Stock controller use on simulator program?

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Anyone know if it's anyway possible to use the stock P2 controller with a simulator for mac?
 
Not without some surgery. Most non- propiertary radios have what is termed a "Trainer" port which outputs an audio signal, it's this audio signal that is fed into the PC, usually via a USB adaptor. It would be much easier and cost effective, if you intend to progress beyond a Phantom, to purchase a programmable transmitter, such as the Turnigy 9X or 9XR. I can recommend the 9XR as I've been using one for the last ten months to control my F550 Hex with FrSky receivers, Walkera Quad, FPV Raptor with Spektrum receivers, a MultiWii based Quad with OrangeRX receiver, and as the controller for the PhoenixRC simulator. As you can see its very versatile and only $50 from Hobbyking. Because it uses modules that plug into the back you can easily switch between different systems.
I've upgraded to a FrSky Taranis X9D transmitter this week but because it uses the same modules as the Turnigy 9XR swapping all my flying machines over to the new transmitter was painless.

I've toyed with swapping the stock Phantom receiver over for a new FrSky telemetry radio but I haven't flown the Phantom at all this year so will probably end up selling it as is.

Regards

Nidge
 
But the 9XR is only 2.4GHz... so it won't control a Vision or FC40, just a straight P2... is that right Nidge? Or is there a module to switch Turnigys to 5.8? (without messing with the rx end)

Annnnd... what surgery can you do to give the DJI controller a training port? That could be very intriguing for other purposes as well.
 
ProfessorStein said:
Annnnd... what surgery can you do to give the DJI controller a training port? That could be very intriguing for other purposes as well.

I'd be very interested in this as well, as my first P2 (lost-at-sea) left behind its controller and I've now got two with my replacement P2.

I'd be willing to do franken-surgery on it to get it to work with the sims.
 
ProfessorStein said:
But the 9XR is only 2.4GHz... so it won't control a Vision or FC40, just a straight P2... is that right Nidge? Or is there a module to switch Turnigys to 5.8? (without messing with the rx end)

Annnnd... what surgery can you do to give the DJI controller a training port? That could be very intriguing for other purposes as well.

Yes if you wanted to use anything other than the stock controller you would need to swap out the DJI receiver, which in the case of the Visions and the FC40 is not really practical due to DJI's solitary decision to use 5.8GHz as the control frequency.

Without probing the Phantom controller with an Oscilloscope, or something just as suitable to determine how DJI have constructed the framing of their control protocol, I would still suggest purchasing a handset more suited to a RC simulator. As an example when I adapted my 9XR to control my Walkera Quad I had to adjust the frame length of the protocol used so that the quad would even recognise the transmitter. Some simulators, such as Phoenix RC, require the use of a USB interface connected to the training port of the transmitter where as Cleaview RC just needs the trainer port connected to the input of a sound card and a small freeware program to translate the audio pulses into something usable.

If however you wanted to attempt modifying the Phantom controller you'll need to determine at which point in the circuit the modulated data is applied to the transmitter and tap an output from there, ensuring you provide suitable isolation so as not to place any undue load on the circuit.

Regards

Nidge
 
Yikes. Sounds like a lot of work. I've been of the mind that using a sim as training is pointless unless you're using the exact equipment (controller) you'd be using in the field, since part of the goal of training is to instill rote actions for given situations... and if a switch or control is in a different position or feels differently during training than it does when you're actually flying, that innate memory reaction is void.

But maybe I just need to loosen up and change my view.
 
Nidge said:
Not without some surgery. Most non- propiertary radios have what is termed a "Trainer" port which outputs an audio signal, it's this audio signal that is fed into the PC, usually via a USB adaptor. It would be much easier and cost effective, if you intend to progress beyond a Phantom, to purchase a programmable transmitter, such as the Turnigy 9X or 9XR. I can recommend the 9XR as I've been using one for the last ten months to control my F550 Hex with FrSky receivers, Walkera Quad, FPV Raptor with Spektrum receivers, a MultiWii based Quad with OrangeRX receiver, and as the controller for the PhoenixRC simulator. As you can see its very versatile and only $50 from Hobbyking. Because it uses modules that plug into the back you can easily switch between different systems.
I've upgraded to a FrSky Taranis X9D transmitter this week but because it uses the same modules as the Turnigy 9XR swapping all my flying machines over to the new transmitter was painless.

I've toyed with swapping the stock Phantom receiver over for a new FrSky telemetry radio but I haven't flown the Phantom at all this year so will probably end up selling it as is.

Regards

Nidge

I have an old controller from my blade cx2 (model: LP5DSM) and it has a trainer port on the back, so do you think that would work? That 9xr controller looks very cool and is super cheap, I want to order it but I have not ordered anything from HobbyKing yet because of their location. Aren't they in Europe? I order a lot of stuff on Amazon because I''m too impatient for overseas delivery, but that 9XR does look pretty awesome. Maybe I should just go straight to the Taranis X9D. Would the phantom iosd mini display on the X9D?

Also, what other benefits are there to getting a better controller? I see a lot of people upgrading their DJI controller to Futaba, is it just for multi-programming for multi-aircrafts? I guess I am asking if one would buy such a controller is they ONLY fly a phantom.

Thank you for the response dude.
 
Nidge said:
ProfessorStein said:
But the 9XR is only 2.4GHz... so it won't control a Vision or FC40, just a straight P2... is that right Nidge? Or is there a module to switch Turnigys to 5.8? (without messing with the rx end)

Annnnd... what surgery can you do to give the DJI controller a training port? That could be very intriguing for other purposes as well.

Yes if you wanted to use anything other than the stock controller you would need to swap out the DJI receiver, which in the case of the Visions and the FC40 is not really practical due to DJI's solitary decision to use 5.8GHz as the control frequency.

Without probing the Phantom controller with an Oscilloscope, or something just as suitable to determine how DJI have constructed the framing of their control protocol, I would still suggest purchasing a handset more suited to a RC simulator. As an example when I adapted my 9XR to control my Walkera Quad I had to adjust the frame length of the protocol used so that the quad would even recognise the transmitter. Some simulators, such as Phoenix RC, require the use of a USB interface connected to the training port of the transmitter where as Cleaview RC just needs the trainer port connected to the input of a sound card and a small freeware program to translate the audio pulses into something usable.

If however you wanted to attempt modifying the Phantom controller you'll need to determine at which point in the circuit the modulated data is applied to the transmitter and tap an output from there, ensuring you provide suitable isolation so as not to place any undue load on the circuit.

Regards

Nidge

Sorry for all the questions Nidge. So you said clearview uses audio data, so instead of buying a usb dongle could I just use an audio cable from radioshack?
 
ProfessorStein said:
Yikes. Sounds like a lot of work. I've been of the mind that using a sim as training is pointless unless you're using the exact equipment (controller) you'd be using in the field, since part of the goal of training is to instill rote actions for given situations... and if a switch or control is in a different position or feels differently during training than it does when you're actually flying, that innate memory reaction is void.

But maybe I just need to loosen up and change my view.

Yes, you do.

You need to adopt a better...clearview...


I'll show myself out.
 
I bought a FrSky Taranis a while back which uses opentx programming. Opentx recently put out an upgrade, Version 2.05, which allows the Taranis to act as a joystick. I am using a Mac, and downloaded a simulator program called hell-x. I was able to just plug the Taranis into USB port and it worked great with this sim program.
 
Khudson7 said:
I bought a FrSky Taranis a while back which uses opentx programming. Opentx recently put out an upgrade, Version 2.05, which allows the Taranis to act as a joystick. I am using a Mac, and downloaded a simulator program called hell-x. I was able to just plug the Taranis into USB port and it worked great with this sim program.

That's good to know. I only got my Taranis last week and I've been spending my time configuring with the X8R receiver and telemetry modules to work with my Hex with Naza V2. It really is a fantastic radio.

I have used it with PhoenixRC using the supplied adaptor but the direct USB connection will be useful for such apps as Xplane and the APM Controller I have in my FPV fixed wing. Unfortunately my PC died last week and I have a replacement landing tomorrow morning after which I'll be able to really experiment with OpenTX.

@helishmeli: if your Blade radio has a standard JR trainer port, essentially a Jack socket, you'll be able to use this with ClearviewRC simulator by connecting it to the mic input of your PC. You will need a small utility program, which unfortunately I can't remember the name of, and a I said my PC died, but searching in the usual places wiill get you the answer.

Hobbyking have warehouses on all continents. I originally purchased my 9XR from their international warehouse along with the FrSky DJT module but I now see they are stocking it in the UK warehouse so maybe they've rolled it out to other locations also.

If you have no intentions of diverting away from your Phantom then I'd suggest you use your Blade radio as a simulator controller. It has five channels and so if you use PhoenixRC, which has amongst other multirotors has a Phantom model, you'll be able to configure the switch to swap between ATTI and MANUAL mode in the simulator.

I'm of the opinion that if you intend to fly anything RC, whether it be planes, heli's, multirotors, a simulator is an essential training tool. After all you don't get an instant reset option in the real world if you make a terminal mistake.

Regards

Nidge
 
Khudson7 said:
I bought a FrSky Taranis a while back which uses opentx programming. Opentx recently put out an upgrade, Version 2.05, which allows the Taranis to act as a joystick. I am using a Mac, and downloaded a simulator program called hell-x. I was able to just plug the Taranis into USB port and it worked great with this sim program.

I do not know how to write code, so would those open source transmitters be not worth it to me? Have you tried this joystick method with any other computer programs? I downloaded heli-x last week because I heard it works on mac, but I am leaning more towards aerofly because aerofly has planes also.
 
Nidge said:
Khudson7 said:
I bought a FrSky Taranis a while back which uses opentx programming. Opentx recently put out an upgrade, Version 2.05, which allows the Taranis to act as a joystick. I am using a Mac, and downloaded a simulator program called hell-x. I was able to just plug the Taranis into USB port and it worked great with this sim program.

That's good to know. I only got my Taranis last week and I've been spending my time configuring with the X8R receiver and telemetry modules to work with my Hex with Naza V2. It really is a fantastic radio.

I have used it with PhoenixRC using the supplied adaptor but the direct USB connection will be useful for such apps as Xplane and the APM Controller I have in my FPV fixed wing. Unfortunately my PC died last week and I have a replacement landing tomorrow morning after which I'll be able to really experiment with OpenTX.

@helishmeli: if your Blade radio has a standard JR trainer port, essentially a Jack socket, you'll be able to use this with ClearviewRC simulator by connecting it to the mic input of your PC. You will need a small utility program, which unfortunately I can't remember the name of, and a I said my PC died, but searching in the usual places wiill get you the answer.

Hobbyking have warehouses on all continents. I originally purchased my 9XR from their international warehouse along with the FrSky DJT module but I now see they are stocking it in the UK warehouse so maybe they've rolled it out to other locations also.

If you have no intentions of diverting away from your Phantom then I'd suggest you use your Blade radio as a simulator controller. It has five channels and so if you use PhoenixRC, which has amongst other multirotors has a Phantom model, you'll be able to configure the switch to swap between ATTI and MANUAL mode in the simulator.

I'm of the opinion that if you intend to fly anything RC, whether it be planes, heli's, multirotors, a simulator is an essential training tool. After all you don't get an instant reset option in the real world if you make a terminal mistake.

Regards

Nidge

last question, do you know of a way to get phoenix rc to work without using their dongle? i found an aftermarket dongle that i am using with aerofly rc 7, whenever i try to use it in phoenix it says nothing is connected
 

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