PS Cockpit PCB system - General overview

Are you tired trying to fit all the electric wires in your cockpit?
Do you have too many different systems to run your cockpit?
Do you want a plug & play system?
If your answer of these questions is YES, PSCockpit System is your final solution:

 Description

The system uses a main PCB with a PIC4550 processor connected to the USB port of the PC and control all other expanders and hardware connected.

Digital and analog inputs/outputs are distributed along the cockpit trough several types of satellite PCBs. These satellites PCBs are connected to the main PCB with only 2 wires (I2C protocol). They are connected to each other in daisy chain so you have to run only these 2 wires once per I2C channel in your cockpit.

The Main Board has eight I2C channels. Each of this I2C channels can handle 8 satellite PCBs expanders. You can choose the expander of 8, 16 or 40 digital IO or analog IO to fit your needs.

The PSCockpit system has been developed with the following objectives:
- One stop hardware and software for cockpit systems. Once the cockpit is connected you can configure the software individually for each sim.
- Easy configuration and setup for people without electronic knowledge.
- Avoid excessive wiring runs along the cockpit: The system uses small satellite PCB’s that can be distributed along the cockpit. The communication between these satellite PCB’s and the Main PCB is done with only 2 wires (I2C protocol) plus the power cables. These wires can be connected in daisy chain. The idea is to wire each of the cockpit panels to only one satellite PCB.

Main Features

- User friendly hardware management. You will be able to manage all your hardware in the IOLayout. Read more…

- Sim data extracted automatically from Falcon (BMS and other versions), DCS, Flaming Cliffs and MSX.   

- With the Airplanes Models you will be able to relation your hardware and software in a graphical view. Airplanes Models developed: F16, A10C and F104G. Read more…

- With the Launcher you will be able to launch all your applications before and after you run your favourite sim. Even more, you will be able to send any key stroke combination from your cockpit to any of these applications. Read more…

- And much more…

Hardware supported
- Digital inputs: pushbuttons, switches and encoders
- Digital input matrix: BCD and 8x4
- Digital outputs: leds, 7 segment displays, 5x7 alphanumeric displays and magnets
- Analogue inputs and outputs
- Motors: vibration motors, unipolar steppers, X-27 and X40 steppers
- Servos: (1) x Lynxmotion SSC-32 channels or (2) x Adafruit 16 channels servo driver
- Aircores: Simco 2022-705
- Displays: (2) x OLED (SSD1322) or (2) x LCD (KS0108) and (4) x Adafruit 1.3” OLED (SSD1306)

Software

The software is designed to retrieve the needed data from the simulator and communicates with the main PCB. It has the following features:

- I/O system layout detection, configuration and testing:

- Supports these types of digital outputs: leds, flash leds, 3, 4, 5 and 6 digits of 7 segment displays, vibrator motors and steppers motors,

- Supports these types of digital inputs: pushbuttons, switches, 3 position switches, rotaries switches, encoders and matrixes of 8 inputs to 3 BCD, 16 inputs to 4 BCD and 32 inputs to 5 BCD.

- Commands assignation for all the above different types of inputs plus different commands for 3 selectable DirectX joystick input.

- Commands can be sent to different running applications.

- Based on models for different cockpits: F16, A-10, F-18….:

- Independent configurations to use several simulators: Falcon, A-10, MSFlight,…

- Configurable launcher to run applications before and after simulator: Track IR, Hotas Cougar configuration, TS3, VAC,…..

- TCP protocol to run the cockpit in other computer.

- FreeTrack and TNGames Vest built-in functionality:

Regards,

Shep