Remote Control Joystick

It appeared that I need to connect my Spektrum DX9 to PC. Unfortunately I have no USB cable for that. And also I read that it may die when connected to PC through trainer port.

Fortunately I have Orange 6-channel RX and Arduino UNO. So I decided to create own joystick that I can use with LiftOff simulator.

Hardware

To create your own Remote Control Joystick you need:

Any receiver (currently up to eight channels is supported).
Arduino UNO or Arduino MEGA with 8u2, 16u2 or 32u2 USB chip.
9 wires.

Note: some cheap Arduino built with other USB-Serial bridge. Make sure your uses Atmeg as USB interface.

Preparing

First you must prepare your Arduino so it appears as USB HID device for your PC. By default Arduino appears as VCP only. To do so yo uhave to flash your 16u2 with HoodLoader.

There are 2 ways to flash it: Standalone Arduino or from other Arduino. Select which is better for you. I used first method.

Note: There is 100nF capacitor required to flash Arduino as standalone. However on my side it worked without the capacitor. So try.

Once you flashed your Arduino USB chip you have to Install required libraries.You also need to install NicoHood HID library.

Once you done with preparing your Arduino we are ready to...

Wiring

Connect your RX to your Arduino as following.

RX out        Digital PIN
=========================
Throttle           2
Aileron            3
Elevator           4
Rudder             5
Gear (Aux0)    6
Aux1               7
Aux2 8
Aux3 9

Software

Now you are ready to upload RC Joystic code. You can download it here.

First flash code from Receiver folder. After that replug the Arduino so the 16u2 restarts. And now you can flash the code from Joystick folder. Once flash completed your Arduino appears as Game Controller in your system.

Calibrate the Joystick and that's all.

If there is something unclear or should you have any question please do not hesitate to contact me at support@tlmviewer.com or at mike@btframework.com

MadHobbyist

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