Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

Support for the SimWareKits Knobster in combination with Air Manager and Air Player

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paul_max
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Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#1 Post by paul_max »

It's very confusing to be told the DIY knobster is no longer supported. It makes me think, don't upgrade to AM4.

Can AM4 flash an Arduino to work like KnobXP or not? Are we forced to spend 95 Euros plus shipping in addition to upgrading to AM4? That's mad when I have an Pro Micro and dual encoder in my spares box.

If Sim Innovations have deliberately put a secret code in the KnobXP to boost income I find that offensive. First Russ had declared he wanted the Knobster to be freely available. Second as an electronics/software engineer I know the two versions are virtually identical internally.

Worst case, everyone will abandon the KnobXP and build up equivalent software support in the community. The Knobster plus a LUA layer can do everything the KnobXP can do. Sounds like a shot in the foot?

What's going on?

Regards
Paul

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Corjan
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#2 Post by Corjan »

Hi Paul,


Oh oh, the accusations :)

The DIY knobster has been introduced in AM 3 and is still supported in AM 4. Also, we have no plans to remove it from Air Manager, so it will stay in place for future releases also.

KnobXP has never supported the DIY knobster (it was released after we where selling the regular knobster).
We are a commercial company, so we have to earn something somewhere. Since KnobXP is free software, we make money on selling the hardware.


Corjan

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Corjan
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#3 Post by Corjan »

paul_max wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 3:03 pm It's very confusing to be told the DIY knobster is no longer supported.
Just wondering, what or who made you think this?

Corjan

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Keith Baxter
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#4 Post by Keith Baxter »

Corjan wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 3:54 pm
paul_max wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 3:03 pm It's very confusing to be told the DIY knobster is no longer supported.
Just wondering, what or who made you think this?

Corjan
Hi,
I am also wondering. Must be a misunderstanding.

Keith
AMD RYZEN 9 5950X CPU, Corsair H80I cooler, ASUS TUF GAMING B550-PLUS AMD Ryzen Mother Board,  32Gb ram Corsair Vengeance 3000Mh, MSI GTX960 4G graphics card 

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jph
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#5 Post by jph »

paul_max wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 3:03 pm It's very confusing to be told the DIY knobster is no longer supported. It makes me think, don't upgrade to AM4.

Can AM4 flash an Arduino to work like KnobXP or not? Are we forced to spend 95 Euros plus shipping in addition to upgrading to AM4? That's mad when I have an Pro Micro and dual encoder in my spares box.

If Sim Innovations have deliberately put a secret code in the KnobXP to boost income I find that offensive. First Russ had declared he wanted the Knobster to be freely available. Second as an electronics/software engineer I know the two versions are virtually identical internally.

Worst case, everyone will abandon the KnobXP and build up equivalent software support in the community. The Knobster plus a LUA layer can do everything the KnobXP can do. Sounds like a shot in the foot?

What's going on?

Regards
Paul
I am also baffled Paul ? what is your source and can you provide links etc ?
You sound to have really gone 'right base' on this. We all can suffer that from time to time but this is unusual from you.
Joe
Joe. CISSP, MSc.

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Keith Baxter
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#6 Post by Keith Baxter »

Hi,

Perhaps the confusion comes from Ralph's post where he indicated that KnobXP would not be available for MSFS2020.

Just guessing...

Keith
AMD RYZEN 9 5950X CPU, Corsair H80I cooler, ASUS TUF GAMING B550-PLUS AMD Ryzen Mother Board,  32Gb ram Corsair Vengeance 3000Mh, MSI GTX960 4G graphics card 

paul_max
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:23 am

Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#7 Post by paul_max »

Well I was alerted when I read the Wiki, which said:

"KnobXP is only compatible with the new Knobster (V2) and X-Plane 11. This means that it is not compatible with the old and the DIY Knobster"

Edit: ref: http://siminnovations.com/wiki/index.php?title=KnobXP

Then I found out it has events for CW/CCW on the two axes and a button press. That's identical to the original Knobster, the excellent innovation of Russ Barlow who I respect greatly.

Regards
Paul

PS: I think your USP is LUA scripting, which free products like MobiFlight do not support. But the avionics within a G1000 NXi in FS2020 cannot be emulated in Air Manager, as you don't have access to live weather, Navigraph, airports or hi/lo flight paths. But AM LUA scripts for AM4 only, to support the 9 encoders and 31 buttons to wrap around a popped out G1000, may have a good market. Quite a few people are 3D printing the G1000 NXi from www.737simdiy,com.

PPS: Maybe the "worst cold ever" is getting to me. It was passed up from my lovely grand-daughter and is spreading to a lot of people in the UK.

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Keith Baxter
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Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#8 Post by Keith Baxter »

paul_max wrote: Tue Nov 09, 2021 4:58 pm PS: I think your USP is LUA scripting, which free products like MobiFlight do not support. But the avionics within a G1000 NXi in FS2020 cannot be emulated in Air Manager, as you don't have access to live weather, Navigraph, airports or hi/lo flight paths. But AM LUA scripts for AM4 only, to support the 9 encoders and 31 buttons to wrap around a popped out G1000, may have a good market. Quite a few people are 3D printing the G1000 NXi from www.737simdiy,com.
Hi Paul,

1) There is access to most of the data you refer to. Just not via the sim data [AT THIS TIME]. But it can be hacked into your Air Manager instrument. I have a lot of info on how to draw maps and extract data from your navigraph subscription on the Discord.

2) There are a lot of peeps that have 3D printed,lazier cut and cnc all the different GDU variants of G1000 and have them working on all the sims AM supports.

A arduino, a few buttons and a couple of encoders does the job.

Should you need help with this the guys here and I can assist. We should be able to go through this with express pace as you are an electronics/software engineer and have AM for a while now. Should only be needing a few pointers to get going in the right direction. Just shout and we will do our best to help.


This is OT for this thread.

IF YOU WANT HELP WITH THIS THEN PLEASE CREATE ANOTHER THREAD.



Keith
AMD RYZEN 9 5950X CPU, Corsair H80I cooler, ASUS TUF GAMING B550-PLUS AMD Ryzen Mother Board,  32Gb ram Corsair Vengeance 3000Mh, MSI GTX960 4G graphics card 

paul_max
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:23 am

Re: Is the DIY knobster obsolete?

#9 Post by paul_max »

Thank you all for your help.

If I sounded too grumpy it's the head cold/sore throat getting to me, the worst I've ever had. Since opening up the UK after C-19 lockdown(s) a lot of people have gone down with it, as we lost some of our natural immunity hiding away.

But life goes on, just finished cutting some plywood for a Cessna cockpit.

Cheers
Paul

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