I have a couple of older Futaba FG series radios with built-in trainer plugs. From what I have found so far, the older radios use a DIN-5 jack, different from today's radios. I have a trainer cord for the radios also, so I have the plugs. Is it possible to just solder on a USB plug to the trainer cord and use a radio as a controller, or is a little more complicated? I can solder, but I am no electrical engineer!

Thanks for your time.

Yes, it is a bit more complicated then that. A interface is required to convert the signals from the transmitter to signals that the computer can understand. There are quite a few inexpensive interfaces on the web that will do this for you. And a website that has plans for building your own serial interface.

Have a look at [link]http://myweb.absa.co.za/eric.brouwer/interface[/link]. There are several methods that can be used to connect the transmitter to your PC. It depends on your operating system. The simplest of them all is SmartPropo if you have WinXP, otherwise the PPJoy virtual joystick driver can be used with a parallel port interface.