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Multi-Throttle Control Are you into PC flight simulators? Find the control your typical controllers give you just a bit less than satisfying? Take a step up: add this very simple multithrottle controller and start flying with the big boys . . . T HIS PROJECT SHOWS how to construct a “bare bones” throttle controller for up to four engines. It is essentially a 4-axis, 4-switch analog controller, which plugs into a standard PC games port or can be expanded for those modern computers without such, to connect via a USB port. 90  Silicon Chip Make no mistake, Flight Sims (FS) and many Flight Combat Games (FCG) are complex software. You’ll typically learn to master them by throttling all engines (assuming a multi-engine plane!) by the same By Robert Gott amount at the same time. But as any pilot will tell you, that is simply not realistic. You need to be able to control the engines individually. Before we proceed further, a few words about controlling Flight Simulators are appropriate. A twist-handle USB joystick (4 axis – Aileron, Pitch, siliconchip.com.au Rudder & Throttle) is absolutely essential even for the beginner. Taxiing, take-offs and landings are pretty miserable without proper rudder control on the joystick. Don’t be tempted to buy cheap basic joysticks. You’ll regret it! Common good brands are Microsoft, CH, Saitek and Logitech. All of these now use the USB port. Assuming one has mastered the basics of flying using one throttle control that varies all engines’ RPM simultaneously, it’s time to now proceed to individual throttle control. Unfortunately, though, that control is not available on typical joysticks. That’s where this project comes in. It allows the “pilot” (you!) to vary the individual engine speed (measured in revolutions per minute or RPM) using Microsoft’s proprietary Control Panel settings in Windows. It would be wonderful if Microsoft would embody say eight or sixteen arbitrary “axis” and the same number of “buttons” in their next incarnation of Windows but for the moment 4 + 4 is the best available. Proprietary Throttle Quadrants such as CH USB 300-133 (shown above) use their own software but the cost is almost as high as the planes fly – circa US$150! With this project, we will achieve a modicum of reasonable results – but much cheaper. In fact, we believe it should cost no If you have the readies, this commercial throttle unit (CH USB 300-133) is regarded as one of the best around. Ours is just a tad simpler and a whole lot less expensive! more than about $25 or so: eight dollars for the four pots, a similar amount for the four switches and the balance for a box to put it all in. You’ll also need a multi-way cable with D15 connector but these can often be sourced from the junk box. OK, if you want to go all out and add knobs and a fancy label, you might stretch it to $25 – but not much more. The games Many of the older excellent games like the renowned “European Air Wars” by Microprose, “Battle of Britain” and “Red Baron 3D” by Sierra will not now install or run properly in Windows XP Pro, the author’s O.S. Sometimes a game will run in Windows “Compatibility” mode. (Right click desktop games icon>PROPERT IES>COMPATIBILY>follow prompts.) Other software called “Wrappers” try to emulate the original game playing software, not very successfully in the author’s experience. The list, which is by no means exhaustive, gives some hints and where this project will work, the author has personally tested the games using Multi-Throttle. PC Hardware and software. My PC is a four-year-old AMD for PC Flight Sims siliconchip.com.au August 2006  91 S1 ENGINE 1 100k LIN S2 ENGINE 2 100k LIN LIGHT GREEN 8 7 GREEN 6 5 PINK 4 MUSTARD 3 2 RED 1 15 14 13 BROWN/ BLACK BLACK 12 11 Construction GREY 10 9 VIOLET S3 ENGINE 3 100k LIN S4 ENGINE 4 100k LIN PC GAMES PORT (D15 PLUG) BROWN SC 2006 FLIGHT SIM MULTI THROTTLE controller Control up to four engines on a multi-engine flight sim plane. It plugs into your PC’s games port (or USB port via a USB adaptor) XP1800+, with 768MB RAM, 64MB GF3 Ti 200 AGP with games port, USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 sockets. The joystick is a Microsoft Sidewinder Precision Pro USB (Twist stick rudder control) run- ics (no separate graphics card) may struggle to play the named games anywhere near fully optioned. Modern PCs are better, but even Celeron and Sempron PCs with integrated graphics may use main swap memory and struggle similarly with the latest FS. To be realistic any PC older than a PentiumII 350MHz would not do justice to many, if any, of the games listed. ning Windows XP Pro with SP1 and DirectX (9c). The multi-throttle unit has NOT been tested with Windows 98SE but the Joystick configuration in Control Panel may work. Note: Older PCs with integral graph- There’s not much to this – no PC board, no difficult wiring. That’s mainly because there are few “components” as such – just the four switches and four pots wired to the D15 connector. Mount the hardware first because the wiring simply connects between it. Any plastic box of 130(W) x 70(D) x 45mm(H) or larger will suffice. Position the circular potentiometers and switches on the lid allowing for the size of chosen knobs and enough clearance for your fingers. Mark out and drill appropriate holes, four each for the pots and switches. Drill one hole in the preferred end of the box for the 15 core cable. It’s best to secure the cable with a cable clamp so you’ll need an extra hole for this. If you normally use a joystick with your right hand, the controller Parts List: Flight Sim Multi Throttle 1 ABS box, approx. 130 x 70 x 45mm 4 100kW linear pots 4 knobs to suit with index lines or pointers. 4 SPST toggle switches, (low voltage) 1 plastic cable clamp 1 10mm M3 screw, washer and nut 1 1.8m D15 male to female game cable extension. (eg, Altronics P1765) (or 2m D15 PC joystick extension cable (eg Maplin* TA50E <at> £4.99) 1 D15 to USB Converter if required. (eg, Maplin* UA22Y <at> £8.00) Possible alternative suppliers: www.wyntec.com.au or www.trianglecables.com *(www.maplin.co.uk) 92  Silicon Chip Here’s a view inside the “opened out” controller siliconchip.com.au Flight Simulators and Combat Flying Games GAME/Publisher Windows Version API: Direct X OpenGL, 3DFX CPU: Pentium or Playable equiv AMD MultiEngines 2 or 4 Tested With Multi-Throttle? Comments FS 2004 Microsoft XP DX 9.0c P4 or AMD64 2 and 4 No but should be OK Should work OK. Needs latest mid price graphics card minimum. FS 2002 Microsoft 98 ME XP DX 8.0a P4 2 and 4 Yes Needs good graphics card, plenty of memory. Wings of War Gathering 98 ME XP DX 9.0 P4 1.8G None Yes n/p * Geforce 4 graphics. Pity 2 engines not playable. B17 Flying Fortress Atari 95 98 ME XP DX 8.0 P3 800 2 and 4 Yes Fantastic game with realistic crew. CFS 3 Microsoft 98 ME XP DX 8.1 P4 2 Yes Battle for Europe CFS 2 Microsoft 95 98 ME DX 7.0a P3 600 2 Yes Pacific theatre CFS 1 Microsoft 95 98 DX 6.0 P3 600 None Yes n/p * European theatre. Will not work with MultiThrottle connected to PC. FS98 Microsoft 95 DX 5.0 P2 350 2 No IL2 Sturmovik, Forgotten Battles, Ubisoft 98 ME XP DX 8.1 OpenGL P3 800 2 and 4 Yes n/p * Pentium III 800 or above Geforce 3 or 4 or above. IL2 Sturmovik Ubisoft 98 ME XP DX 8.1 P3 600 2 Yes n/p * Geforce 2 card or above. Flanker 2 98SE ? P4 2 No Screen lock-up. Try XP F18E 98SE DX 6.1 P3 600 2 No Will NOT play in Win XP F22 98SE ? P3 600 2 No Demo played OK Red Baron 3D 95 98SE Not XP DX 5.0 3DFX P2 350 None Yes n/p Run in compatibility mode for Win 98SE European Air Wars Microprose 98SE 3DFX DX 6.0 P2 350 2 Yes n/p * Will play in Direct X Crimson Skies Microsoft 95 ME XP DX 7.0a P3 800 2 Yes n/p NOT Win 98 or SE Flight Unlimited II 98SE OpenGL P3 800 2 No Not Win XP Battle of Britain 98SE ? P3 800 ? No Will NOT play in Win XP NOTES N/P = Not possible as tested by author: MultiThrottle configuration is NOT possible in this game. API = Application Programme Interface; A software written for games. Note: The minimum version of Direct X required is indicated. Sometimes the game plays only or best in that version, but as the latest version is supposed to be backward compatible, ALWAYS use the latest version first. Most Microsoft games play with Direct X 9.0c, the latest version at the time of writing. The other two common APIs are 3DFX Glide and OpenGL. CPU = Intel or AMD minimum recommendation to play reasonably well optioned. MEMORY: 512Mb absolute minimum. siliconchip.com.au OPERATING SYSTEM (OS): Although Windows 95 is listed above it must be ORS2 to work with USB. Quite frankly Win95 is now so old hat that it should be avoided where possible. Win 98SE much better. Win98Me quirky! ENGINES: By implication, ALL games listed have SINGLE engine aeroplanes. Only those games listed in the “Multi-engines” column have flyable aircraft. * Do NOT connect the MultiThrottle unit to the PC as it causes wrong configuration, so I found – and the joystick does not get the correct assignments. (If you really must stick your neck out, install and try the game without the MultiThrottle first. If everything works OK then plug in MultiThrottle. Should you not be able to juggle the assignments satisfactorily, unplug MultiThrottle, uninstall then reinstall game. You’re on your own!) August 2006  93 Calibration. ENGINE 1 100k LIN ENGINE 2 100k LIN ENGINE 3 100k LIN S2 S3 S1 ENGINE 4 100k LIN S4 5 1 8 15 D15 PLUG 9 12 Here’s the complete wiring diagram – with a matching photo below to make wiring really simple! Check and double check your wiring and if satisfied, plug the D15 into the games port of your computer when it is turned off. When you switch on your PC – assuming Windows XP Home or Pro – it will detect new hardware. You may follow the prompts but the preferred method is to CANCEL the automatic install and proceed as follows; CONTROL PANEL>GAME CONTRO LLERS>ADD>CUSTOM>JOYSTICK> AXES 4>BUTTONS 4>CONTROLLER NAME (what you want to name the controller is up to you – I called mine RobertMultiThrottle)>OK. Reboot the PC and ensure that the new controller is listed in GAME CONTROLLERS and its STATUS is OK. We assume your joystick or any other controller attached shows STATUS OK also. So far so good! Now calibrate the MultiThrottle exactly the same as you would a joystick. As previously mentioned don’t be too worried whether clockwise rotation of your pots give exactly what you expect. It is important that the full excursion of the axes is recognised and saved. Similarly, the switches need to be recognised as the relevant 1,2,3,4. Flight Sim Assignments is best placed with the cable at the left side for use with your left hand. Mount the components and push on the indexed knobs. Next prepare the cable using the commercial games extension cable. WARNING: Before you cut the cable, use a test meter or battery and lamp to check out that all 15 conductors are wired. Ensure that you chop off the unwanted end(!). Leave about 250mm cable connected to the socket as you may find a use for the discarded bit, like wiring wire!) and bare back a generous 150mm or so outer sheath. Strip off 3mm of insulation on all the conductors. Now trace out which colours go to which pins on the D15 games port plug. The colours shown on the circuit and wiring diagrams were those on 94  Silicon Chip the prototype but we cannot guarantee all cables/connectors will be the same. So double check which coloured wire goes to which pin and if necessary, correct the circuit and wiring diagrams to avoid later confusion. The circuit is basically standard game port wiring without using the Midi terminals, therefore only 10 wires out of the 15 are employed. The five D15 pins not connected are pins 5, 8, 9, 12 & 15). Identify which wires go these pins and chop off the bared 3mm on the 5 unwanted conductors to minimise the chance of short circuits. Anchor the cable inside the box with a plastic cable clamp then solder the wires as shown in the circuit diagram and wiring diagram. The logical designation of pots and switches is left to right equals port (left) to starboard (right) engines. It is beyond the scope of this simple project to give more than a few hints. Most who “fly” the games listed above will have some if not good experience of changing keyboard and joystick assignments. It is largely a matter of experiment. What follows is mainly for beginners. When a game is installed it usually loads its default or standard CONFIGURATION of controls. Unless you tell it otherwise, often the joystick will be detected as the primary controller. However with other controllers connected, when assignments are altered in “preferences” or “options”, to alleviate the frustration of setting up every time the game is played, many games allow you to SAVE the CONFIGURATION with a new given name, say Multi-Throttle. If this is not automatically the default when you next play the game, then select it manually. USB Operation For those PCs without a game port, siliconchip.com.au Flying a B17 This is chosen to demonstrate assignments as it is typical of the user-friendly type icon based games. (ie, non-menu type) It is also a very cheap re-released game with four propeller engines. Actual crew can be seen and moved around in the fuselage. A truly exciting game if you are not a die-hard purist simmer! Using the default assignments, the MultiThottle unit switches appear to work immediately as “Select Engine 1 - 4”. If not reconfigure as such. Throttles wired as previously mentioned, clockwise potentiometer rotation gives 100k-0k, which configures in “Engine One Throttle” = “Axis #1 (X), Controller #2, Normal.” “Normal” means that with clockwise pot rotation, the propeller increases RPM. Configure the other three throttles similarly. Note: Step by step instructions for “Engine One Throttle.” Click on “Engine One Throttle” and it highlights. In the opposite panel, click on “Axis”. As it scans rotate the Engine 1 pot fully a couple of times. This will be detected as shown. In B17 all propellers turn the same way – clockwise as seen by the pilot. This is not always the case. Some twin engine aeroplanes have the propellers turning in opposite direction to counter the torque effect. With a Lancaster bomber (A FS2004 add-on) the pull to port must be countered by opposite rudder or decrease starboard revs – not something you would do with maximum bomb load! In the early days getting B17 engines to start caused the author great frustration. At the bottom RHS of the game screen is an icon – a picture (Gif) – of a PC. This means that the PC is on AUTOMATIC and controls the flight. Press keyboard key “M” and the icon changes to a hand meaning – you’ve guessed it! – MANUAL control. At this point in external view, select Engine 1 on MultiThrottle unit, rpm minimum, then press key “A.” From this point B17 controls the start procedure beginning “Master Switch ON”, etc, finally “meshing” (cranking!) and away she goes. To stop an engine, again select the appropriate switch on MultiThrottle, then press key “S.” B17 controls selected engine shut down. Feathering, so that propeller stops windmilling, press key “D”. Now you are cooking with gas! FS2002 This is a much more sophisticated simulator used for “real life” flying rather than a game. (FS2004 is similar) They are not as user friendly as other icon based set-ups but their menu type assignments are very comprehensive. With a little trial and error the MultiThrottle unit is fairly easy to configure. The basic FS2002 has two and four engine jet engine planes but no such prop models. The Lancaster bomber as previously mentioned is an add-on. Rather than B17’s (Fig 7) style, Microsoft uses “tabs” and “drop down menus” to choose between Joystick or Keyboard assignments. It also has a separate window for setting sensitivities and deadbands, and many more keyboard commands. Observe “Joystick type” in Fig 8. Note that RobertMultithrottle has been selected. In the “Assignment list” Microsoft specifies a throttle as an axis. Click on “Engine 1 Throttle axis.” It highlights. Click on “Change assignment.” Rotating Throttle 1 potentiometer will cause x-axis to be recognised. Save the assignment. Engine 2, 3, 4, are recognised as y-axis, Throttle and Rudder (not visible in Fig 8) respectively. It may be necessary to use the “Reverse” mode (shown checked - an X within the box) to get correct throttle increase (clockwise=increase RPM). simply plug the Multi-Throttle unit 15 pin “D” plug into a USB Converter “D” socket, then plug the converter USB plug into any PC USB port. The green object on the left side of the desk (opening photo) is such a converter. It happens to be from Maplin (UK) but they are also often seen on eBay and other places on the ’net. siliconchip.com.au Set the converter to MODE 3 before booting the PC. Conclusion. The MultiThrottle Controller gives added interest to Flight Sims at little extra cost and may overcome the problem of ‘no games port’. The Multi-Throttle unit may work with other flying games but ask the retailer to verify before purchase or check the Websites. I’m not an expert on flight Sims. I am still grappling with the complexities of FS! The ability to control engine RPM individually has given me a real buzz. And make flying that much more SC pleasurable. Happy simming! August 2006  95