Hello,
Hi ! Seen from simhub it's only a matter of serial port (physical or virtual) there is no way to choose different outputs. I'm not sure that the issue is here (or maybe simhub is not NRF52840 compliant for reasons, but my knowledge is limited here.)
Concerning nextion screen I'm afraid that I stopped the support in February last year ( https://github.com/SHWotever/SimHub/wiki/Nextion---End-of-support ). Unfortunately itead/nextion rejected in the past all the necessary evolutions to make simhub work more smoothly (if I'm not wrong the most important request about exporting the structure of the HMI project have been censored and removed from the their forum). I heard a couple of time recently that they are now more open to it, but I decided since to focus on all the new "bitmap" compliant options and stop nextion support.
About wireless I feel like esp32 with a screen could be an option to make a "bitmap compliant" wireless screen. I made some proof of concepts in the past which would deserve more investigation.
@admin5435 That's actually a very good point to clear up as I hadn't really noticed this but to your point, this sounds like it means the dongle would need to register as its own dedicated port. Upon checking and removing the wired connection to go only bluetooth, with the dongle active it DOES occupy its own port and matches the port in simhub eg with the dongle ON, it reads as PORT33 in my device settings on my PC and the PORT33 is selected in simhub. But this does not pass data still.
This makes me think it has something to do with the dongle and simhub. which is relevant to my point above. If I bypass the dongle and just use the micro usb directly, there's no problem. Interestingly, if I double check this in a program like Arduino IDE simply to see how the board is classified, whether it's wired or wireless, it calls PORT 33 "NRF 52840" despite one using a dongle as a pass data. so while it does occupy a PORT, it doesn't distinguish between how that data is transmitted and the PC doesn't classify them atleast by name as different delivery systems. I can see how there might be conflict.
It sounds like there's no immediate or known solution. I'll tweak the code as I'm sure I can solve this - good to know i'm not crazy though haha that's all I wanted.
re: Nextion, yeah we've chat this before you're probably referring to months ago I brought this up as they expressed a desire to correct some of that but I also get your point as you've likely heard that before which I'm sure is a lot of time dedicated to this that you may have lost. It was clear to me they did not fully grasp the impact simhub has on the community. It wasn't until I laid out the critical nature of the platform did it finally dawn on my contact just how important simhub is and the scope of its use for people with an HMI. so I'll see if I can find a work around that doesn't involve any Nextion support for now.
Nick
Hello,
I saw the steering circuit you tried to make with Bluetooth and this is exactly what I was looking for. I have been researching for a while, I have no problems with circuit and assembly. But I am very new to software. I looked through all the github repositories but I couldn't find much information on how to customise the software. There are many videos of working devices but I couldn't find any information on how to understand how to do it. What I want to do is to run a 3.5 inch nextion display and a few buttons over bluetooth with esp32. Can you help me on how I can upload a code to esp32 or how I can customise it? I would also really like to know what stage your project is currently at.
Thank you in advance.
It's your lucky day as I'm sure you weren't expecting useful info haha I've gotten it down to a science and it'll be a part of my content so fine tuning it for years now - the entire streamlined process that is. So This is will be shorter than I'd like but I'm being direct bc I've spent a lot of time and money failing so others don't have to. If your goal is a bluetooth wheel while limiting the amount of circuit work needed, no problem. Here is what you need:
Electroseed Node Blue service:
I have yet and doubt I ever will find a more simple way to build a board. The general concept leverages the node blue system which is 2 fold: graphical interface and board server. Electroseed is a company that does everything for you as far as the circuit goes. You basically enter the amount of buttons, toggles, nextion screens, etc and it'll run a compatibility check for you to ensure you have a big enough board. The circuit work makes very clever use of complex circuitry to maximize your board. For instance on the Teensy LC which is a tad smaller than the esp32 you have, I've got something like 14 buttons, LEDs and a Nextion 4.3 all on one board. You submit the info and he (Etienne) sends back the software file. You plug in your board and simply flash. DONE. I will say, it's a bit finicky but again it's doing complex work. You have to be sure to adhere to all best practices like don't have simhub or anything open when flashing, make sure the correct boards are selected, etc. but nothing unreasonable. Best of all it's probably very underpriced at only $10 or so. One time, and you have access to the graphical board so you can see all the pinouts like the one in that screenshot i sent previously.
Link to Basic board package (bc you have a nextion, you'll need the display package as an add on but you can select "customized with display" from the drop down): https://www.electroseed.fr/shop/product_info.php?products_id=235
Link to Node Blue info just for your info: https://www.electroseed.fr/shop/product_info.php?products_id=263
Bluetooth Devices
Separately you'll need to invest in boards capable of working with the above. They have a few boards that work with node blue that come from adafruit which is where I prefer. Luckily the bluetooth wheel is one. You'lll need the NRF52840 as well as the usb key dongle. I'll link those below:
- NRF Board: https://www.adafruit.com/product/4062
- NRF Dongle: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5199
Honestly he may even have a service where he'll wire up button to the board for you if you get the button from him store here: https://www.electroseed.fr/shop/index.php?cPath=12
Don't forget if you're using bluetooth, you'll need LiPo battery of some sort. I use a few for my wheels. But I find the 4400mAh right in the sweet spot of not being too large for me ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/354 ) but other wheels it is and i get a smaller one. I assume you know enough about LiPo if you are using bluetooth just reminding you if you do go this route as only the boards he approves work with node blue you can use as a compatible board.
I've tried many, many things and this just works. It takes a bit to get used to but if you really want it to work, it will. bluetooth can be super finicky and this is by far most reliable given how strong the NRF board is and how well Node Blue can stretch pin outs. Plus this is the only way I've ever seen to reliably use a single cable or even no cable if bluetooth but just one board to do both the nextion since it's 5v and a dozen or so buttons.
The guy who runs it is super helpful. Make sure you exhaust your efforts to understand your problem then if you have problems he can help you better the more you understand about your problem. But I'd consider this route if I were you. There's a reason many companies avoid bluetooth. No fun haha but I think this is a fairly doable way if one were committed, not distracted, and interested.
Let me know if you have any questions,
Nick
Honestly, I didn't expect you to write so long. Thank you for every line you wrote. I don't know why I couldn't find the NodeBlue service before. This seems to save me a lot of trouble.
Actually my goal was to do something like in this video (6) bluetooth wheel test... simhub, nextion, ws2812b. - YouTube .
I have an esp32: https://www.direnc.net/esp32-wifi-bluetooth-mini-gelistirme-karti and a 3.5 inch nextion display: https://www.direnc.net/35-inch-nextion-hmi-display-r-rezistif-ekran-dokunmatik .
I bought them for another project, now I decided to use them to make an f1 steering wheel.
I wanted to use SimHub's software for esp32, but I haven't fully grasped the software yet. I saw some people on the forum using it without any problems, so I wanted to try it. You said that Bluetooth steering wheels are less preferred by companies, I wondered why.
Thank you for your advice on the battery. At first I was thinking of using 18650 model batteries for long use. Then I asked myself why I shouldn't go a little further. Now I want to make a fully independent steering wheel using a wireless charging module in my project. All the infrastructure for this is almost ready.
Do you think it makes more sense to transfer the data to the computer using a dongle or to connect it directly to the computer via bluetooth? I recently managed to make a bluetooth gamePad using esp32 and it worked quite well.
I would like to be able to use the screen by making it with SimHub Software. I will try to complete the project as soon as possible. I will let you know if I make any major progress.
Thank you again for your answers, I wish you a good day.
I can't speak to the esp32 as I don't use it and only like to opine where I'm knowledgeable. But so long as it can be seen by your PC as a game device, you should be good to go with simhub software but I haven't even tried to navigate that as I prefer more customization. I do know the software itself is very, very easy though I don't think anyone has done with the Nextion. I know Wotever has backed off Nextion support to a degree but most things are going to be possible.
You can get by with the 18650. That's the equivalent of the 2200mAh from adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1781 . But that's not going to get you terribly far if you're running the nextion. but it certainly does the trick. I'm very picky with LiPo batteries. At the kind of power you need, you need clever circuits to protect and adafruit boards do have charging protection for their LiPo.
You also may need to keep an eye on the voltage. Your nextion requires 5v. The esp32 can get you there but there may be times when you drop if there's a bit of a spike. I run mine with a boost ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/2030 ) which gives me the extra 1.8V in a jam if the wheel oscillates up to 5.2 V or something. Without it, and it's fairly rare, you'll fall out of V coverage from a 5V board.
And for your final question - I'm not sure I understand enough about it to answer. because it sounds as if "connect it directly to the computer via bluetooth?" is inherently not possible. Bluetooth is the signal that allows you to not physically connect. Maybe I'm taking "direct" too literally. That said, yes it is my understanding no matter what you'd use, you'd need some way to transfer data. For my setup above, there's an associated dongle made to operate with the NRF board. I would imagine that's true for any board or there's gotta be some generic dongle for dev boards. But yeah I don't want to lead you astray on the esp32 so I can't say too much though it's a well used board so I'm confident there's forums out there of people using it with bluetooth or atleast have documentation about it.
By direct connection, I meant connecting it to the computer without a dongle. I think some people have worked this way. I even saw projects in working condition, but I could not fully understand because they did not share much information about how it was done. For this reason, I will investigate the NRF and dongle issue in more detail. I will definitely take your advice on voltage into consideration.
I have a lot of innovations in mind and this will take my time. I will give feedback as soon as possible