Beiträge von Bzmot332

  • Arcaze USB-Interface

    Zitat von Fin1927
    Zitat von Bzmot332

    I don't speak German, so please don't mind I write in English.


    You can buy Arduino copies from ebay for relatively cheap - since the original Arduino schematics are available on their website, Chinese suppliers sell many variants. I bought about a dozen pieces from different vendors, so far all of them worked just fine (one thing to mention: sometimes the chinese boards have a different, non-FTDI USB chipset, which practically means you have to install the driver of the chinese IC , that's it). It's not a big deal to program simple switches, so you have to hook up only 2 wires per switch/button - one to let's say GND (ground) and one to a pin. It's not that harder than these keyboard emulators, on the other hand you can script them whatever you want (only send commands if the switch changes, delay it, send multiple strokes...etc).

    do you know where I can get one of these board which you mentioned regarding switch changes as I have a lot of toggle switches that I need to make momentary for Omsi

    What do you mean? You can easily get any kind of Arduino from e.g. Ebay. To make a toggle switch to appear as momentary you just have to program/code the arduino (or whatever you use) that way. Like you constantly read the inputs and if it changes, then you send a command.

  • Plugin für FAP's mit Object Pascal (Delphi 7)

    I'm really sorry to hear about your problems, because more or less I'm in the same boat as you (well, from the university era I've been visiting multiple doctors with this topic) and from experience I know, that it's not easy to talk about these things (another thing I figured out though it's that it helps to chat with people who experienced the same thing, like phobias, depression - it's just easier to talk about something you both now what it's like). Also glad you're getting better :)


    If you need help with the scripting part (I mean the plugin for LOTUS), I'd be happy to help - I've made my own plugin for metro car cabs, it drives the lights and gauges well, and to be honest, yes, it's using a similar method as the OMSI plugin (it sends a pre-defined, constructed string with all the data, via serial bus). Though it definately needs performance touches, because the Arduino doesn't like to buffer all the data enough, unless I send data to it let's say only 4-5 times a second. Maybe it's even settable in Arduino, I didn't figure it out yet.

  • Arcaze USB-Interface

    I know I say this over and over again (also sorry for English), but you can do the same (or even more) with Arduino-s. Arduino Due and Leonardo can send keystrokes, mouse events and joystick commands as it was a keyboard/game controller (Due is the bigger, smarter and ofc more expensive board). Also with any arduino you can write data from LOTUS to them with a LOTUS plugin via serial communication.

  • Arcaze USB-Interface

    Ich spreche nicht Deutsche, so please don't mind I write in english.


    You can buy arduino copies from ebay for relatively cheap - since the original Arduino schematics are available on their website, chinese suppliers sell many variants. I bought about a dozen pieces from different vendors, so far all of them worked just fine (one thingto mention: sometimes the chinese boards have a different, non-FTDI USB chipset, which practically means you have to install the driver of the chinese IC, that's it). It's not a big deal to programm simple switches, also you have to hook up only 2 wires per switch/button - one to let's say GND (ground) and one to a pin. It's not that harder than these keyboard emulators, on the other hand you can script them whatever you want (only send commands if the switch changes, delay it, send multiple strokes...etc).

  • Ikarus 260 & 280

    Zitat von Marckloeckner

    (...)

    Okay, English works even if Russian is a little more difficult.

    But if the developer, for example, the BusTrainz who developed the Citybus i280 & i260, maybe LOTUS Simulator would do some tinkering or compining.

    Oh God no. Those add-ons have so disgusting sounds I cannot even tell. Like some old tractor engine sounds from a '90s video game... And I'm glad that in LOTUS nobody can modify things, but that means that if an Ikarus mod would appear with such a bad sound set, it would be like that forever...

  • 24V-Netzteil + Arduino = ...?

    I also wondered about this back when I was building my bus dashboard. I got around half a volt between the USB GND and my 24VDC power supply. My issue wasn't with this, that means almost nothing. But I was afraid what if something goes wrong on the power supply part, that could have an impact on my PC motherboard (sure that's got a very little chance and USB buses have fuses built in, which should limit the current to 500mA, but what if...).


    Anyway the simpliest method if you use optocouplers. They are relatively cheap (one IC is maybe 0.5-1€ maximum) and easy to use (they have 2 input and 2 output - the inputs need to be hooked up like an LED, since they actually are, and the outputs can be used as switches). That way you have your Arduino coupled to your PC via GND (and the rectified 5V and 3,3V too, which come from the USB 5V pin) and their outputs are used to switch the 24VDC power supply stuff. There's almost no way it will ever have any impact on your PC, only at very high voltage (since there's no physical contact between the sides).


    Sure it's maybe a bit overkill, but that's the safest and easiest way I can imagine of, and I would never harm my motherboard because of a wrongly hooked up cable or anything like that...



    Edit:

    Just a few things came to my mind. Power supplies don't always have their ground hooked up to "real ground" through power network. Just imagine a simple battery, its terminals are floating, they are initially not connected to anywhere. But some power supplies have their negative pin hooked up to GND. That doesn't mean it's the same potential as the GND pin on USB. The reason is the wire resistance of the components, that's the reason for the little voltage difference between the GND pins. If you would measure the voltage between the GND of the USB and let's say a grounded metal pipe in your house, there also would be a little difference for the same reason.


    Arduinos don't like high back current (back EMF) from loads like coils (motors or even like relais). In needed cases you can just hook up a diode to output this risk (which will conduct the back current, but have no impact on the circuit at normal states).


    By the way you can even use optocouplers at PWM or "analog" outputs. The cut-off frequency of the optocouplers are in the kHz spectrum, but that's not an issue. If you have let's say a gauge which need analog voltage between 0-24V, that will just work as a very crappy low pass filter (the DC part still "gets through"), and due to the "high" frequency of the PWM signal and the physical inertia of the moving parts of the gauge you won't see the needle shaking.. Also if you have a gauge which works according to the frequency of it's signal (engine rev meters eg.), it's still not an issue, because they usually need a few 10kHz maybe (it depends on the meter of course) and usually those frequencies are not cut to zero.

  • Tunnel in Lotus?

    By the way, is there any recommended way to start building a tunnel? I know it will be implemented later, but if you can see now how it will be made in the program, what is the best way to start it, like now? Laying the tracks and tunnel splines in -1 layer? Or it doesn't matter because it's not possible at all, and everything will be have to deleted and layed down again because it will need a totally different approach?

  • LOTUS-Simulator: Screenshots

    I am really curious: how much fps did you have while shooting this screenshot? :D

  • Kazan

    It looks pretty promosing according to the pictures, but please promise you will change the default LOTUS texted depo building :D

  • Ezres BKVT nicht mehr Fahrbar

    If everything is correct, I updated the tram in the workshop. Also I added a bit of camera movement, so it's a bit more realistic.


    If everything's wrong with the tram, please leave a comment on the steam workshop page/commentary thread here, otherwise maybe I won't notice something is wrong.