Hi all! I'm having some issues with my IOCards Master Card from OpenCockpits. I've posted questions at the their forums but haven't gotten any answers, so I thought I'd try here. These forums are a good deal more active, so I think I might have better luck here!Anyway, I'm having two main problems...First, none of my outputs are working. On the J2 connector, I have +5VDC on pin 1 and GND on pin 2, but I can't get anything on the other pins. I've tried a test with a simplified config file that should turn on an output when the landing light is turned on. This works in the IOCard simulator program, but not with the hardware card. Also, I've had a couple of times when all of the outputs were ON rather than off. I'm not sure what caused this, perhaps starting things up in the wrong order. At any rate, the only way to fix it was to disconnect the master card from the parallel port and then reconnect it.The other major problem is with the inputs. I had to change my parallel port mode from ECP to Bidirectional due to the problem of missing 4 inputs from each group as described in the IOCards documentation. But, now it seems to be working. The problem is, however, that when I activate one input, the same input in all of the other groups activates as well.For example, I have, in my test config, set up the battery switch on input 002. This is pin 2 on the J3 connector and makes it easy to find. So, by shorting a wire between pin 2 and pin 10, I can activate the battery switch in FS. However, shorting between pins 12 and 20 ALSO activates the battery switch. It's as if all of the groups are activating at the same time.I didn't realize it before, but I think I was seeing this in the Controller program. When activating an input, it was displaying the numbers for ALL of the inputs of similar position in each group.So, in the controller program (Controlador?), if I were to short from pin 1 and pin 10, to activate input 001, the software would display:"001-010-019-028-037-046-055-064"I didn't realize until later that it should only have displayed "001".This was a Master Card kit that I assembled. It's been a while since I've done any soldering, but the connections LOOK good anyway. There doesn't appear to be any shorts or other visible problems. All but one of the chips are mounted on sockets, so heat damage is probably not the problem. Some of the diodes DID get a bit warmer than I'd like when soldering, but I don't think this is the problem... So, I'm at a loss now as to what I should do next. I don't know how to track the problem down, but I have a feeling that someone out there has probably experienced the same issues and can provide some guidance. Thanks for any advice!Brandon

Hi Brandon,The opencockpits forum is very helpful but it sometimes takes a few days to get a reply. But the guys there are quite helpful.I have build four (4) mastercards for my cockpit yet to be build, but have not encountered the problem you mention.Since you assembled the cards yourself, it is suggested you test a few things first, if not already done so.a. Check for cold soldering. Not much solder is needed as the PCB is industrial made double sided through-hole plated.b. Disconnect the master card from anything, remove ALL ICs (hopefully you have used IC sockets and not soldered the ICs directly), and using a multimeter or continuity tester check that there are no short circuits between the J3 pins. Then check each input diode with the Ohm Meter and make sure that they are still good. They should measure round 0 Ohms when - (minus/com) is connected to the cathode (marked by the small black strip) and + to the anode.The oposite should give you almost infinite resistance. If not, the diode is burned. At the same time check for the correct polarity of the diodes.c. You say you use direct connection to the parallel port. Maybe the cable used is not the proper one. Check the opencockpits site for how to find or construct a compatible parallel cable for use with the IOCards. I use the USBExpansion card which connects to the USB and can support up to four (4) mastercards on one USB connection, so I don't know if the parallel cable or even your parallel port creates the problem. The use of a USBExpansion card is highly recommended however as it allows easy expand among other benefits.You may want to reverse the order of the above checks...Let us know of the outcome.Good luck,George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

Thanks for the suggestions!I'll give those ideas a try and see what I can find!Regarding the USB expansion card, I'd love to have one, but right now my budget just couldn't handle it... :-(Thanks again for replying!Brandon

Well, January was a better month than expected for my web store, so I scraped together enough money to order the USB Expansion card. YAY!Of course, it doesn't work... :(When I connect it to the computer, Windows doesn't detect it. I tried the USBCheck.exe program and it wasn't shown in the list, so I'm sure it's not being found by Windows.I'm wondering if this is a problem with Windows not having a proper driver or if it's a hardware issue...Anyone got any ideas?

>I'm wondering if this is a problem with Windows not having a>proper driver or if it's a hardware issue...A driver problem is very unlikely, it works like charm over here (with two USB expansion cards) and I never have heard that from other people. Hardware: that's more likely. I use 6 master cards, never had any problems, but I have bought hem already built and tested(!). You could try to swap with a card from somebody nearby (if at all possible).I also recommend to continue this thread in the Opencockpits forum.Rgrds,Nicohttp://www.nicokaan.nl

Hi Nico, and thanks for the reply!I've also got a thread about this on the OpenCockpits forum, but there are many more people here and much more activity on this forum, so I'm asking here as well. I figure that gives me a better chance of finding someone with a similar experience that might have some ideas on how to fix it.Something I didn't mention in my post before is that when I connect the USB Expansion card, Windows plays the sound you get when you connect a USB device. It also plays the proper sound when I disconnect the USB Expansion card.However, it's not working and the IOCards software can't find it.I agree, a hardware problem is the most likely cause. I'm not sure how to go about testing it though...Unfortunately, there's no one anywhere near here that I know with a USB Expansion card, so I can't try someone else's on this computer.I wonder if maybe the microcontroller's programming was corrupted during shipping somehow. I'm not familiar with how this chip is erased - should probably look that up...Something else: With the card connected, the reset switch appears to work. If I short a wire across the pins on SW1, Windows plays the "disconnect sound" and when I remove the wire, it plays the "connect sound", so I guess that's something good at least! :D

Hi again! I've made some progress, thanks to some helpful hints from over at the OC forums and I thought I should post my results here as well, as they may help someone else in the future.To make a long story short, it was a driver problem, but I'm not sure why...I rigged a pushbutton to the reset switch pins 1 and 2, which helped a lot. In the Windows Device Manager, under Universal Serial Bus controllers, there was an entry labeled "Unknown Device". To confirm that this was indeed the USB Expansion card, I held the reset button. The Device Manager refreshed and the Unknown Device disappeared. When I released the button, the Unknown Device re-appeared. So, that was indeed the USB Expansion card.So, I right-clicked the Unknown Device entry and selected "Update Driver" from the menu. I allowed Windows to find and install the driver automatically and it worked! After a reboot, the USB Expansion is now listed as "HID-compliant Device" under "Human Interface Devices" in the Windows Device Manager. It is also now listed in the USBCheck program as "IOCARDSUSB - V4.10".There are still some problems (A/D inputs not working right, Master Card not working yet) but at least it's a step forward! W00H00!Thanks again for the help guys!Brandon

Just one final update on this issue...I spent a while thinking about the problems with my Master card and I finally decided to go back over and re-solder EVERY connection. They all looked fine, but I figured it wouldn't hurt, and might help.Now, it appears to be working perfectly! I haven't tested every single input and output yet, but it looks good so far!Thanks to all of you who have helped me troubleshoot these cards!The time has come for some serious simpit building! :D

Will I sound too bad if I write... "I told you so" ?I've learned that lesson the hard way... But not until the 2nd time!:-)George DorkofikisAthens, Hellashttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/811520/1704.png

LOL! :DYes, it's true, you DID tell me. In fact, you weren't the only one. In looking around online, when someone has a problem like this, the first thing to suspect is the soldering...My father even told me that it could be cold-solder joins. In going back over the Master card, it was pretty clear that my soldering work was sub-par in places. When I began work on it, I hadn't soldered anything serious in some time. It took a while to get back into the swing of things and by the time I got around to doing the USB Expansion, my work was much nicer.It also went MUCH faster this time around. In part because I didn't have to put the components in place (they were already there) but also, my soldering technique has really improved.Thank you for your help, George!Brandon