Joystick Controller — Articles / Posts — Flaps 2 Approach

BUO0836A Joystick Controller card with wires from the string potentiometer (ailerons)

Nearly every flight simulator has hardware devices that need to be connected to the server computer, whether it be to control the buttons and levers on the throttle quadrant, flight controls, or any other add-on device.

Most enthusiasts can recall a time when they experienced a problem with a hardware device. Perhaps the device couldn’t be calibrated, or when calibrated, the settings were not maintained. Worst case scenario was the device didn’t function and wasn’t recognised by the computer. Many of these potential problems can be minimised by ensuring that the firmware on the card is the latest version release.

In this article, I’ll discuss how to update the firmware the BU0836A 12-Bit Joystick Controller card. The same process can be completed to also update the Button Box BBI-32 or 64 card. Both cards are manufactured by Leo Bodnar Electronics.

Background

To connect a device to the computer, so that it can device can be recognised by Windows (and subsequently ProSim737 and flight simulator), requires an interface card of some description.

Often, there isn’t much thought to addressing the firmware for the selected card. The premise is if it works leave the card alone, and often this is the case, until you purchase replacement computer, upgrade your operating system, or install updates to the operating system. Then, all of a sudden telltale symptoms emerge such as calibration issues, or in the worse case scenario, the computer fails to recognise the card.

Firmware

Any advanced interface card requires firmware. The firmware at its simplest, is a basic set of instructions to enable the card to communicate with the computer’s operating system (think double helix, chromosomes and DNA).

When a card is purchased, the firmware is usually up-to-date so that the card will function with the latest operating system. However, with time many aspects relating to the computer change (hardware, drivers, operating system, etc). However, rarely is the firmware on the card updated. Some manufacturers don’t update the firmware; instead preferring to sell another card. However, a reliable manufacturer will nearly always offer upgraded firmware, from time time, especially after a period of time in which there has been major evolutionary computer change (for example, WIN XP/7 to WIN10).

At the time of writing, the latest release for the BUO086 card was Version 1.26.

Screen grab of the User Interface from the HID flash tool

Upgrading Firmware (flashing)

The process of upgrading the firmware on either of the above-mentioned cards is called ‘flashing’, and if done correctly is a straightforward process.

Prior to a card being flashed, it’s necessary to download (from the Leo Bodnar website) the HID flash tool and the firmware versions for the card.

The flash tool is a standalone program and is used to read any Leo Bodnar card connected to the computer. Once a card has been read by the software its firmware version number can be ascertained.

Important Point:

The latest version of the firmware for the BU0836A and BBI cards, and the HID flash tool, can be downloaded from the Leo Bodnar website (towards bottom of page).

Important Suggestions:

Do not install the HID flash tool to the computer used by flight simulator. Rather install the program to another computer. Disconnect the card requiring flashing from the flight simulator computer and reconnect this card to the second computer.
Only connect one card at a time to the computer. Looking at multiple cards simultaneously can be confusing, and you may inadvertently ‘flash’ the wrong card.
Always try and use the shortest USB cable possible when flashing a card.

How To 'Flash'

In this example, we will discuss upgrading the firmware to a BU0836A Joystick Controller card. The process is identical for the BBI 32/64 cards. As this article is quite short, including diagrams is difficult. Therefore, a copy of the instructions including screen grabs can be downloaded in the Documents Section.

1: Download the HID flash tool and firmware version zip files from the Leo Bodnar website and unzip the files to your desktop.

2: Connect the Leo Bodnar card to the computer and open the HID flash tool as Administrator (mouse right click/open). The software will open at the User Interface that displays various information for the selected card. Take note of the firmware version number. If it’s the latest firmware, then there is no need to flash the card (unless you suspect a problem with the firmware).

3: If more than one card is listed, select the correct card and click the 1. Bootloader tab. This will place the card into flash mode. The interface will display the word boot or bootloader.

4: Click the 2. Browse file tab and navigate to where you downloaded the various firmware versions. Select the correct firmware upgrade version. The firmware is documented as .bin files. I am told that all the bin files are identical, other than the number (more on this later).

5: Once the file is selected, click 3. Flash firmware. The firmware will be flashed to the new version.

Important Points:

If it’s not possible to update the firmware (old or damaged card), then the User Interface will indicate the card is still in boot or bootloader mode. In this case, an updated card will need to be purchased.

Renaming Cards

if you use mulitple cards. Flashing can be a good way to change the name of the card to avoid confusion when looking at the card names in ProSim737. Therefore, in Point 4 above, if you use .bin3, the card will be renamed to BU0836A_3 and if you choose .bin7, the card name will be BU0836_7 (and so forth).

Calibration Settings

It’s not uncommon for some calibration settings to be lost when a card is flashed. Whether the settings are lost, depends upon how the card was used in the first place. It's very likely the various axis will require re-calibration (ailerons, elevators, trim wheel and rudder), however, button settings should remain stable (because buttons are on/off and are connected to the terminals on the card).

Final Call

Computer hardware, operating system, and Windows updates can cause problems with various interface cards, especially if these cards are dated. Fortunately, many manufacturers offer firmware that can update the card to enable it to operate flawlessly with a new up-to-date system.

Additional Information