Interface Wish List

[AndyT]

Most of us at one time or another have complained about the interface we chose for one reason or another. Since this is the end of 2008, lets put together a wish list of what we really want and need in an interface. List the things that will make your life as a builder that much easier.
And this should not be aircraft specific. It will apply to any size and type of aircraft.

(Obviously, glass items will be more complex, but lets look more at just the hardware interface for now.)

Ok suppliers, are you listening?

[ian@737ng.co.uk]

wow....don't get me going !
personally, i would love to see some kind of standards in our hobby over and above microsoft giving us the environment in which to immerse ourselves and then everybody shooting off in different directions and developing their own thing and then telling us it's the best thing we have seen since the last time they told us. this increases costs and makes life complicated for new hobbyists.
i had a dream....that one day we would have a USB interface card that you just plugged in and using a 'user friendly', easy to use menu system you could simply apply actions to both inputs and outputs without having to hold a science degree in computers.
the FSUIPC menu system is a great example. although it is a sophisticated piece of interface software, pete's done a great job of making it 'what you see is what you get'. press this button and then choose what you want to do with it from a simple keysend thru to manipulating parameters in offsets.
so, the best for me would be developers interfacing with each other. i know it's a dream, but if you don't have a dream, you don't have jack.
happy new year captains....... ian

[Michael Carter]

An All-in-One Interface card.

No 'master's' to buy you have to plug in to and then into the computer.

A card that has 100 inputs & 100 outputs (selectable) at 5VDC/12VDC/and 24VDC with at least 100ma on each output. Separate grounds for different voltages on the outputs. No floating grounds.

A section on the card for rotary encoders. At least ten.

A section on the card for analog inputs. Eight should do. Let's see, pitch, roll, yaw, nosewheel steering, elevator trim, aileron trim, rudder trim, flaps, speedbrakes, up to four throttles. Hmm...eight won't do. Needs to be 13 which I guess will have to be electrically broken up into two separate sections on the card with two USB outputs so the computer sees two separate cards.

Push tabs to wire the switches to the card. I hate header pins, header connectors, and pigtails that have to be wired.

An included computer program that allows drop & drag programming and keeps track of which switch does what and what connector it's wired to. One that also allows you to tell the card what type of switch you are using. Toggle, momentary, pushbutton, rotary, SPST, SPDT, DPDT, multiple pole/multiple throw.

A standard programming language for custom logic applications that can be used IN ENGLISH, not computer geek and hieroglyphics.

Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming.

[mounty]

Hi,

A combination of what Michael said and what Ian said!

+ a single card that has 100 inputs and 100 outputs with built in resistors, works with FSUIPC, test function for LEDs.

Rob

[AndyT]

Lets include control systems for 7 segment displays and text LED/LCD displays up to 20 x 4. I just want to plug them in and assign a function to them.


Come'on Ian, that what this thread is for. No holding back now, tell us what you really think.

[kiek]

I really have no wishes, everything is already available:Opencockpits interface cards with SIOC software is all I need!

Happy new Year!

Nico Kaan
www.lekseecon.nl

[tomenglish2000]

I second open cockpits! Excellent stuff.
Sure you need a "Master Card" but it comes with outputs and inputs. Each add on card is cheap and does exactly what it says plus the SIOC language is easy to learn!