SmartPropo

SmartPropo is the software to use your R/C TX (Futaba, Jr, or other PPM TX) as a joystick controller on your flight simulators and so on. This is realized by connecting them to the audio input on your PC.

Especially, Jr TX has monoral mini-jack as a signal output, hence, you may be able to use an audio cable sold at stores.

Although if your TX is Futaba, it is easy to convert a DSC cable into SmartPorpo cable. It's enough if you can do soldering, you don't need any special electronics knowledge. More easily, you can use conversion cable for RealFlightG2 (genuine Futaba parts) with T9Z TX.

As Compared with Other Interfaces...

Almost all TX have a connector to output baseband signal. There are some means to input this signal to the PC. These means are roughly divided into parallel port connection, serial port connection, and USB connection.

Parallel port is one of the most simple connention among of those means. However, it is impossible to use with WindowsNT kernels (including 2000 and XP), because there is no driver suit with NT kernel. In the other words, parallel port connection is the technique which use the loopholes that Windows 95 kernels (including 98 and Me) accepts the user program to access parallel ports directly. In contlast, under the NT kernels, user program must access parallel ports through kernel mode drivers. I think it is difficult to develop this driver, because it is out of original usage of parallel ports. These are not designed to input R/C baseband signals. Therefore, I think this mean is going to be out of use.

The next is serial port connection. On the adapter designed for this mean, R/C baseband signal is transmitted into the signal suit with serial ports. Hence, the user program can access serial ports through OS standard drivers, then, this mean fits to more kernels then other means. However, this utilizes the micro-computer called as PIC in order to transmit R/C signal into serial signal, so, this may be bit difficult for amature, I think.

Right from the beginning, there means are unable to use with the PC which has neither parallel port nor serial port.

Another mean is the USB connection, but it is more difficult to make for amatures than other means. If you have money and to spare, you should buy USB adapter. If you are not, please try SmartPropo.

How it Works?

As written in above, SmartPropo utilizes an audio input to conect R/C TX. Although, of cource this is not an original usage, we can obtain the signal through OS standard drivers, because the sound is the signal we can hear. The problem is that R/C TX signal contains more frequency components than the sound. We can hear only from several 10Hz to about 20kHz. Then it was not so practical (it brings some jitter) to use audio interfaces with PPM signals as all other adapters do, because PPM is one of the analog modulation scheme.

Therefore, SmartPropo adopts PCM signal. However, as compared to PPM signal which we can easily understand using oscillo-scope, PCM signal is like a cipher code. Which can understand this code are only genuene RX or SmartPorpo. The reason why another adapters do not adopt PCM signal is, they can not.

As the result, SmartPropo can demonstrate full ability of your TX. You don't need to set exponential mode on your simulators in order to reduce jitter. Simplly, you can set them on your TX as you like.

What Can I do with SmartPorpo?

Now, SmartPorpo supports nly Windows2000 (sometimes XP) and FMS.

Please wait for a while, I'm prepareing WDM driver. Although the first release will be only for Windows2000 and XP, I may be able to release Windows98 version, if Windos2000 version works correctry, because it has source level compatibility. However, it's unable to use under Windows95 and NT, because they do not support WDM.

By using WDM version, you will be able to use your TX as Windows standard joystick. This means, you can control any flight simulators which supports jyoistuck.

SmartPropo _{The
RC to PC Audio Interface}

What's New

What is SmartPropo?

As Compared with Other Interfaces...

How it Works?

What Can I do with SmartPorpo?

DISCLAIMER

SmartPropo The RC to PC Audio Interface

What's New

What is SmartPropo?

As Compared with Other Interfaces...

How it Works?

What Can I do with SmartPorpo?

DISCLAIMER

SmartPropo _{The
RC to PC Audio Interface}