides, and three two-stage trigger switches); and two-axis position transducers. The controls layout I envision for this prototype should be adaptable for fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft. Although the list of part numbers below is specific to Otto Engineering, suppliers worldwide should have similar switches and senders available.

 

I envision a control grip with a fairly large top pod for the center stick, packing both large (T5-0004 "RDR/FLIR" Castle, T5-0018 Trim Cone in top pod; T5-0035 Bent Large Jog in thumbrest) and small (T5-CH1211 "A/P" Stadium, T5-CH1218 "WPN" Stadium, T5-CK1218 4-way Jog, T1-CC1218 "RNG" Rocker, T1-CC1212 "TGT" Rocker in top pod; T5-CGD1211 hat in thumbrest) multi-ways, straight (P7-8B5125 "Straight/Level", P7-1B5123 "IFF" in top pod; two P7-1B5121 in front and left of handle) pushbuttons, plus U2-025 "ICS/TX" mid-handle trigger, U2-278 lower-left-handle rocker, and SL-2221C1A6 mid-rear-handle slide. I actually like the theory behind the dual triggers used in the top pods of most Russian Federal Frontal types, fixed- (MiG-29/35, Su-27/33) and rotary-wing (Ka-50); therefore plan on up to three Basic Switches each for the Stores (Ka-50-style) and Camera Gun (Su-24/27/33-style) triggers, including series-wired Stowed switches to support the "Trigger Up" function. I anticipate some analog inputs being needed not only for Roll and Pitch (Lateral and Longitudinal Cyclic in rotary-wings) but also for Air Brake application force (using a handle on the stick column), Target Designator Controller deflection, and Point-of-View transducer deflection. One option under consideration is a twist-grip switch for Yaw Trim (used for the fins of some fixed-wing types); I already plan on yaw-deflection (viz., Rudder) pedals with individual toe-brake transducers.

 

The Collective switch pod I picture would pack a set of multi-ways TBD as of 13 March 2015, up to four straight toggles (two of which would have spring guards), some pushbuttons, a German KG-12/13/14-style trigger (depressing a 4PDT momentary switch) for Engine Start, and probably two transducers. Analog inputs include Collective Pitch, dual Condition twist-grips (Bell Helicopter Textron-style; may be reassigned to Throttle and Mixture of piston 'copters), and the deflection of the two transducers. The dual throttles of some fixed-wing types would use a subset of the Collective functions listed above.

 

Given up to sixteen analog input axes and sixty-four switch inputs, what interface board(s) would be satisfactory for starting development of a USB 3.0 flight-simulator control system consistent with the above? Thanks in advance.

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After reading about the problems that existing USB 1.1/2.0 devices have with USB 3.0, I have decided to start a project to develop a USB 3.0 flight-controls system suitable for the simpit.

 

I doubt that any vendor will build a USB 3.0 HID device. Building a USB 2.0 or 1.1 device is cheaper, and there is no human interface device that would require the new SuperSpeed mode of USB 3.0.

 

USB 3.0 ports are supposed to be backward-compatible. If they are not, that is a bug in the USB 3.0 controller, not in the USB 2.0 or 1.1 device.

 

With 16 analog axes and 64 digital inputs, you will either need to use two commercial USB interface boards or program your own firmware for a USB-capable microcontroller (or one that bit-bangs USB with the V-USB library and the help of a few resistors and diodes) to appear as a "composite device" consisting of two joysticks with 8 axes and 32 buttons each.

 

You could present a 16-axis, 64-button device to Windows and it might work in DCS, but a lot of applications (including the Windows Control Panel as far as I know) only support up to 8 axes and 32 buttons in a single device. This limitation is the reason that the commercial boards are also limited to 8 axes and 32 buttons.

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