Where To Get A Hitec Sim Cable In The UK???

[Minimole]

Hi guys,
I want to get a sim cable for my Hitec Eclipse 7 (uses same pics as older Futabas).
I live in the UK, so would prefer if I can get it in the country, or maybe Europe (if its a lot chaper).
The only place I know of is here: http://rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/Flight_SImulators.html
Its just that £19 not including P+P sounds pretty expensive just for a cable...

So does anyone know anywhere else I can get one for cheaper?
Im running XP.

Cheers, Duane :D
(I dont supposed there are any PC cables out there that woul work, ones you could get from a noraml PC or electronics shop?)

[rutat]

Try www.modelspot.com They seem to have all things Hitec/MPX

[Minimole]

Rutat, thanks for the link.
The only sim cable I could find is this one, for MPX radios, would it work on a Hitec?
http://www.modelspot.com/mpx/simulator.htm

Plus, its £22.50 :(

Cheers, Duane :D

[javelin]

Got mine via ebay and according to the book of words I got with it, it came direct from Hitec but more likely from
Amerang (http://www.amerang-group.com)
Who appear to be the main UK importers.
This is the link to the lead (http://www.amerang-group.com/product_details.asp?id=1711&menu=1)

[slipstick]

Don't be so cheap Duane ;). A simulator interface isn't "just a cable". It has a microcontroller, a few other components and some specialised firmware inside. £19 is a pretty good price, they're usually more like £25-30.

If you find one any cheaper check very carefully that it works properly with Win XP. There are some cheap ones about from an older design that don't work with 2000/XP without a lot of messing about installing extra software and sometimes not even then :(.

Steve

[Malc C]

Duane,

Best option (IMO) for compatibility is a USB interface. I have a pic programmer and built my own USB Windows Joystic interface that works fine with RFG2 (non-interlink) FMS etc. If you get stuck drop me an e-mail and I'm sure we can work something out for less than £30

[wjbite]

Hi guys,
So does anyone know anywhere else I can get one for cheaper?
Im running XP.

Cheers, Duane :D
(I dont supposed there are any PC cables out there that woul work, ones you could get from a noraml PC or electronics shop?)

You can make the cheap route work - just an audio cable - if you have and old machine laying around that you can install XP WITHOUT SERVICE PACK 2.
That is, if your transmitter has an audio out jack. And you need to plug the cable into the "line in" NOT the "mike in" on your computer. If you don't have a line in and use the mike in jack you will need to install an attenuation resistor. Most desktops have it most laptops don't.
The FMS home page has the links for the necessary patch to make the audio cable work. On an old machine you need to turn off some of the fancier vidio options for the simulation to run at a good speed. Oh yeah, change the sampling time to 0.010 sec or slower.
Good luck

[Malc C]

For a start I don't know of any TX that has an audio out socket ! - Generally all TX's have are a recharge jack and a trainer socket to allow two transmitters to be connected and act as a student / tutor function. This port outputs the PPM signals, often at full pack voltages, and sticking 9.6v into a line in port on your audio card is not recommended ! (normall line in voltage is 1 volt peak to peak !)

The problem with using some of the cheaper single transistor / resistor options when using such cables with serial or parallel port under XP is that you can't directly access these ports in the same way as you can under 95/98 etc, hence the emergence of PPJoy etc. with USB, under XP its plug and play, with no need to install any drivers or communication software like PPjoy

[wjbite]

"For a start I don't know of any TX that has an audio out socket ! "

My Tx is a LeXors Nova 6. Has a 3.5mm jack that takes an audio cable. Cheap straight through cable with 3.5 mm plug on both ends from Radio Shack.
The signal is 0 to 5v digital waveform. Doesn't seem to bother the audio card at all.
If the card is of good design it will be protected from overload. The problem would be
signal saturation during overload, hence the need for attenuation for the mike input that is expecting millivolts instead of volts. My Tx without attenuation, input to the "line in" jack is converted well by SmartProposPlus and FMS likes the signal just fine.
I agree with you that you must be more carefull with the serial or parallel ports since they aren't well protected. On the other hand the audio port - and I tend to think there must be lots of Txs with them since there is lots of talk on this "rcgroups" and on the sites about FMS - is more robust and can take the analog (versus digital) overload.
I tend to be a minimalist. Since the simulator will only be used by me for a short time until I get the plane in the air I much prefer not to spend the dough on it. I would rather spend it on the power for the real thing. If I were into simulated flying instead of just a means to get a crude feel for preflight experience, I would agree with you and spend more. Probably get a more realistic simulator, too.
Bottom line probably is: No one is going to buy a new Tx to do it my way or your way. But both work and the best way to go is to follow your "jack" :)

[Malc C]

My Tx is a LeXors Nova 6. Has a 3.5mm jack that takes an audio cable.

I see where the confusion lies now, my JR too uses a standatd 3.5mm Mono jack socket, but they are not audo sockets.

5V is tollorated by most of the sound cards, but not all TX's output the logic "1" at this level and often use the full voltage of the TX pack (ie 9.6v), which even with the DC decoupling capacitors fitted to the inputs of most sound cards, can sometimes cause problems.

There are also some useful utils that use the sound card to show wave forms, the best know is winscope.

I played with FMS Serial PIC interfaces, and prior to that simple parallel interfaces, but found most a pain in the ass to get to work well, which was why I opted for a "proper" USB interface that emulates a standard windows joystick - I ended up making quite a few for several friends as they too were fed up with getting things to work with PPJoy etc.

[rutat]

Malc gets it! Building ones own cable is a PITA

[Minimole]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Well, I certainly dont wana blow up my TX or PC. :p And no, I would like to use it on this PC, which already has XP installed.

LOL Steve, what do you expect from a poor 15 year old? lol

OK, I didnt reaslise these things were so pricey. Ill probably pick up that one in the link in my first post. Do you guys think it will be ok? It plugs into the serial port, which is fien, But can you get a serial port to USB adapter incase I ever get a PC that doesnt have a serial port? Any other thoughts on that cable?

And yes, I ill be trying to improve my flying with this, of course, real lifew is better, but this costs less, and its winter soon... (gets dark at 4pm... :()
And I wont be using it with FMS much. CoughAFPDcough lol

Oh, MalC, any chance of being able to sort one out for under £20/25? Go on, be kind to a poor teenager...lol :p
Duane :D

[rutat]

That link shows non-USB cables. I'd go USB if I were you. Hitec makes a cable for about 40 USD - about 25 pounds? Problem (mostly solved). If all you are doing is learning orientation, a simple gamepad (Logitech dual action) will work fine, too. Something to consider.

[Minimole]

Whats the actual difference between USB and serial port? isnt it just where you plug it in?

No, Ill actually be using it to decently fly helis, circuits, inverted, eventually 3D e.t.c.

Cheers, Duane.

[rutat]

USB is the way to go. More flexible for laptops etc.

[Minimole]

OK, thanks.

Thats why I asked if there is such thing as a serial port to USB adapter, and if so, would it work for this?

Apart from serial ports probably fading out soon, is there any real disadvantage of the serial port? Some of the previous posts make it sound like its harder to use or something.

Ill be sending MalC a PM shortly, see what he can do. (I dont know his email...)

Cheers, Duane. :D

[Malc C]

Duane,

Thanks for the mail - you should have my reply by now.

The only real similarity between a standard RS232 serial port and a USB port is that they send the data in serial fashion, other than that they work in very different way. On a USB port you have just 4 connections, +ve (5v), GND, D+ and D- to handle the data stream. On an RS232 port there are generally 9 pins (older PCs even had 25 pins !) - Its because of these differences that using a serial to USB convertor sometimes fails to work.

Also under XP software accesses the ports (LPT and COM) indirectly, which is why people using parallel or RS232 serial interfaces experience problems when upgrading from Windows 95/98/ME to XP. With USB the device is plug and play and uses the standard HID standard built into the OS.

[Minimole]

Thanks for the info Malc.

I just replied to your email.

Cheers, Duane :D