USB DC Motors card

[flyboy01]

Hi All,
I have just finished building my throttle and have got my dc motors card. When i plug the card into the usb port and start the usbdcmotors softwre i see that it is recognised, However the instructions for the dc motors card does not say where to write the sioc file and if so how to link it to the sioc software. Any help on this issue would be helpfull as i am new to all the opencockpits io cards. do i need a master card to make this dc motors card work?

Kind regards
trevor

[barkay]

Hi Trevor,

For the usb dc motors card first thing to do is to define this in sioc.ini file.

Right under the lines where it stars with MASTER you will find some lines like;

USBStepper 0,0
USBRelays 0,0 and so on.

I think the corret notofier is USBdcmotors but you have to check it.

First 0 is the IDX number This should not be the same on two devices. Assume you use MCP and its IDX is shown as 1. This means no other device should be IDX 1.

The second zero is the recognized device number in PC. You can fişnd this in the right window of SIOC once you connect the software.

Once you do them right and saved your .ini file, next time you run SIOC the device IDX and the Device nuber should be visible with the correct explanation of the card.

From there on depending on which socket you connected your dc motor you continue writing your script in sioc by definif input, outputs like akways.

I hope this helps

est Regards

barkay

[flyboy01]

Thanks barkay,
i will try this tonight when i get home from work. with any luck it will work. as yet i did not see any of these idx that you were talking about. can these be 2 digit numbers as all i see when i start the dc motors card is that it is recognised and port=45 that is the only numbers i see. but i will have a better attempt tonight.
Thanks again
Trevor

[barkay]

Hi trevor,

Tha answer is no. When you lok at the right side of SIOC you see all of your connected cards there. Every line starts with IDX=x then the card name THEN THE DEVICE NUMBER you mentioned.

Normally if you connect your card for the first time all you get is the device number and the IDX=*

Therefore you need to go to sioc.ini add the necessary line and give an IDX number to each card. This is very improtant since you use this number when programming in SIOC.

For example;

Var 001, name trevor, Link IOCARD_SW, Device X, Input 3

That X is your IDX number and you assign them.

Best regards,

barkay

[flyboy01]

Thanks again. I got the card idx ok now and have it recognised. Funny though, would not work on my main fs computer but had to put it on a computer with a master card connected. never mind though all good now. Just have to try figure out how to programme with sioc now.LOL and then my throttle will be all good i hope.
Trev

[paulj]

That's great Trevor, I hope your script works well for you.
Strange that your other PC did not recognise the card.

Paul

[flyboy01]

Thanks Paul,
will be looking at trying a few things with the script over the next few days.will see you in a week or so when i get to Sydney.
Trev

[flyboy01]

I have to open this thread again as i am still having problems.
When i connect the usbDC_Motors card to the computer i am getting the following line appear in the sioc programme.

IDX=1-IOCARDUSB_SERVOS-DEVICE=89

Why is this being recognised as a servos card and not usb dc motor card????

I have assigned the IDX and device to the USBDCMOTOR in the sioc.ini file
as also these values to the analogue inputs

also when i run the controllador programme, it shows 4 analogue inputs and not the 5 i assigned. They also show a value of 255 next to them but these values do not change when moving the Pot's. How do i check if they are working or not and how do i check the motors outputs are working??????

Any thoughts and comments appreciated

Trev

[barkay]

Trev as far as I know there should be a seperate testing program in the downloads section for USB dc motors card. Because there is one for servos. That is the best way to test it. On the other hand what you say seems strange. Are you sure you got the right card? If absolutely yes then download this program and see if the card is working. Let us know

rgds

barkay

[flyboy01]

I am fairly sure it is the right card as it was purchased from open cockpits as a built and tested card. and also looks the same as the picture on the instructions manual for usb motors card. and even has the same ic numbers.
Will do a bit mor investigation into it when i return from christmas holidays.
Trev

[tomenglish2000]

Hi Trev.

You will find that the Servo card and the DC Motor card are identical except for a couple of resistors. They both use the same PCB but if you bought it from opencockpits built and tested then it should have at the bottom the name USB Servos Card crossed out. That way you know it is a DC Motors one. I have one of these but havent used it yet. Need to build some throttles first!

[flyboy01]

Thanks Tom,
Yes the card does have part of the name crossed out with black pen. So i am hopeing when i get back from hoiays i can test the card and sort it out.
A merry Christmas to you and all in the mycockpits community.
Trev