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Leobodnar Electonics
matsadona:
The Leobodnar interfaces are great – the support isn’t.
The support actually stinks, at least for me, since he doesn’t even bother to answer emails.
Perhaps there are other with a different experience?
As commented already they are used a lot within the racing sim community, but also a lot of flight sim cockpit builders use them as well.
The BU0836X interface is excellent for this purpose with analog inputs (joystick, rudder pedals throttles etc) and a lot of inputs. The inputs can also be grouped to handle rotary encoders, which is great for a flight sim.
RandyT:
--- Quote from: MonMotha on March 22, 2013, 12:39:43 am ---Also, figure you can now get a ~50MHz 32-bit MCU (ARM Cortex-M0) for like $1-2. That's so much CPU time that you'll get far better gains from using the thing properly (e.g. taking advantage of DMA) than trying to count instructions. I do still use 8-bit MCUs, occasionally, mostly when I want a small package (e.g. 8 pins) and something really cheap in low quantity. My goto part is usually something in the tinyAVR series. I've used e.g. a tiny25 recently which is about 50 cents in low quantity and can at 16MHz off the internal oscillator if you don't care too much about timing accuracy and jitter. Anything where I need USB, at this point, I'm going to reach for an ARM.
--- End quote ---
The landscape of microcontrollers has definitely changed dramatically in a relatively short amount of time. The great thing is that manufacturers have all kept up with one another to such a degree that it doesn't matter an awful lot which one you choose. This lets folks who are familiar with one type to "stick with what they know" and still have a full array of features to work with. The C layer has made it much simpler to cross over to a different architecture when required. The only "rub" is when one needs to fall back to assembly for certain things, and that's when it's better to use an MCU with an instruction set one is intimate with. I'm an "old school" programmer who cut his machine code teeth on a C-64, so anything similar to 8-bit 6502 Architecture is what I tend to gravitate toward, when that is the case.
The TinyAVR series is pretty amazing in the "bang for buck" department. It costs less than some discrete semiconductor parts and can replace a number of them in a single package, while making the device "smart". The hobbyist scene is pretty much unparalleled due to this, so there's plenty of information out there. It seems like the cost barriers nowadays are only with devices which sport high numbers of I/O, but even those are coming down. The larger barrier for hobbyists with these type of high I/O devices are the high pin counts, which equate to fine pitch SMD parts, making it difficult for "home brew" users to take advantage of them. We actually build our own PCB's, and can do .5mm on center pin packages without issue. Smaller than that becomes a challenge :).
RandyT:
--- Quote from: BadMouth on March 21, 2013, 01:16:43 pm ---RandyT, will this new device work with 5k arcade pots?
Would it be smoother with higher resistance pots?
--- End quote ---
I don't think I have any 5k pots here to test it with. While common with original arcade equipment, they tend to be less so with consumer equipment nowadays. I'll have a look in my parts pile.
But yes, there's no reason it shouldn't. It's just measuring a variable voltage. Obviously, calibration would be necessary in order to use them.
MonMotha:
--- Quote from: RandyT on March 22, 2013, 11:23:42 am ---It seems like the cost barriers nowadays are only with devices which sport high numbers of I/O, but even those are coming down. The larger barrier for hobbyists with these type of high I/O devices are the high pin counts, which equate to fine pitch SMD parts, making it difficult for "home brew" users to take advantage of them. We actually build our own PCB's, and can do .5mm on center pin packages without issue. Smaller than that becomes a challenge :).
--- End quote ---
You can actually get some ARMs in DIP, now, though availability is somewhat limited. Digi-Key claims to sell singles of the NXP LPC1114FN28/102 (DIP28) for $2.82. No stock, but they claim they'll ship on the 26th (I'm tempted to test them on that one). That's a Cortex-M0 up to 50MHz with 32kB flash, 4kB of RAM. You get a UART, 2x SPI, 4 timers, I2C, and some ancillary functions. Only real annoyance is that it's SWD only for program/debug, and I don't know of any good open/cheap debuggers for that. NXP also has a Cortex-M0+ part in 8 pin DIP (!!), but I don't know where you can actually buy them.
Mind, you can get a Cortex-M3 (100MHz or so, and a more capable core in other ways) with about 4x the RAM and flash for about the same price, if you're willing to put up with a QFP. 0.5mm isn't too tough to solder, once you get the hang of it, but you need a PCB, and custom PCBs are 'spensive. Even generic breakout boards are inordinately expensive for those packages. IIRC, somebody makes a teensy type breakout for some ARM CM3, though.
There's people who make Arduino formfactor compatible doohickeys with ARM Cortex-M3/M4. I think some of them have even implemented the (almost useless, for "real" work, but neat for experimenters) high level Arduino libraries and bootloader. Most of the "shield" boards can be used. They do cost a bit more, but they've taken care of the soldering for you.
Of course, we're wildly off-topic at this point...
ark_ader:
If these devices are USB (I read the disclaimer and the FAQ) I wonder if they would work with the Cronus via the PC for the PS3 and Xbox 360....
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