Microphone Input Controller - Not able to get movement when calibrate

[joshkotecha]

Hi,

I got a E-fly Radio. It came with a simulator cable that is an audio cable that connects to windows xp.

I have not been able to get the radio to talk to FMS.
I tried to record the microphone output to a file. Its not apparent that their is any real communication. When I turn the radio off the signal does go off on microsoft record.
When I turn the radio on, it does start making "noise".

However when I have the radio on, its not apparent that changing the sticks causes the microsoft to record different sounds.

Has anyone got one of these types of microphone connections to work with the JoyStick input of FMS??

Thanks,
Josh

[joshkotecha]

Best Oscilliscope on the planet, the human ear!
I connected the output of the radio to a pair of head phones,
my eye balls couldn't see a pattern, but my ears could hear it.

There is a definte pitch change when the radio sticks are moved around. So its not a dead connection.

I just have to figure out how to get the signal from the radio to FMS sim.

Any thoughts would be GREATELY appreciated!

Thanks,
J

[shaul_eiz]

Hi J,
I've taken charge over and I'm sure we are going to solve this problem. Please connect your cable to "Line-In" rather than to the Microphone input. Make sure it is not muted, so you can still hear the sound of the Tx and detect the moving of the sticks.
Now, copy the appropreate winmm.dll file (You probably need the PPM version) to the FMS directory and start FMS. If you still hear this Tx noise it's good, but it is time to mute the speakers (I'm working on doing it automatically). Start calibrating FMS. If callibration works, you're done. If not let me know.

Shaul

[phildc]

Shaul, nice that you have taken the further development of Smartpropo over. Is this something 'official' ou just volunteering? Tell us: maybe you could start a newthread to keep us aware.
I would advice to make the design as open as possible, e.g. supporting mike as well as line input, so you are not dropping many portable PC.
Windows Multimedia libs have all you need to mute the speaker, and be to a great extent independent from the level settings.
See some result in:

where it is applied to a single program (select interface=audio, do MONITOR), not to a DLL.
I understood you dropped the Futaba/JR difference (polarity?). Right?
You could also try to support exotic things like Zhen Hua, that come along in many questions.
Thanks for bringing us an enhanced Smartpropo soon,
Phil.

[shaul_eiz]

Hi Phil,
Well, I don't know what is official. Nobody asked me to, but I noticed that the original writer stopped supporting it so I took over, and Michael co-operates with me as you can see on FMS home page. I will try to support it at least as long as I am unemployed ...
I fully accept you advice. I was not aware of the fact that latops do not have a Line-in, so I already started exploring the differences between the two input. There are a few of course.
I also started working on muting, or even better - disconnecting the audio input from the speakers without muting the speakers. I only started studying the "MM Mixer" thing, so this will take me a few days.
I merged JR/Futaba PPM files into a single PPM file that simply detects the shift (Like some receivers do). So it should now support ANY PPM Tx.
I already sent michael a newer version of SmartPropo with some minor enhancements and better documentation, but I received no reply. He must be on vacation.
Which leads me to my vacation which I take on Wednesday (one week) so don't expect much until Septenber.

Shaul

[phildc]

Shaul,
Thanks for the answers.
Go on with the good job!
Meanwhile, I wish you pretty holidays.
Regards,
Philippe.

[ginnz]

josh- i believe i got the dll i sent you from shaul_eiz......:;):

-good to hear your up and running!

[shaul_eiz]

I think too. So what happend? Does it really work now? Anyway, on my machine it does not, so I will have to improve the code anyway.

[joshkotecha]

Thanks ginnz and Shual. Since the solution is the dual ppm file, how do I figure out (for future reference) if my radio is Futaba or JR style??

Shual, you're doing a great job. Keep it up!

Thanks,
Josh

[shaul_eiz]

Since I cannot attach pics to this post, I've sent you a detailed replay along with a graphical example.
However, I'd like to answer this here.

You can roll-back to the original SmartPropo where the JR (Positive shift) and the Futaba (Negative shift) are in different files - and just try both.

You can also use the exellent to view the input.
The rule is very simple: You have a long horizontal line and then a series of high and low pulses. If the number of high pulses correspond to your number of channels then it is a positive shift otherwise your Tx is a negative shift Tx. This is true only for PPM. PCM works in a totally different way.

[phildc]

PPM, pos, neg, the PC scope and its use:

[ginnz]

josh- i believe our radios are futaba type...... at least the futaba .dll works, the jr doesnt. so.....

[joshkotecha]

Thanks for the rule of thumb. That's very useful. I still have to get the hang of winscope.

Josh

[joshkotecha]

Ginnz,

I think you're right. I did grab a waveform using winscope that Shual gave me.

He said rule of thumb if pulses = channels then its JR.
But the picture I captured has 3 pulses but the radio is 4CH.

Josh

[phildc]

I already put the link to Olivier's TX2TX :angry:

The reference to look at is the 'ground' which is approximately an horizontal line (approximately due to the poor quality obtained with the PC scope)


This illustration taken from Olivier's very good doc about transmitters (a high number of manuals are available), buddy boxes, a.s.o.


Considering the number of channels, I would suggest to vary each channel at a time, and look at which part of the diagram changes width. So you will understand.

Hope this helps.
Phil.