S.BUS Gamepad
Description
Ever wanted to use a FrSky Taranis wirelessly with PC simulators like FPVFreerider or RC-AirSim? This project will help you do so. The idea was to use a Teensy 2.0 USB controller and pair it with a FrSky XM receiver. The Teensy on one side will provide a USB HID gamepad to the host computer while on the other it will read the S.BUS protocol off the receiver using the Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (UART). To read the S.BUS signal an inverter in form of a simple transistor will be needed between the Teensy and the receiver. For more details please see the docs directory.
Hardware
- Teensy 2.0
- available here: PJRC, Teensy 2.0
- FrSky XM Receiver
- available here: FrSky, XM Receiver
- A transistor & resistor to invert the S.BUS signal for the Teensy
- available here: Reichelt, 2N7000, 10K Resistor
Software
- AVR 8-bit gcc toolchain
- available here: Microchip, gcc toolchains
- HalfKey Loader teensy_loader_cli
- available here: PJRC, teensy_loader_cli
- Dean Camera's excellent Lightweight USB Framework for AVRs (LUFA)
- available here: Four Walled Cubicle, LUFA
Build
- clone or download the firmware
- edit the Makefile and change the LUFA_PATH to wherever you installed LUFA
- make sure the avr-gcc and teensy_loader_cli are in your path
- execute
maketo build the hex file - press and release the tiny Teensy pushbutton to activate the HalfKey bootloader
- execute
make teensyto download the hex file to the attached Teensy
If you don't want to build the software yourself just download the Gamepad.hex.save file and load it onto the Teensy using: teensy_loader_cli --mcu=atmega32u4 -w -v Gamepad.hex.save
Usage
Create a new model for the S.BUS gamepad on your transmitter. Make sure that you enable at least 4 channels (e.g. ailerons, elevator, throttle and rudder) for the receiver. Bind the receiver like you normally would. Use software like HTML5 Gamepad Tester to test the S.BUS gamepad. Once you have confirmed operation start your favorite simulator and enjoy.
Date: 2018-09-21