PHCC

[Guest PoRrEkE]

Ok, I've looked into this a bit and I came up with the following questions:1- it seems this is a work in progress still ? how far is it developed and if I'm only interested in having PHCC for LCDs, how long +/- would it still take before I can get started on this ?2- i noticed linux/unix/(win) on the table ... i'm not familiar with linux, will it be hard to get this thing running on WinXP ?3- for having it to work on USB, should I wait till the USB interface gets ready ? Do I understand right that the mobo is connected to the PC via an extra card .. and this card has different versions, 1 for usb, 1 for parallel, 1 for serial ?4- how to get hold of the PCB (often returning issue with DIY interfaces) .. I guess the components are quite easy to find and soldering is no problem .. only I can not make my own PCBs ..5- if I care for LCD only, are there parts that I can leave out ? connectors I shouldn't buy & solder etc etc. Just to keep cost as low as possible ?6- will there be an SDK of some sort available to program for this interface via VB.Net ? I can do basic things in .Net and I am willing to learn more but .. there seem to be limits.I'll read some more on the site but it's quite hard understanding all .. :/

[Guest twabi2]

1. Very far. I have it here next to me, connecting the last things, programming the pics, ...2. I'm currently taking care of the WinXP development, so don't worry 'bout that.3. USB is ready, tough it's not easy to solder... There's a real small SMD-chip involved. About the motherboards: your wrong. You have the motherboard. It has standard RS232(wich you can discard if you are planning on using only USB) and an USB-board apart. You just connect the USB-board to the motherboard, and you're set.4. I had mine created togheter with Manuel and someone else I think. He now ordered (and recieved) 10 more, and some people already bought those boards. So I guess you can do so too.5. Sure! You then only have to make the motherboard and the LCD-daughterboard. And you can leave most of the motherboard connectors out too (like those for the keymatrix)6. As far as I know, it's all C/C++ now, but there should be no problem for other languages, as it uses a REALLY easy protocol.If more questions arrise, please ask!

[Guest PoRrEkE]

1- super :)2- super :)3- super :) .. is it possible to get the USB card with the SMD already soldered ? or aren't there (what you call those things on which you press a chip ?) possible for this one ?5- so: mobo + USB-board + LCD-board and I'm all set ?6- super :)As I said earlier I am in the proces of going trough all the sites on the SB registry and I did come acros your site. You are from BE, right ? I noticed you had the interface from varxec.Either way if I could get this thing to work next to my Hagstrom and my Photon .. I might finally get everything going here. I would love it if I would have 1 program which controlls all things.LEDs via the photon, switches & buttons via the photon and Hagstrom and then LCDs via PHCCThe sooner this hole thing is finished, the better. Then I could actually fly for a change (ok I do fly now too but not online and not F50 the way it was intended to) ((at the moment I fly most of the time default piper + mouse cuz key-commands are mixed up and piper don't need lots of input))Once this is done (the interfacing part) I can gradually finish the furnishing of the sim side panels & the glare top & try to figure out a way how to re-do my panels.

[Guest twabi2]

> is it possible to get the USB card with the SMD already soldered ? or aren't there (what you call those things on which you press a chip ?) possible for this one ?You could ask Manuel, or I want to do it too, just ask :)> As I said earlier I am in the proces of going trough all the sites on the SB registry and I did come acros your site. You are from BE, right ? I noticed you had the interface from varxec.Indeed from BE, just like you :) And indeed, PHCC from varxec, it's just way better for my project then any other controller.

[Guest PoRrEkE]

Well if it can do LCD, it's way better for my project as well :(Only 2 bad I figured out I'd rather use LCD's than segment displays this late.LCD is so much cooler than segments I think.

[Guest mbessler]

Hi Phillipe,as Toine has already answered most of your questions I'll quickly add some more details:1. Its still in progress, but some boards are ready for use, others are in development, even others are in "thinking about" stage.The LCD board is betwee the ready to use and the development stage.The board is routed and could be made, but I need to put the text on, run a bunch of checks on it, make sure everything is aligned and the legend is at the right place.2. Developent is on Linux, but with the help of cygwin, its is easily ported to windows. More .exe files will appear on the site in the next time.And Toine is doing a lot of groundbreaking work on the windows side :)3. The USB board is done but I need to solve some issues there, but it should be only a software issue. Just need time to look into it.Right now, you can choose between Serial (default) and USB (addon).As for pre-soldered USB chips, yes either I or Toine could do this for you.4. See email.5. If you wanted *only* the LCD daughterboard, a eg. parallel port interface could be built that can be used to talk to the daughterboards. Its a simple two wire serial interface. 6. Everything is opensource. As Toine already said, I use C and C++.The software that talks to PHCC and runs on the PC has a built-in scripting language called Lua (not written by me, it is a scripting language especially written for embedding in applications) Its easy to learn. The built-in scripting language allows flexibility similar to EPIC. Its not a "clicky" thing like FSBus and its way more flexible than the IOCards SIOC thingy.Can you interface/call C/C++ functions with VB ?The PHCC host software (the software that runs on the PC and talks to PHCC) can be network-interfaced. This is the most universal way of interfacing.There will certainly be a way. Open Souce is flexible :)Manuel

[Guest PoRrEkE]

*quote*5. If you wanted *only* the LCD daughterboard, a eg. parallel port interface could be built that can be used to talk to the daughterboards. Its a simple two wire serial interface. */quote*Thing is .. If I am to use the parallel .. I can't use my Photon anymore. If I can't use my Photon I would have to use the inputs & led controllers from PHCC ... so there you go the circle is complete.So I prefer having the mobo with the USB I think. This would enable me to switch to only PHCC in the future if that would be more convenient to me and then sell my Photon to anyone out there.> Can you interface/call C/C++ functions with VB ?I don't know but it should be possible I guess .. With VS.Net which I use to program my software it is possible to do C or C++ or even some other languages as well I think.I could try and ask some of the people I know from school.