Is there a PNP PC Controled 2.4ghz DIY Spektrum TX for VB Programming?

[MikeBiv]

Does anybody know if there is a unit that will Transmit from a PC to Spektrum 2.4ghz RX's? PC boards from Netbooks are small and powerfull and cheap enogh to integra a full OS, could make a Profi\14x\x12 killer and possible under $500 and real programming language like Visual Basic has more support and functionality then any RC radio configuration ever.
Been think of this for a long time, my dream Radio.

There make extremely small PC boards now like the ones in the Netbook,
hopefully if they make such a unit and could be Programmed in Visual Basic
this would be a extremly powerfull Radio.
There given a version of VB away for free and Nvidia is making a pico with a 9400 Geforce video card. A Editor as seen on some Hobby Robots would be good too.
Would like to have all my settings adjustable via knobs and real recordable and have sliders. Could also have serve as PC Charger, ESC Programmer, Tach, WattMeter, Oscope, Video Viewer, TUrbine Starter, Data Aquisition and more Plus upgrades.

Could Store Manuel's, Competition Flite Plans Would be nice to have a voice to remind me of next pattern manuver. Could even run a simulator, MotoCalc, and RCgroups on it. THey just need to keep it complex yet simple, Visual Basic is very straight forward and powerfull.

IS there any program or device that allows a PC with a 2.4ghz card to connect to Spektrum RX's? Is there a DIY Radio Case?
I'd like to stick Profi Sliders, Multiplex stick buttons and expo on knobs and mix adjustment and just to name a few things, DarkBasic is easy to program 3D Graphics so a Touchscreen interface could look sharp. 2048 Resoluton and the higest quality gimabals i could find. Little LCDS are cheaper now,
I think id paint and stuff in DX6i case which is extremly ergonomic and try to find the parts off Multiplex. Small Color Lcd Touch Screens a pretty Cheap.

Can't get more poowerfull, upgradable then a PC. There is versions on XP that boot extremly fast and a few others are cominout as well as Flash Drive.
I've seen other DIY that need to be built or use other RX's.
I'm looking for a PNP USB Device that can be programmed VB or access DLLs and DIY Case and parts.

[David T]

2.4 transmissions have a structure. Part of this comes from the chip they are using and part comes from the (Spektrum) program that controls it. So you need a gizmo in the PC with the correct RF chip (CY6936) and spreading codes and configuration that Spektrum have chosen. Can be done but won't exist 'off the shelf'.
David.

[village_idiot]

PC to PPM converter from Endurance RC and a Spektrum module, then go nuts!

[MikeBiv]

The Mixing and memory come from a board which is then sent over the 2.4GHZ signal?
IS there any prebuilt or kit Transmitter Devices where I can just change or alter the Radio Programming? I dont know Amtel ETC, but SOmething like an OOPIC or BASIC stamp at the least would give so much more functionality. THe Basic language is WAY more powerfull then any R|C radio's Menu system and better supported. Would like Futaba 14killer, think that runs off Win CE Mobile?

Was just thinking maybe a 2.4ghz from PC board as thats the Wireless G standard right? Is it just encrypted? Has anyone sent data to a Spectrum RX via there Network Card? What the differnce between 2.4ghz PC Networking a Spektrum Radio's?

[JimDrew]

Network cards are 802.11 format and not compatible with any of the 2.4GHz radio systems.

[MikeBiv]

village_idiot, THAT IS AWESOME!

This device right? http://www.endurance-rc.com/pctx.html Allows for HMD's and Steering Wheels. I'm going to download the Programmers API\DLL later tonight,
THe Atom Base Computers in Netbooks are extremly small, yet have full PC power. There is software that will boot very fast.

Really woun't need to be Programmed in VB all the time, when setup i would have all the slider and such.

Do you know of any DIY Radio Hardware Parts? saw a few looked very Boxy, and if you know where to find the Sliders Gimbals ETC.

[MikeBiv]

Anybody have any more info on VB programming? It's .net net which i'm unfamiliar with and the Sample had no remarks and the tutorials are lacking.

Does the Kit come with software DLL's? I can work with those easily in DarkBasic Pro, my favorite version of Basic.

Has a lot of potential!

[village_idiot]

You can get nearly new Fujitsu u810's for $500 or less right now on ebay, way smaller that the other devices (4 usb ports with the docking station). Can't help anymore with the device from Endurance, never used it, just knew it was there.

Off topic, I just ordered the stuff I need to convert my u810 to a compact flash drive instead of the hard drive, should save more than a bit of power and not loose any speed.

[village_idiot]

If you are using a computer, then I would get a decent flight sim controller and use that. Getting decent gimbals to interface to a computer may be a large challenge. If you are going to go so far as to build a radio using an RC encoder, I would skip going to the computer and just build a microstar2000. Build the case any way you want and just use it. Not sure how it compares to the mentioned high end radios, but it has an ever increasing feature set. Recently eCCPM support has been added, though I still haven't tried it out due to lack of time and energy to finish either of the two radios I have started.

[darkith]

If you're looking to build your own TX, I'd second the suggestion to look at the Microstar 2000 encoder board (http://mstar2k.com/MicroStar.htm). Installed into a nice chassis, it's a really powerful system. Couple it with a $40 Spektrum module and you're golden.

One problem I could see with your radio based upon a general PC OS (e.g. XP, Linux) is that it wouldn't be a Realtime system. Even running at high priority, your application would be dependent on the latency of the OS scheduler, memory manager, IO subsystem, etc. While it would probably work most of the time, a sudden burst of activity (e.g. OS decides it's time to swap out some unused memory pages or perform garbage collection) could massively change the output latency of the system, and cause disconnects or weird behavior.

Most high tech radios are using a microcontroller of processor running a pretty slim set of code and not multitasking fullblown processes, so the timing is deterministic. Futaba does have their 14MZ with a Windows CE GUI interface, but that just changes the settings for the 2nd processor running Futaba's own code, which handles reading the sticks, mixing, and outputting the signals.
You could do something similar, use a microcontroller (a PIC, AVR, Arduino, etc) to read the sticks, do mixing, and output the signals. Have a general purpose computer system which configures the settings used by the microcontroller code (e.g. sets mixes, configures stick endpoints, channel reversing, etc) but doesn't interact with the controls beyond that. You could still do the fancy manuals, voice announcements, telemetry, etc on the side.

D.

[Endurance]

the Sample had no remarks and the tutorials are lacking.

Id be happy to post anything you come up with.

Does the Kit come with software DLL's?

The PCTx? If so yes there is a DLL and source code for it posted on the site under the development section.