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What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

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What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby flyboyz » Sat Feb 11, 2023 2:39 pm

Hi,

I have a simple pair of floor pedals ( car style ) which are very simply variable resistors which connect to DB25 parallel printer port.

They are not detected automatically so I'm guessing they are not a config known to FG or they are otherwise defective ( 2nd hand item I've not used yet ).

Is there a common pedal config of this sort (parport) which I can copy wiring info from and hope to see FG pick it up automatically ?

Thanks for anyone with experience of this kind of thing on FG.

PS this is PARALLEL port not USB !
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby wkitty42 » Sat Feb 11, 2023 2:53 pm

AFAIK there is nothing similar in/for modern FG... you are the first to ask about such since i've been here starting back in 2015...

your best bet would be to get a new set of pedals that connects via USB... then it is a simple plug and play process... i would be sure to search for "rudder pedals" because there is a difference in how they respond compared to how "racing pedals" respond...
"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby flyboyz » Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:27 pm

OK , if you've never seen that it probably isn't supported. That's very helpful.

Thinking about it you can output a PWM signal on a llel port but I'm not sure you can poll an analogue input. I may need a DAC. I could rig that up if I had a working spec. to aim for.

My main interest in this pedal set is that it is VERY solid, unlike the Mickey Mouse plastic stuff I see selling new for quite a lot of $$.

I take your point about rudder pedals. I imagine they are linked to a single positional indicator and are mechanically linked to go down and up in opposition. AFAIK aircraft pedals are based on the original mechanical idea of a cable PULLING is each direction, thus returning the opposing pedal. Car style pedals are independent ( 2 d.f. ) and can both go down at the same time.

Sure newer USB is simpler but are you saying you have never seen any kind of serial of llel port rudder pedals ?
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby wkitty42 » Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:54 pm

flyboyz wrote in Sat Feb 11, 2023 3:27 pm:Sure newer USB is simpler but are you saying you have never seen any kind of serial of llel port rudder pedals ?

personally speaking, no, i have not knowingly and physically seen them... everything i knew of all went through the joystick/midi port(s)... but i should also add that i never tried to have and use any pedals other than what were already connected to the machines i played that had them... i have sold many steering wheels, pedals, and yokes in my 30+ years in the industry but never looked deeper into them... the buyers just plugged them into their joystick cards and played on...

the above is also not actually related to my main point which is that the way today's systems work, they enumerate the devices connected to USB much easier than how things were done when serial and parallel ports were more of a thing... for instance, i spent several weeks trying to get my old joystick that connected via the old joystick/midi port to be recognized and i had absolutely no luck at all... so i dropped the $$$ for a new USB connected T160000M, plugged it in and was immediately able to use it... on the same note, i also got an Xbox One controller and i was able to do the same with it and all my other games... for FG, though, i had to create the XML file for it because there was not one already existing...
"You get more air close to the ground," said Angalo. "I read that in a book. You get lots of air low down, and not much when you go up."
"Why not?" said Gurder.
"Dunno. It's frightened of heights, I guess."
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby flyboyz » Sat Feb 11, 2023 4:51 pm

Many thanks, all useful info. Maybe I need to trawl for an existing analog input device of some kind and hook up my pots to look like that. Something with an existing kernel driver.

I have a USB to llel "cable" too, I don't know what that has inside the plug housing or whether it's bidirectional. ... the vendor did not seem to know !! LOL
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby jam007 » Sat Feb 11, 2023 8:09 pm

Just a thought.
You might use an Arduino to read the parallel port and send the data as USB serial.
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby flyboyz » Sat Feb 11, 2023 9:43 pm

many thanks for those links. I was off to use a solution Tweeny but I don't seem to be able to put my hands on the one I had spare somewhere. I do have a couple of Unos.
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby jam007 » Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:44 am

Maybe it is easiest to disconnect the old electronics and connect one of the Arduino's analog inputs directly to the potentiometer.
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Re: What Parallel port Pedals are known to work with FG ?

Postby rooman » Tue Apr 04, 2023 3:52 pm

Arduino works fairly well with pots via serial.
I have one pot for rudder deviation and two buttons for L and R toe-brakes but pots would give you differential braking.
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