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Using plugins to drive servo motors

Discussion in 'DIY Motion Simulator Projects' started by hugso, Oct 6, 2013.

  1. MagicEdge

    MagicEdge Active Member Gold Contributor

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    The only I/O boards that I found to drive the Parker BD-15 hydraulic servo -10v to +10v 60mA max is the phidgets 1002 4 analog output board driving the Parker BD99 servo amplifier board. Using the phidgets 1018_2 as sensor input control. I really wanted to eliminate use of the Parker BD-99 and use the newer technology but did not find anything that would do what was needed. Does SimTools support the phidgets boards? Any help will be appreciated for overlooked hardware.
  2. eaorobbie

    eaorobbie Well-Known Member SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    they are quite complicated to drive my friend hence we went back to using an Ard and standard servos for Hugso unit, he was using the phidgets, and interface plugin would need to be created for theses units like the K8055 is needed, just little time at the moment.
    mmm can the servos be changed out for std units, you can get some pretty strong servos theses days in 5-6Volts.
    Just an idea.
    Maybe we could come up with a way of using the ard to drive the Parker BD99 board ?
  3. MagicEdge

    MagicEdge Active Member Gold Contributor

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    Not sure of any servos other than parker brand to be compatible. The BD-15/30 can be obtained with PWM but the cost of Parker components is astronomical! I prefer to use what came on the Magic Edge Simulators. The phidgets 1002 fits well to drive the input to the Parker BD99. In fact the phidgets output is perfect for the input control to the BD99. -10 to +10 at 20mA. I don't believe the Ard can do this function. Correct me if I missed something. Help is definitely needed from the community to get interfaced . Cheers, John
  4. MagicEdge

    MagicEdge Active Member Gold Contributor

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    What about us that have need of analog -+ command outputs. The Ard Uno Rev3 only outputs PWM. Surely there must be a board out there that will work with SimTools? I am leaning on Simtools to operate my simulators and am at a standstill until finding a way to control. EPIC was the 2nd operating sytem and with the advancements in technology a step up is desired. This hobby sure is consuming but enjoyable.
  5. eaorobbie

    eaorobbie Well-Known Member SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    Here is a link that might be handy,
    http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php/topic,17548.0.html
    They take the 5v signal and turn it into 10v signal.
    Another.
    http://playground.arduino.cc/Main/RegulatedPositiveVoltageBooster
  6. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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  7. eaorobbie

    eaorobbie Well-Known Member SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    Thanks Sorry forgot about your card, Been a while since I read that post. Should be exactly what is needed.
    Most inverters require a 10v signal to set speed , and utilize a 24v connection to determine the direction, these can be controlled by a solid state relays to quicken the process. Cheers.
  8. yobuddy

    yobuddy Well-Known Member Staff Member Moderator SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

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    You can use BC547 transistors for the 24v direction connections.
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  9. MagicEdge

    MagicEdge Active Member Gold Contributor

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    Thanks a lot. I will take a look at the posted links. Merry Christmas to all.
  10. Historiker

    Historiker Dramamine Adict Gold Contributor

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    Hey Hugso, any updates?
  11. hugso

    hugso Active Member

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    Hi Historiker, good to hear from you. Not much change here after my flurry of activity at the end of last year. My motion platform cockpit flies great with IL-2 Sturmovic, even better than before. Cliffs of Dover works great too, but only works with the pre-written Single Missions, which means I can't choose where to take off and what plane I fly. Great graphics and scenery and lovely to fly, but I would love to be able to make my own missions and set up some trains and other things. I hope sometime maybe prilad could enable data output in Full Mission Builder.

    Not having much luck with DCS World. There is something strange about the Heave data (apart from it being reversed) which I can't get to give a proper servo motion. The Sway and Heave are transposed and I don't have Airspeed, which is a shame. Again I hope one day this can be fixed, ideally before the Normandy 1944 Version is released.

    What are you up to at the moment?
  12. Historiker

    Historiker Dramamine Adict Gold Contributor

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    Still waiting for my Chinese motor driver to arrive so I can finish my 6DoF platform. Not sure if it will hold my weight and the rig but it is fun to build.

    We should get together and talk about DCS 1944 some time. Do you fly with a group?
  13. hugso

    hugso Active Member

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    Hi Historiker

    Good luck with your project. 6 dof sounds pretty impressive. Have you considered having the rig supported by springs or compressed air and merely using the motors to move you from this centre balanced point? That way you need much less power to shift you. In my experience you only need a couple inches of movement each way to give enough cueing to feel really good. I can't speak from practical experience of racing sims, but certainly for flight sims a few inches heave pitch roll and sway works well.

    I am really looking forward to DCS 1944. At present I fly the P-51, offline only at present. Not really plucky enough to fly online. The detail and modelling of the Mustang I like a lot. The landscape is not so good for me (although firing rockets into a block of flats is rather fun). I do find the Mustang rather a challenge to fly compared with the Spitfires and Hurricanes of IL-2 and Cliffs of Dover. I will experiment more with joystick curves for pitch and roll in DCS. My favourite sim at the mo is Cliffs of Dover, the scenery and modelling are great. Unfortunately, at present SimTools only works with Single Missions which means there is no scope for editing planes or ground objects. I have posted in the CloD plugin forum to ask if there is any possibility of getting SimTools working with Full Mission Builder, but have had no reply as yet.
  14. prilad

    prilad Well-Known Member SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer

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  15. hugso

    hugso Active Member

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  16. MagicEdge

    MagicEdge Active Member Gold Contributor

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  17. Razvan

    Razvan Member

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    Hi there all..
    Found this old thread, and was giving it a go.
    All's well up to the part with the preset validation.
    The file is .cfg, while the simTools engine wants a .pre
    I guess it has to do with simTools updates etc.

    Just wanted to ask if there's any easy fix before I dive in to find an answer.
  18. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

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    Use @eaorobbie's code and the the instructions from here, taking note of the Interface Settings for SimTools 2: https://www.xsimulator.net/community/threads/2dof-simulator-servo-model.6851/#post-77270
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