dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Ever wanted an extra 20 customised button/switch controls for your flight sim? How much can you expect to pay for such a device...$100?...even more I hear you say? What about if I told you that you may already have such a device in your home or can buy one for under $30 NEW. Anyone that knows PS2 and PS3 consoles will be familiar with the "Buzz" games series...those USB controllers are recognised by my Windows 7, and I assume would be in Vista as a USB game controller. What this means is that you now have access to 20 programmable functions on flight sim that you can label and set up as you wish...all you do is go into FSX settings, controllers select 'buzz' functions/keys and program what you want each button to do. This is in addition to any other controller (joystick etc) you may have.....Have a good day people. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Went to add an edit to the first post...must be a timed out edit option on the post. Anyway...I would like to add that it may be handy for those of you that have a USB plug PS2 Buzz controller and have successfully had it install on their operating system (you dont do anything, just plug it in and see if you OS likes it or not), could report back on this thread which OS they did it on in case others want to go out and buy the controllers themselves...Mine was a Win 7 32bit with all updates installed. Sorry..should add...what you are looking for is the 'found new hardware' box to pop up, and then it will pop up saying the 'item is installed and ready for use', or 'there was a problem installing drivers for this device'. After installation (if successful) load up flight sim, go to controllers and you should see the buzz controller there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenBlade Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Can you link to this gamethingymajiggy? Bjorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Sorry...I forgot this is not just an Australian Forum...There is a series of games on the Sony PS2 that are called BUZZ, you need the Buzz conrollers which is typically 4 controllers used by up to 4 people playing quiz type games and some childrens games. The PS2 uses each handset (consisting of 5 buttons) is classed as a (1) conroller times 4..this plugs into the ps2 via a USB plug ..I dont know about PlayStation3 and what sort of plug they have...But when plugged into a PC it classes all 4 game controlls as 1 game controller consisting of 20 individual buttons which you can program within flightsim without installing any extra software...once the Operating system identifies it and installs the driver thats it. Will try and attach a picture...ok I cant (I have forgotten how) here is a link to see them http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/in-the-family-room-buzz/ they may have diferent names in diferent countries, but they should still have the USB connector on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenBlade Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Ah, I know that game. Very good idea! Now, it´s not one of those that zap you if you push the wrong button, right?! Bjorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 :o :o No...but you may have to rig something up to stop the kids from getting them. You should be able to buy them on their own or sometimes its just as cheap with a game (if you have a ps2). I also have this post on OzX forum I think I will post the link there so people know what I mean. Cheers Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Hey , thanks Dreams . Going to check it out and I hope it works for me . Been looking at simpits for a while with the emphasis on cheapness and simplicity . The ability to chop this to pieces would be a big plus , Im working through some crazy ideas at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 Just remembered something....Office Works - usb keyboard about $23ish (Microsoft). It turns my laptop into dual keyboard but you can isolate one and configure it how you want through fsuic . Just havn't got around to it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Cool...yeah I had a buggered PS2 sitting around and after spotting the usb plug on it I thought...why not.... the thing installed and that was that. I guess the first thing is to see if it works on your OS..Mine is Win7 32 bit up to date....I havent pulled one apart but I am guessing they are a simple 2 wires to each button arrangement so if you were to split it up you should be able to extend the wiring to suit your layout...also I dont know if flick switches as a replacement to the button would work either, but replacing them with smaller buttons to suit your need would work. The more I look at it, the more handy I think this thing can be, I was looking at the button/key options in FSX menu and there is a lot functions there we dont even use on a regular basis, plus a lot of stuff we do that we can just push a button for....its going to take a while to figure out the best use for each of the 20 buttons and then labelling them...the only drawback is that the top buttons dont light up which would have been good to activate for warnings etc but for a plug and play solution for under prob $30 I am stoked....EB, Game shops and department stores are gonna wonder why these things are going off the shelves without game purchases Also the only other thing I have not tried is hooking more than one of these up to the PC, potentialy giving you 20 additional controls per unit which would be handy for pits. You could easily use up one bank of 20 buttons just on the GPS modules (configurable from FSX Settings -controls) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted August 30, 2010 Share Posted August 30, 2010 ...Well something else ...I stripped down the keyboard and...oh no, the tech has moved on . I was expecting to find some copper connections or something to solder wires to but you cant . underneath is just two sheets - first one is rubber/plastic that acts as a return spring for your key. The second sheet , the contacts sheet, looks like a transparent 3 layered flexible plastic sheet with white circiut tracks and circle spots, under the keys , as the middle layer . Obviously conductive but I think thats when I put the idea down for a while until something else pops up - like now . I just might get back to that keyboard and poke a wire into it here and there - see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamnugget Posted August 30, 2010 Author Share Posted August 30, 2010 Bummer with the keyboard...the only other thing I can think of which may help is maybe a USB numeric keypad (for laptops) that you may be able to program.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrassEm Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 You might want to check out this baby if you want to hardwire switches from a keyboard that uses real switches. http://www.overclockers.com.au/article.php?id=900540&P=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted September 5, 2010 Share Posted September 5, 2010 ....the deal breaker ...."They're a little under $200 including GST and shipping anywhere in Australia" , interesting link to a switch manufacturer though. The $20 keyboard will work . Just a quick experiment by cellotape and wire works . Thinking about various ways of beefing up the boards and mechanical strength of the connections . I can't see , at the moment , any reason why you can't have default keys run through to your cockpit switches/levers. The upside to this is that you can sit in cockpit and play with your switches so that you can type a letter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean (PC Aviator) Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 All those nice Buzz controller colours to use... Yes! And best yet, right on top is a LARGE RED PANIC BUTTON! \ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpollen Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 How about a Logitech G13 Advance Gamepad with 25 fully programable keys, Macros, LCD, Backlit Keys, Mini Joystick etc. Only $AUD63 from www.msy.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted September 6, 2010 Share Posted September 6, 2010 O.k. for what it is If you want to build a somewhat more realistic set up .i.e. in my case a warbird , I can (in theory atm) build replica box that contains ,say, Nav , gen and battery etc switches by placing switches where I want them and wiring directly to the usb keyboard. It will take a little more thinking on the mechanical side to wire up a multi position lever ( flaps ) but the answer is waiting there ,via microswitches and mechanism. OK if you like bench work as I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 Yeah well what about all the goodies from LeoBodnar no need for FSUIPC either just program the button to do the job required. BUT check this out http://www.emuteq.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan2 Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 That emutech looks pretty interesting Mozz, but I want to see how far I can get with an acceptable budget sim . These navaids and weather radar etc are available with some of the addons that most simmers would have . Maybe not the same quality ? certainly not as realistic but for about $800 Aus , well, I want to do the whole sim for a lot less than that . Now that Leobodnar is very interesting. I just need to clarify/ educate myself on rotary encoders . What Im assuming is that you buy a rotary encoder board and then wire it to your pot , which , in turn, can be your trim wheel or a cockpit rotary switch. Is that the essence of it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maurice_King Posted September 8, 2010 Share Posted September 8, 2010 you could use use multi turn Pot or a rotary encoder yes, Have a read of the various manuals. simply put you could even have a trim wheel that has a cam on it making repeated pulses for up and down. He has several different units as you can see. I intend to duplicate the GPS by using a small screen such as the " Mimo " or " Nanovision "and build a bezel around it with press button and rotary switches in it, and employ the same principle for lights and radio panels too, Mini display acting as the digital readout but useing a suitable blanking plate across the front. The same could be done and employ an aftermarket touch matrix over the front of the screen. Look HERE as this might give you some ideas. X Sim is and could also be employed to retrieve data from the sim and feed it to external guages and even actuaters to simulate aircraft movement. Just about any thing is possible if 1 Your prepared to think OUTSIDE the box and adapt known software and applications. 2 Let your imagination run free. 3 Employ the services of Google or other search engines to seek out things others have done before you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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