Okay. I bought a Parkflyers 4 channel Cessna 182 and plan on using FMS to get a few things down while I'm building the plane. On thier website, they have an optional cable and FMS disk you can buy. Here is a link to it.

I already downloaded FMS, and the cable they are selling looks like a standard stereo to mono 1/8" audio cable. Can I just get one at a local electronics store and be done with it or is there something special about the one they are selling?

we have something called a SIMCOM that will work for sure. www.aeroflypro.com

Their cable is $10 cheaper though...

I'm more curious as to whether I can use a cable I already have (stereo to mono 1/8") rather than having to go pay for one that, at most will have a resistor wired into it.

But the only problem ... and believe me I'm not trying to sell you anything ... is that you will only be limited to that basic radio. With the SIMCOM you will be able to use almost any RC radio on the market.

Just an FYI.

That is a good point. But I'm probably going to be using the radio it comes with until I can afford a "real" one. The SIMCOM would be an excellent choice and be on my list and budgeted in at that point in time. Until then, I'm going to try to make do with what I have so to speak. And just want to make sure that I don't have to replace any components in my PC due to excess voltage.

Well it looks like a 1/8" to 1/8" stereo cable to me. I dont see why it would be any special cable.

I'm not sure how much voltage the transmitter send out through that jack. If it's too much, it could damage the sound card and possibly the motherboard. That's why I was wondering if they might have a resistor wired into the jack to prevent that much juice from seeping through. I guess I could take a multimeter to the jack that would go to my pc, wiggle the sticks around and see how high it spikes. Compare it to what the sound card specs say that port can handle and go from there...

Did you get my PM?

Did some more research and found out that I will need to make some modifications to a standard mono to stereo cable in order to pull this one off. I suppose I could dust off the solder gun and do it, but I'm too lazy/busy to do so. After researching other products, I went ahead and ordered the SIMCOM.

STLPilot, if you're still out there, do you know if the SIMCOM is recognized by windows as an HID device? Also, what type of shipping do you/they use, USPS? UPS? Thanks...

Yes you can use a standard audio cable. Just solder a 10K resistor frof th center to the shield at some point along the cable.

Ok, so I just got a [link=http://www.parkflyers.com/html/body_cessna_182.html]Parkflyers Cessna 182 4-Channel plane[/link] and I got the transmitter to talk to FMS (Flight Model Simulator) perfectly on my Windows XP SP2 computer. Here's what you need to do:
[ol][*]Download and install the free FMS software. I got it to work with both the [link=http://www.n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/alpha/fms2alpha85.exe]Alpha 8.5[/link] and [link=http://www.n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/beta/fmsdisk01.exe]Beta 7[/link], but I imagine the Beta 7 version is more stable.[*]Download the free [link=http://www.geocities.com/rizkyssetio/FMS/cessna.zip]Cessna 182 model[/link]. Extract the entire contents of the .zip file into the "Models" folder under your FMS Directory, i.e. "C:/Program Files/FMS/Models/".[*]Download the free [link=http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/alpha/spropo.zip]SmartPropo[/link] to allow FMS to listen to your transmitter via the audio card. Extract only the winmm.dll file in the /ppm folder and put it in the FMS root folder, i.e. "C:/Program Files/FMS/".[*]Buy this [link=http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CT LG%5F007%5F002%5F003%5F007&product%5Fid=42%2D2420]cable[/link] at your local Radio Shack to connect your 4-Channel Parkflyers transmitter to your computer via the "Line In" audio jack. It is a regular mono 1/8" audio jack on both sides.[*]Connect the transmitter to your computer, turn it on, and open your computer's Volume Control utility. Go to Recording Mode and select "Line In", and gradually increase the volume...I keep mine on max. You should be able to hear a buzz sound coming from your transmitter. Then go to Playback Mode and mute the Line In so that it doesn't drive you crazy.[*]Start the FMS software! Go to Controls > Analog Control, select "Joystick Interface", click "Resources". For "Joystick 1" you should see the active SmartPropo setup. Click "OK" and then go to "Mapping/Calibration" for the "Joystick Interface". The click "Calibrate" and start moving the control sticks around. If you get a sloppy signal, i.e. the bars are jumping up and down sporadically, you may need to increase the volume on your "Line In" jack via Windows Volume Control. Like I said, I keep mine on Max and it works perfectly. Put the right Channel Number for each control and start using the program! You may need to go back and check the "Inv" box if a particular control is responding backwards.
[/ol]
Some more info:
[ul][*]You can only connect the 4-Channel Parkflyers transmitter to your computer. The 3-Channel version does not have the right jack.[*]I've heard that [link=http://www.f3x.za.org/youth/smartpropo.php]SmartPropo[/link] might stop your FMS from even starting. This is due to your computer's sound card and not much can be done. Just delete the winnm.dll file you installed and it should work again.[*]You can also connect the transmitter to your computer's "Microphone In" jack. However, you may need to play with your Volume Control settings so that a decent signal gets in.[*]There are tons of other models all over the Internet that people have created, from airliners to X-wings. You can [link=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=FMS+model+downloads&btnG=Google+Sea rch]search Google[/link] or use this cool [link=http://www.tti-us.com/sim/dlmgr.html]Auto Downloader[/link] to save time.
[/ul]
Some tips to strengthen the plane before you fly:
[ul][*]Wrap the entire fuselage and wings in clear packing tape[*]Put a strip of strapping tape or clear duct tape along the front edge of the wings[*]Put in a small stick (carbon or wood) under the rear vertical stabilizer
[/ul]

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Thank you for the great post and detailed instructions. I have added it to this resource:

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3403586/tm.htm]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3403586/tm.htm[/link]