MockV

Hey Guys,

Got a quick question, that will lead to other questions of course, about what I'll need for a simulator.

First of all, I'd like to know if anyone here is familiar with a guy on Ebay that sells homemade interface cables and a copy of FMS? He sells it for $15 and can make either parallel or serial cable for you. Goes by the name buckeyes1997. Just wondering if anyone has bought this package from him and how it works. I'm REALLY interested in setting up a cheap sim at home so I can get used to the sticks and my directions. I've whent to the spad website and this guy was mentioned there.

Ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=19164

Also in the future, I'm going to be looking around for a tx to use for this sim....but that's another can of worms. Not sure if I want to use that same one for my trainer or not.

Thanks for all your help.

MockV

Steve Lewin

Matt (buckeyes) is one of the good guys. His cables work well so long as you are aware that, as he says in the small print, they will not work with Win NT/2000 or XP, only the older operating systems Win 95/98/ME.

Steve

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

There is a construction article on my web page that explains how to convert an old Futaba transmitter for use as a simulator controller. I have used one of these with FMS. The advantages of using one of these are that it saves the wear and tear on your transmitter, it eliminates the chance that you burn up the transmitter with a collapsed antenna, and eliminates the chance of bending the antenna when it is raised. I used an adapter for several months with an old Dave Brown RCFS and I prefer a controller to using my transmitter.

MockV

Thank you Steve and Lightfoot for your information. That helps alot.

Lightfoot, you said your article talks about converting an old Futaba transmitter to use for the FMS. Which type of Futaba transmitter are you refering to? I'm not able to find it on the site. Nice site by the way too!

Now, having this new information, I have another question on transmitters. I've seen MANY of them on Ebay for sale. If I wanted to buy one and use it for FMS, what would be a good checklist to run through when determining if a tx is a good buy? I hope asking this question doesn't irritate anyone, but it's something I've been really curious about. As I have not even figured out which tx I would like for my 4ch trainer (still doing research on this at the moment)

Thanks A Lot,
MockV

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

This is the direct link to the article.

Flight Simulator Controller

Almost any Futaba transmitter will work except for the FG series. I use the Conquest or Attack series primarily and have had no problems. I have bought good used transmitters for as little as $10 at a swap meet.

All you need is the basic shell. You don't need a battery, antenna, or charger in most cases. As long as the gimbles (sticks) are in good shape and the case is cosmetically sound, you will be in good shape.

You can probably get a better deal by buying through the "For Sale" forum here or on one of the other sites. By browsing the forums, you know the price that is being asked and you are not competing for the right to buy the product as you do with the auction sites.

MockV

Lightfoot,

So all I need is well kept transmitter and no battery, antennae or even a charger sometimes? Great. Additional things I don't have to worry about.

I also need to make sure there is a buddy box hook up. Found that out already.

Thanks SO much for your help! Guess I'll be doing a little window shopping here on the board and on Ebay.

If there is any other information that I'll need, could you please post another message? Your help is much appreciated.

MockV

Steve Lewin

Be careful. What Howard (lightfoot) is offering is a way to turn an old transmitter into a box that only works with simulators/PCs. It will never work as a real transmitter again. It doesn't need a buddy box hookup because you are going to throw all the electronics away.

The alternative, which is what most of us do, is to use a working transmitter which you can also use to fly your models. For that you will need a buddy socket and also a battery, charger etc. because it's a real transmitter. That's what you would want an interface for. Howards version doesn't need an interface as it plugs straight into the PC.

Both possibilites are perfectly valid but you have to decide which you're going for because they're very different.

Steve

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for offering that explanation, Steve. I guess this whole concept is just too simple to me. I simply expect others to grasp the concept without a lot of explanation.

The flight simulator controller that is covered in the construction article is really nothing more than two (2) joysticks built into a transmitter case. This is the same as the controller for the Dave Brown RCFS. The controller works with any simulator that can read input from a game port . It will not work with simulators that only take input from a parallel port. Neither will it work as a transmitter after the conversion is made.

I hope this clarifies the issue and apologize to anyone who may have misunderstood this before.

Steve Lewin

Glad to be of assistance Howard. It may be that MockV understood perfectly but that reference to "buddy box hook up" just worried me.

Your point about saving wear and tear on the expensive real Tx is a good one though I sometimes think that, for a new learner, getting used to the feel of the the actual Tx you are going to be using out in the real world is almost as important. Tricky call really.

Steve

MockV

Hey guys. I completely understand what both of you mean. My situation is, I was going to be looking for a transmitter to use primarily for simulators. I thought it would be better this way because I kept hearing of beginners and some experienced flyers using their main controller and burning it up somehow. Or something happening to it to where it didn't quite work right.

That is a very good point Steve, about learning on your main transmitter with the simulator. I am just worried that I'd mess something up with my expensive/fragile equipment....and that's something I REALLY didn't want! So, I thought I could get a cheap transmitter and use that one instead.

I'm actually getting started in electronics and it would be interesting to convert an old transmitter to use for the sim. But I don't really want to go through all of that with this hobby.....at the moment. And being a beginner with it, I'm not sure I could actually complete the conversion.

So is there anything else I should know before I go shopping for a sim transmitter? Keep in mind I still don't know yet if I want to use my trainer's transmitter. Although it is still a possibility if I know what I'm doing! lol

Thanks,
MockV

tiger5

MockV,

I am also a beginner, and I bought the cable from buckeyes1997 and it worked great. It took me a little while getting it set up for my computer.
I bought a plane that uses a Futaba Skysport 4 Tx, so I purchased another Futaba Skysport 4 just for the simulator and I can use it for a buddy box when learning to fly the plane. The spare Tx has battery, ant. ect. ready for the buddy box or a spare Tx.
I chose to go with the serial port, because I did not have a spare parallel port and did want to have plug and unplug to use the sim.
If I can help, just email me ([email protected])

Charles

MockV

Tiger5,

Thanks alot for your help. Right now I'm on the hunt for the Easyfly sim with the Game Commander transmitter. If I don't have any luck with getting that soon, I'm just going to buy the interface and get a Skyport also. I've seen that controller on Ebay and it looks to be just what I need for the sim. I might even do exactly what you've done, and have 2 skyports and use the main one for my trainer exclusively.

Again, thanks for your help. I'll try and get a hold of you when I'm setting up my sim if I get stuck!

MockV