Hi Folks.I am sure this must be very simple for some of you to answer, so apologise in advance if its too easy ;-)I have been looking over how cockpits are put togther, but one thing I dont understand is how numerics get there info from (say) FS2004?So if I want to make a simple comm radio for my FS2004 install, how could I get the numerics to read out and match whats in FS2004?I know you can buy complete USB style units to do this, but am interested from a complete home build point of view.Look forward to hearing from you.David.

David,A common approach is to make use of a third party program called FSUIPC. This is a multi-function module that among other things allows one to send and receive data to/from MSFS. There is an extensive amount of documentation on FSUIPC. Look for Peter Dowson's page on the Project Magenta web site.An alternative is to program directly against the MSFS panels API. Check the MS site for the Panels and Gauges SDK.For some general background on pit building take a look at my site and at the sites listed on the getting started page on my site.Mikewww.mikesflightdeck.com

>David,>>A common approach is to make use of a third party program>called FSUIPC. This is a multi-function module that among>other things allows one to send and receive data to/from MSFS.>There is an extensive amount of documentation on FSUIPC. Look>for Peter Dowson's page on the Project Magenta web site.>>An alternative is to program directly against the MSFS panels>API. Check the MS site for the Panels and Gauges SDK.>>For some general background on pit building take a look at my>site and at the sites listed on the getting started page on my>site.>>Mike>www.mikesflightdeck.comHi Mike.Thanks for your response, that is an excellent website.Thought I should give a little more detail on what I was interested in doing, as my email may not have been clear (written a little late in the evening ;) )Initialy I was wondering how to make a hardware comm rack, as simply and cheaply as possible. I think I understand how I could convert a keyboard or joystick to handle the inputs, but have got stuck on the numeric displays (ones that display the frequency etc).I have worked with FSUIPC in the past on my own Visual Basic project, so understand how to get data from that (have paid for FSUIPC). And have the full MSFS SDK downloads to play with, which are nice also. But due to my lack of experience, I cannot see how to display values from MSFS onto an external (hardware) device.I can do the software side, but how do I get that data to then display on an external hardware (LED ?) device?Know what I mean? Sorry for being such a newbie ;-)Look forward to hearing from you.David.

You will need a hardware I/O solution such as FSBus, IOCards, Epic, Phidgets or Photon - there are others but these are the ones that come to mind easily.Perhaps best suited to your desire for home building is IOCards from OpenCockpits at http://www.opencockpits.com/index.php?newlang=englishThey have pcb designs, instructions and software all freely available for download from the site. For numerals I think you are talking about the Heading, Airspeed, Altitude etc on the glare shield Mode Control Panel (MCP). In homebuilt cockpits these are 7 segment LEDs (light emitting diodes), and OpenCockpits has the driver boards and holders for the 7 segment LEDs.Cheers,Peter.

>You will need a hardware I/O solution such as FSBus, IOCards,>Epic, Phidgets or Photon - there are others but these are the>ones that come to mind easily.>>Perhaps best suited to your desire for home building is>IOCards from OpenCockpits at>http://www.opencockpits.com/index.php?newlang=english>>They have pcb designs, instructions and software all freely>available for download from the site. For numerals I think you>are talking about the Heading, Airspeed, Altitude etc on the>glare shield Mode Control Panel (MCP). In homebuilt cockpits>these are 7 segment LEDs (light emitting diodes), and>OpenCockpits has the driver boards and holders for the 7>segment LEDs.>>Cheers,>Peter.Hi Peter.Thanks for your response.I can see that this is going to go over my head very quickly, as I know nothing when it comes to electronics and circuit boards etc.I was hoping I could simply buy the parts, and connect them together.I will take a look at the i/o hardware solutions that you mention, and see which one I can work with.Thanks very much :)David.

David,With IOCards, you can buy the cards already assembled, plug them into your PC, load the software and you're up and running. It does take a little more effort than that, but that's about all. The software that comes with the boards does all of the work of grabbing the info from FS2004 and turning it into the numbers in the display boards. The cost is very easy on the pocket.Personally I use Photon, however that is being withdrawn from sale, and IMHO IOCards is the next best for flexibility, ease of setup and good support.Do check their website thoroughly. You might want to check out Flight Deck Solutions' (FDS) website (http://www.flightdecksolutions.com) as well. Not only do they supply flight deck panels, hardware and LEDs, they also have links to many cockpit builders, plus a great forum for builders. FDS have their own IO board solution as well.Peter.