How to calibrate the Honeycomb Alpha Yoke internally.

[SimWare 730]

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How to calibrate the Honeycomb Alpha Yoke internally.

When it comes to controls calibration, there are two parts to consider :

- The first part is the internal calibration. It means how the device will spread the full resolution on the mechanical control displacement.
  Example : Elevator 8 bits resolution gives 2^8 = 256 points.
                    Elevator mechanical axis displacement  = 80 mm
                    After internal calibration, 1 point will be sent to Windows for every 80/256 mm = 0,31 mm

- The second part is how Windows converts those points to the percentage of max value sent to the applications (The simulator, for instance) 
  This is done in the standard Windows peripheral calibration utility.

These are two ultimately important steps to get consistent controls input to the simulator.
Usually the internal calibration is factory set and isn’t user changeable .

The Honeycomb Alpha yoke however, has an internal calibration procedure accessible to the user.

CAUTION : Make sure you fully understand EVERY single steps, otherwise
                   you WILL mess-up the calibration and won’t be able to use the
                  unit afterwards until a correct calibration is done !

 STEP1:
Configure the switch panel to the switch arrangement below. (Yoke should not be connected)

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STEP2:
Press and hold button 1 and button 2 at the same time(refer to photo below)

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STEP3:
Power up by connecting USB cable to PC. Release button 1 & 2 when the LED starts to flash.
The LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second, then the LED is turned on and keeps high bright to indicate the calibration mode.

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STEP4:
Rotate Yoke to far right and hold in place,
press LED button on the back of the yoke, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second (Indicate that data save successful)

STEP5: 
Slowly release yoke, letting it go back to the center. When the yoke is completely centered,
press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second to save center point.

STEP6:
Rotate Yoke to far left and hold in place, press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second.

STEP7:
Slowly release yoke, letting it go back to the center. When the yoke is completely centered,
press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second to save center point.

STEP8:
Push yoke fully inward and hold position, press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second.

STEP9:
Slowly release yoke, letting it go back to the center. When the yoke is completely centered,
press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second to save center point.

STEP10:
Pull Yoke fully outward and hold position, press LED button, the LED flashes at 10HZ for 1 second.

STEP11:
Slowly release yoke, letting it go back to the center. When the yoke is completely centered,
press LED button, the LED flashes at 2HZ for 3 seconds to indicate the calibration success.

IMPORTANT !
If the LED don’t flash at 2HZ for 3 seconds, it means the calibration didn’t complete.
Most likely you missed one step or didn’t press the LED button when you were supposed to.
In this case, you must redo the full procedure from STEP 1.

STEP12:
Disconnect USB cable and plug in again for completion.

 

 

[dcthreepainter 4]

Given the potential risk, can you explain the situation that might require such a recalibration?

[SimWare 730]

Hi,

 

You need to do such a calibration when the signal sent to the computer

isn't correct.

The best clue is to check the raw data in the calibration utility.

Both axes need to have the same range, min/max values and, when released, the values must be in the middle of the range (with an acceptable margin of +2, -2 dots)

The min max values are either -255/+255 or -1024/+1024.

The risk of issue is indeed real but not definitive at all.

Indeed, if a calibration is messed up, another one will solve the problem.