What type of flight control board to get.

Looking for help to find the best flight control board to recive switch input and a board to control guages. Thanks can some one point me in the direction thanls

Do you mean driving stepper motors for dials?

I mean a flight controler to usb. To were I would plug all my diffrent Switchs too.

What the "best" controller board is depends on your application.

There is a spectrum that ranges from buying off the shelf hardware (costs a little more, but you get a turnkey solution) to writing your own firmware (lots of work, extremely cheap hardware, ultimate flexibility).

Derek Speare Designs, GroovyGameGear and Leo Bodnar all offer commercial solutions to your problem. The different boards have different prices, number of input pins, wiring schemes (keyboard matrix or not) and additional features (analog inputs, ability to use rotary encoders).

You can also build your own by uploading the correct firmware to a suitable microcontroller board. There is a thread here on the forums by overpro where he uses an Arduino Mega, there is MMJoy2 which can generate firmware for the Arduino Leonardo, Pro Micro and others.

You can also learn how to program microcontrollers in C++, bang your head against the USB specification, and roll your own USB device with the awesome V-USB library, which implements low-speed USB entirely in software:

I'll admit that this one was only worth the time it took to build because I learned a lot in the process. The lower rotary encoder changes the panel that you are controlling. It shows up as a composite USB device with one 32-button, eight axis controller for each panel. I also found out that Windows will not accept more than 16 joystick devices at once...

Ok thanks for those. Just not sure how to go about it. Because im working on building a cockpit for the AV- 8B and seeing that dcs- bios dont cover that wasnt sure if i would have to go along the lines of a board "http://www.desktopaviator.com/Products/Model_2230/index.htm"

Just a exp. To were i can just program in the game like doing HOTAS. Also not sure how many i could plug in befor over loading the dcs with diffrent control boards. Thanks

I see Ian's been busy:lol: Looking good my friend. BTW, that was an excellent summary of the various approaches available to new cockpit builders.

@ jusromaine If you want a very easy start to this whole business of cockpit building, I would recommend you purchase a BB-32 board from Leo Bodnars web site. This is the simplest and most straight forward way to get you feet wet. This board will give you 32 inputs to use toggle switches, push buttons and/or rotary encoders. It is extremely easy to use. No programming needed and just a rudimentary knowledge of electronics is all that's required. You bind the inputs (switches) in the DCS control options pages for whichever airframe you want just as you would for any flight controller (rudder pedals/stick).

I would consider this board as an entry level start to cockpit building. The cost of the board is more than reasonable. But if you do find it expensive, you might want to re-assess your commitment to cockpit building as the costs can and will grow substantially as you move toward more complex solutions. One way to mediate costs is by purchasing your electronic components on eBaY from Chinese sources. It will reduce your costs dramatically.

Good luck.

Those price's are nice might order me two today

Here is another option https://www.hagstromelectronics.com/ke-usb108-keyboard-encoder-shp.html I like the Hagstrom KeUSB108 and KE72. The KE 72 requires a PS2 port to work tho. You have to learn a little scripting in their language, but they give you everything you need to learn it. Verry simple but time-consuming. Very reliable. I programmed A KE72 years ago for the KA-50 and it still works to this day without fail. The downside is, of course, the price. O and they have very good customer support.

I also use the GPwiz 40 from GGG for a UFC I built.

Here is another option https://www.hagstromelectronics.com/ke-usb108-keyboard-encoder-shp.html I like the Hagstrom KeUSB108 and KE72.

You do know that with less effort from a programming point of view, you can buy a board (Arduino MEGA) for less than $11.00 and generate 256 inputs (Overpro's thread) instead of paying $170.00 to Hagstromelectronics.com for 108 inputs.

Also, I just discovered that the BBI-32 that sells for $28.00 has a big brother, the BBI-64 that sells for $50.00. The cost per input for the BBI-32 is $0.87 compared to $0.78 for the BBI-64. Both boards are an excellent cost/input compared to...

BBI-64

I see this is a little old but it references the BBI-64 I just ran across today for the first time. I am still in the beginning stages of learning before jumping in. I can’t pick one aircraft to model a cockpit after and want take a “universal” approach.

With the BBI-64 the website states FSUPIC having a limitation to 32 buttons per controller does any limitation exist with DCS?

Will the BBI-64 allow direct programming of switches, buttons and rotaries thru the DCS controls GUI in the program?

If I understand correctly the way DCS uses layers in the control assignments, the .lua file modifications made when you assign buttons on the module specific tab would allow you to have more than one aircraft using the same custom panels. Is this a correct assessment of the basics?

Should I continue to add to my joystick .lua as I add modules to the sim or should I be creating a profile for each module separately?

Thanks in advance to all the generosity of the experienced builders who share their experiences with us neophytes.

Derek Speare Designs 64 button board works great with DCS. I can only presume the BBI - 64 would do just the same.

If your referring to the Leo bodnar board from what I’ve read it just plug and play I’m not sure if you must program the board using the setup software from bodnar or not if that’s just for certain controls that must be setup. I was going to build a button box and may still do down the road but now I’m setting up the CaptoGloves for use. They don’t have feedback right now but it’s coming from what I read.

When using a Leo board Pots and Buttons don't need programing but when you use encoders you have to use there program to get the encoder to work.

Thanks for the replies,

When I said software I meant the assign controls interface within DCS. Using the controls interface I can assign functions to any of the buttons on the warthog and they can be different from module to module as long as they are assigned within the module level interface. Ie: hat button could be set as trim on the f-18 and look around on the f-5.

If I used the BBI-64 would the buttons, switches and rotaries be recognized by DCS and assignable within the DCS interface so they could be assigned differently between modules?

Need to find out more about the different input protocols available. Some have stated there is a 16 device limit for windows joysticks but just scratching the suface there seems to be a newer direct input api that may not have the same limitations.

With the BBI-64 the website states FSUPIC having a limitation to 32 buttons per controller does any limitation exist with DCS?

It shouldn't pose a problem. I have been running 2x B256A13 boards from brydling. Each of the boards will show up as one joystick controller with 128 inputs. DCS sees all four controllers as 128 inputs.

If I used the BBI-64 would the buttons, switches and rotaries be recognized by DCS and assignable within the DCS interface so they could be assigned differently between modules?

My experience with BBI-32, BU0836X, BU0836A is that the buttons will be assigned individually in DCS, thus you can use input1 as landing gear in the A-10 but as power switch in the Hornet.

Cheers

Solo

Fusedspine33

If I used the BBI-64 would the buttons, switches and rotaries be recognized by DCS and assignable within the DCS interface so they could be assigned differently between modules?

All this mentioned boards or Arduinos with MMjoy2 firmware, or custom made firmware are seen by Windows and Games as "game controller", so appear in DCS controls options like any other joystick (an game controller) and is assignable in the same way.

Windows (and most flight games) will report only 32 buttons, but DCS see up to 128 buttons as informed above. IL-2 Bo'X series up to 64.

Thank you all for the replies and your generosity in sharing your experience. It has helped greatly. There are definitely many ways to approach a build.

I thought it was only the encoders that needed setting up. But wasn’t positive glad some one with experience chimed in. The difference between Adriano and bodnar boards are two fold imo the bednar only. Needs settings up for the encoders and from my usage are wired directly. The Adriano boards require setup and use a wiring matrix iirc. So unless you use encoders the bednar boards are wireup and plug and play. Andrino requies software. Setup before plug in play plus the switch matrix

I've gotta chime in here. I bought 4 Derek spears boards and I'm using rotary encoders. They don't work right. Yes i ran the setup program. Derek spears tech support is virtually non existent, and he states so on his site. I figured i was missing something about rotary encoders and electronics that i didn't understand. Then I bought a couple of Leo Bodnar 64 boards, and they work PERFECTLY right away. The encoders do not tweak out or send opposite input at all. And they seem happy to answer any questions you might have, unlike Derek.

The Leo Bodnar boards are incredibly easy to use. Other boards may have greater potential in I/0 counts and programmability, but you have to know how to program them to access that potential. Whereas the Leo Bodnar boards pretty much work the way you would want them to work right out of the box. The only problem I have with the Leo Bodnar boards is that they don't have the resolution and filtering options of high commercial products like Thrustmaster and VKB. But if you can get a clean signal to the 12-bit analog inputs of the Leo Bodnar boards, you will be hard pressed to know the difference.