Quick Question About 5V Power Supply

[stevem]

Sorry for a dumb question...

I just ordered the OC USB Servo Motors Card (being shipped).

It requires a 5V power supply. To do this, does this require a standalone supply unit (if so, where can I source one), or does this get wired-in from the PC in some manner?

Thank you for any advice -- I'm just getting my feet wet, trying to do a Lockheed T-33 cockpit. Picture attached!

http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10369&stc=1

[Zlatko]

First i want to say is to congratulate you for the cockpit you bought, you are a very lucky man .
It doesn't really matter where you getting 5v from, as long as it is a REGULATED power supply. Some of the wall wart units are and some are not regulated. PC power supply is perfectly good and suitable. - red wire is +5v and black wire is GND. Since you are going to build an entire cockpit, a separate PC power supply might be the best option for you. To keep it running you usually need to shorten green wire with black one to drop it low.
If for some reason you are powering one module with one power supply and another one with a second PSU, then it is a good practice to create a common GND for all modules and PSU's.

Regards
Zlatko

[stevem]

Hi Zlatko,

Thanks for your response. I'm at the beginning stages of cockpit building, so my plan is to take one of the VSIs or one of the attitude indicators and convert that. So, I'll probably start by investigating PC power supply -- your red wire/black wire advice is very helpful. I haven't installed hardware in a PC in over 10 years, so I'll have to research where the power supply is, how to tap off of it, etc.

If I have success with my first instrument, then I'll build a 2nd, and then I'll probably develop a master plan involving a common GND and a separate PSU.

My general attack is this:
PHASE 1:
- Get the OC Servmo Motors card, connect the 5V, modify the wiring on a Hitec HS-322HD servo (to connect properly to the terminals on the OC card), configure the .ini file, write some basic SIOC, and just get the servo to turn.
- Then, rebuild the insides of the VSI or AI to work with the servo motor, and tweak it for accuracy.
- Do the same with a 2nd instrument.

PHASE 2:
- Remove all components inside the cockpit for cosmetic restoration. i.e., ejection seats, panels, placards, lights, switches, etc.

PHASE 3:
- Ship the cockpit to a teardown company that I'm associated with, have them cut the fuselage into pieces (sides, bottom, floor, nose, etc.).
*** The goal is to get the whole thing into my basement ***

PHASE 4:
- Send those fuselage pieces to a friend who does automotive restoration… he loves doing non-automotive stuff like this!

PHASE 5:
- In the basement: build the functioning "cockpit", meaning the cockpit floor is in place, make the front-cockpit instruments work with FSX, the stick/rudder pedals/brakes/throttles are rigged to pots.
- Configure the pots to be recognized by another OC card.
- Connect the front-cockpit instruments to the OC card, with all the associated SIOC code written, complied, etc.

PHASE 6:
- Bring the cosmetic fuselage pieces into the basement for reassembly around the functioning cockpit pieces.

Crazy?

Here's a cockpit shot of it now:
http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10372&stc=1

[stevem]

<deleted, post was duplicated for some reason>

[Zlatko]

Not crazy, well ..... almost :) What you intend to do, sounds very exciting to me . Alongside with the hobby servo ( 180 degree rotation ) take a look at robotic servo's too ( some of them are with higher resolution and allow up to 300 degree rotation . Not sure if they work with OC card though ( i hope some more knowledgeable people get in and let us know ). For instruments requiring continuous rotation (gyro heading, etc.), stepper motors are good choice too.
And for instruments with resolvers ( VOR, etc. ) it is best to connect them non modified with another synchro, driven by stepper motor.
For the PC PSU - there are some good wiring diagrams out there, if you search the web for "ATX PSU Wiring Diagram"
I would love to see your further progress, please keep us updated with news and pictures - it is a pleasure to see how the cockpit is getting alive .
See ya and happy flying.

PS - Oh , man, looking back at the pictures of your cockpit, that makes me soooooo jealous.

[stevem]

Thanks for the feedback -- I'll definitely check out the robotic servos. From the OC documentation, it would appear that such a servo could be controlled by the OC Servo Motors card. Maybe I'll see if I can pick up a cheap one to test… certainly, a 300-degree servo motor would be better than doing a 2:1 gear with a 180-degree servo motor.

I also appreciate the advice about the VOR/ILS instrument, which I do want to get working eventually. I'll look into the method you talked about. That would be pretty adventurous.

I'll keep the thread updated with the cockpit progress! Thanks for all your help!

[stevem]

<duplicated post for some reason>

[stevem]

OK, I'm making progress. I was able to start-up a standalone PSU by jumping the green wire to a black wire on the PSU's 20-pin molex (not shown in the photo). I still need a little help on a few matters:

Please see attached image:
1) Can I simply take the black/red of the 4-pin connector shown, make them into a 2-pin (red/black) connector, and connect it to the card (with correct polarity)?
2) For safety, how can I disable all the other PSU power cables?
3) Do I need to ground the PSU case at all? If so, what is the best way to do this?

Thank you!http://www.mycockpit.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10378&stc=1

[kiek]

1) Can I simply take the black/red of the 4-pin connector shown, make them into a 2-pin (red/black) connector, and connect it to the card (with correct polarity)?
2) For safety, how can I disable all the other PSU power cables?
3) Do I need to ground the PSU case at all? If so, what is the best way to do this?

1) Yes
2) Wrap some tape around the connectors.
3) No (BTW, why don't you use the power supply of the PC running SIOC?)

Regards,
Nico

[stevem]

Thank you, Nico.

Regarding using the PSU of the PC running SIOC, I have a custom-built PC running FSX, and I just don't want to "fix something that's not broken" (if you know what I mean). I don't know enough about the internals of a PC to mess around with the wiring of it. I use that PC for actual flying proficiency for my job, so it's important to me to keep it working properly.

I've got so many old junk PCs lying around, so I figured I'd harvest one of those PSUs. I'm hoping I can get the 5V process solved soon, so that I can get to the fun part of writing some SIOC and making my first instrument operable.

[stevem]

Success! Here's my first attempt at an instrument… one of the plane's attitude indicators:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z612d-eoSiY

[stevem]

Posts keep duplicating… not sure why. Sorry!