Single rotary encoder and two buttons control

[hpihl]

Hello,
Is it possible to make such firmware option where the entire software adjusting can be done with a single rotary encoder and two buttons (menu and exit)?

It's almost possible now but I can't choose the model or radio setup menu in the beginning. My idea would be that pushing menu button for a second opens the model menu and keeping the exit menu button down and then pushing menu button for a second opens radio setup menu.

Harri

[bertrand35]

Yes. It's almost there, but not completely. I planned working on it but the priority decreased. I would really need the rotary encoder from Hippo, but unfortunately he doesn't seem to answer to my MP
Bertrand.

[jhsa]

it seems he's not answering to anyone.. I've been trying.. I also can't do the mod cos I don't have the encoders and boards, and I want to do the audio mod at the same time cos don't want to remove the board/LCD many times..

[Irish Steve]

Yes, for whatever reason, Hippo has dropped off the face of the earth as far as the forum and boards for rotaries is concernd, and I have to admit to being somewhat irritated about the way he's dropped a lot of people into aggravation.

A number of people have tried to contact him, both by PM and by mail, but there seems to have been no answer, but the user logs show that he's been online here.

Unfortunate as it may be, it's looking like anyone that was waiting on these boards is going to have to look to make alternate arrangements, I just hope that not too many people have paid up front and not received their boards.

I think we've been reasonable in terms of the time we've waited for a response, I just hope someone else can pick this up and run with it. Once the word spreads, I think this mod will be popular.

[Rob Thomson]

Agreed... Rather odd that he has dropped offline.

Worth being aware... The logs showing him as online could be a simple case of his Tapatalk phone being online. Or even just a computer left on on the site!

It is quite possible something has gone seriously wrong. He could be sick, hospital... Who knows!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bertrand35]

That's exactly what I would like:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1525&p=23367&hilit=rotary#p23350
Bertrand.

[MikeB]

Brent says he is looking into the 7 way encoder to package with the ersky9x V3.0 board.

I made my own board, using a powered engraving tool in my mini drill.

Mike.

[Irish Steve]

Bertrand,

That's what we were hoping for, the outer ring already works, the rotary saves all those key presses, and is intuitive, and the centre button becomes the "enter" key, and avoids long /short presses on menu, and the potential for error or confusion, or we make the centre the new "menu", and use the "old" menu button for either switch on/off the display light, or maybe a context change button, or maybe even a use I've not thought of. Have to admit, for preference, the centre button becomes the "enter" or Accept key, and we can then make the Menu button a true menu button, and not have to be careful about short/long presses on one button. Hopefully, we will be able to get this moving again soon.

I too am on hold right now, I've 5 TXs to modify, and a lot of other changes to do, and they're all on hold till I can sort out what's going to happen with the rotaries.

Valid point Rob, It could be something sinister, I hope not.

Steve

[MikeB]

While he is listed as online, he hasn't posted since Aug 24th.

Mike.

[jhsa]

yeah, he is always online but away.. since last night shows available on the chat.. tried to contact him there but no luck..

Joao

[jhsa]

Bertrand that one on the picture is the one we're all waiting for

[Rob Thomson]

yeah, he is always online but away.. since last night shows available on the chat.. tried to contact him there but no luck..

Joao

Sounds to me like the computer is powered up and on the page. He on the other hand is not actually at the computer!!

Rob

[Irish Steve]

He's been online and active at some stage, as the private messages were collected, which is not automatic. That requires a log in to the relevant page, rather than just leaving it sitting at the main forum page.

Have to go back and find the layout of the board that was posted in another thread, and see what's needed to make photo sensitive boards, then see if I can get the relevant chemicals etc locally. Not optimistic, that sort of special stuff is like rocking horse droppings in Ireland, there's just not the demand so the stock is not there either. PAIN!

[Crucial]

NM.

[Crucial]

NM.

[Crucial]

NM.

[C.João]

I never even got to pay. never got a response. I will have to get the parts from mouser or farnell (mouser probably. farnell shipping is nonsense)

[kaos]

I already paid for 2 encoder, 3 boards, and 3 sets of pins. sent him a PM about a wk ago, was viewed. No answer either.
I am not going to jump into conclusion. Just hope there is nothing catastrophic happened to him.

[Irish Steve]

digi key are also doing the rotary switches, and their shipping to Europe was reasonable price and quick, might be worth checking them out.

[hpihl]

I'm actually thinking the normal 3-way encoder:
- it's allready implemented
- simple and works well
- can be easily used for custom cases
- all the functions can be controlled with it and menu and exit button
- there is no need for left side buttons (+,-, up and down)
- moving menu and exit button is much easier than making a board for 7-way encoder
- mainboard can be mounted more freely inside custom case
- in the firmware we need just system to choose menu, everything else is allready there
- should be like an option in the companion9x

[Irish Steve]

The 7 way doesn't have to have a board, that's been done to make it easy to remove the 4 ways and hold it in the case, but there's nothing to stop the card that it's mounted on being screwed to the case, and wire wrapping the connections to the main board. the 7 way is almost there, very little to change from recent comments. wire wrap to the pins covers the custom case scenario. Interface for ERSky board is already there, and its on the way for the stock board.

If you are only looking for a 3 way rotary, skynorth has them, he offers them as an addon for the ERSKy board, and they're not expensive. Best of both worlds

[hpihl]

Well, I do allready have 3-way encoders and I'm making a custom case. The problem is simply that current firmware can't be adjusted with one 3-way encoder and two buttons (menu and exit) because I can't choose which menu (model or radio setup) opens without + and - buttons.

[jhsa]

I think the best are the ones we're all waiting for

[Irish Steve]

The 7 way offers a lot of flexibility that the 3 way can't have, and has the other advantage in the stock case of not needing any plastic modifications of any significance, and it makes the existing menu button less important, which might mean it can be used for other functions. I know I'd prefer to not have to remember short or long presses on menu, which will be one option once the 7 way is in.

Can't happen too soon for my "tidy" mind

[jhsa]

Steve, that is exactly what I was talking about on the other thread, when copying and moving models more user friendly.

[Irish Steve]

Yeah, I got that part of it, but then it sort of went sideways, and started going into areas that could get to be dangerous for all of us, and that's not good, the safety implications for everyone are massive on this sort of device, which means our testing and proving has to be done in a much more structured and provable manner so that in the event of an incident, it can be demonstrated that there has been no neglect or corner cutting by any of the people involved. If a user chooses to ignore the recommended safety and operational guidelines, that's fine, as long as the guidelines are in place, to protect the user from themselves.

Bit like the "press accept to agree to the terms and conditions" on most software installs, How many people (myself included) actually read ALL of the small print that's behind some of those boxes. If we did, there are some that we'd never accept. Same concept.

In theory, there should be a pop up in the install (EEPE or Companion) that goes something along the lines of "The user accepts that by pressing "YES" in this box, they have read and understood all the safety and operational warnings attached to the installation and use of this software, and the user agrees that no responsibility or liability for any and all loss or damage caused by the use of this software can be accepted by the developers of this software, as the conditions and nature of its use are beyond the control of the developers. All modules of this software have been tested, but no guarantees of suitability, performance or range can be given under any circumstances, as the nature of the product cannot provide any guarantees due to the shared nature of the operational frequencies used by the target equipment, and by virtue of the use of shared frequency bands for which no protection from interference is given or provided for in law by national governments. This software should only be used on the platforms for which it is provided, and no guarantees of performance or suitability can be given for any other hardware platform.
Due diligence has been used in the design and testing of the software, which has been designed for hobby and private use in accordance with the guidelines and legislation laid down for the operation of model hobby equipment. It has not been designed or approved for professional use or use in unattended or mission critical applications that require remote or out of view operation, and it is not designed for use in any equipment that has to be certified or licensed by an ICAO contractiong organisation or service. "

Associated with this should probably be a file or similar that says things like don't power up receiver without an active and bound transmitter. Don't use within X metres of a mobile phone mast, Don't use within X metres of a high power radio transmitter. Don't use within X kilometers of an active airfield or airport. etc, etc. Don't use if any warnings sound. Don't use after any accident without performing a range check and full operational check. Don't use within X metres of a high voltage overhead transmission line. Don't use within X metres of a weather or aircraft tracking radar station. Ideally, these warnings should also be built into the source code as comment documentation, so if a user takes the source and compiles it, they can't do so without accepting the limitations that are only sensible.

I think you know where I'm coming from. Pain, but that's the way things are now. Yes, it's a hobby, but that doesn't mean we can ignore the potential use or potential for serious damage or injury of the things we're involved with. Heavy? Maybe, but that's the way the world is now.

[Kilrah]

In theory, there should be a pop up in the install (EEPE or Companion) that goes something along the lines of ...

This is only legal talk that is intended to protect the supplier of the "thing", whether software or hardware. As you said, nobody reads it, so the users won't either. Legal talk neither helps sane people doing good stuff, nor prevents stupid ones from doing stupid things.

Legal disclaimer is already included in the source files, in the form of the "no fitness" clause from the GNU license:

Code: Select all

 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU General Public License for more details.

So nobody can say they used it thinking it was perfect and free of any defects.
Adding the "more complete" version in the code or license agreeement won't do any good.

What would maybe help in the real world is adding basic concepts of R/C flight like this one to the documentation, which at least some people are susceptible to read. But again - it's no guarantee.

[Irish Steve]

That covers most of it, yes, and you're right, the legalese is often only there for CMA purposes, but I guess if it means that there's no case there to answer, that's no bad thing. There are a number of areas and trades that the world would probably be a better place without, ambulance chasing solicitors being one of them.

In the meantime, if we can get the 7 button rotary working well, that WILL be a good thing. I know I will be a lot happier to have them live here.

[hpihl]

The 7 way offers a lot of flexibility that the 3 way can't have, and has the other advantage in the stock case of not needing any plastic modifications of any significance, and it makes the existing menu button less important, which might mean it can be used for other functions. I know I'd prefer to not have to remember short or long presses on menu, which will be one option once the 7 way is in.

I'd rather have software controls on 3-way encoder and two buttons, that's certainly enough for that. The remaining four buttons can be relocated for something else, like two separate 2-way encoders for adjusting etc. In other words, I don't want to be tied on the button locations of the stock board.

As a tray users, I don't like the stock case and I'd rather have the freedom to relocate controls somewhere alse in the custom case instead putting all them to a single device, like the 7-way encoder, which is difficult to use while flying.

[Irish Steve]

OK, sounds to me like the ERsky board will be your friend, or if the stock board, the new TelemetrEZ card that's being discussed, as there will be spare ports on that card that can be used for extra devices like rotary and the switches.

My thoughts on the 7 way rotary is that it's primary use will be for "computer" functions rather than flying use, and in terms of the connect to the mainboard, the small card that's being used in the 9X case would make it possible to fit the switch anywhere in the tray, on mounting posts, and then instead of using the pins to directly connect to the main board, it would be very easy to use ribbon cable or wire wrap connections from the main board to the rotary, so the position tie is not a limitation. I used a coaxial encoder at one time on a flight sim device, there were 2 rotaries on the same spindle, though at that time they didn't have a press option, I found a way round that and had a press AND a pull option, which replicated what was in the aircraft we were modelling at the time. Given the extra processor and memory, developments of that nature will be easier on the ERsky card, the stock card is apparently getting very tight on flash and CPU capacity, whereas the new card has plenty of both still available. I'm hoping to get into some serious work with the ERSky card very soon, and I won't be using a TX case or a tray as such, but that's going to be the subject of another thread once some progress has been made. It won't be fast, I'm going to be dependent on getting some very specific scrap items from parted out aircraft, so I can't choose when that happens.

From other discussions, it's not going to be too much hassle to have extra switches and inputs on the ERsky board, the more complex issue is getting the information across the RF link, as we don't have access to the packet structure to make changes, although it seems that might change with the PXX protocol that's being developed.

It's going to be an interesting winter!