Hank HOWTO - Using the Steering Wheel

This document describes the procedures for starting the steering wheel driver process on the Linux box.

The Source Code and Executable

The current (and working) version of the source code that reads the data from the ThrustMaster steering wheel will always be kept in the directory

/home/hank/ThrustMaster_Driver

This directory is located in the hank account on soybean and generally should contain the following files:

Makefile - Makefile for compiling the steerio program
steerio.c - source code that reads the gameport and sends steering wheel information over a serial line to a SGI.
steerio.o - object code for source.
steerio - executable

To compile the source, type make.

This program reads the steering wheel, pedal, and button information from the ThrustMaster steering wheel joystick and sends the information over a serial line. The program

Usage

steerio [-v] [/dev/cua0 | /dev/cua1]

By default, if no argument is supplied, /dev/cua0 will be used and the program will not print steering wheel values as it runs. If you specify the -v option, you will a screen update of the values being sent to the SGI.

If you would like confirmation that the connection between the PC and SGI has been made properly there is a program in the hank account which will read from the serial port and produce output on the screen. I'll detail this program shortly.

The Cables

The other important factor for getting the steering wheel to work is making sure the cables are hooked up appropriately. We have three sets of cables that can be used on soybean. Each cable is labeled by a plastic yellow tag and should always be found in the lab.

Gameport Extender Cable

This cable basically extends the reach of the steering wheel so we can run (as well as drive) the hank simulator on SGIs that are not immediately next to soybean. This cable is a basic DB-15 (Female) to DB-15 (Male) connector cable. The pins go straight through.

This cable is marked by the tag DB15-DB15.

PC to Onyx Serial Connector Cable

This cable connects the PC to the Onyx via a serial port connection. The PC side of this cable is a DB-9 (Female) plug and can be plugged into either of the two nine-pin serial ports on the back of the PC. The first port (labeled "A" on the back of the PC) corresponds to the UNIX serial device /dev/cua0 while the second port (labeled "B" on the back of the PC) corresponds to the serial device /dev/cua1.

The SGI side of this cable is a DB-9 (Male) plug and can only be used to connect the PC to our Onyx. You should plug this cable into the tty2 port on the back of tractor. This port is labeled on tractor.

Pin Outs

I'll place a pinout table here so we know how it's hooked up.

DB-9 (Female)	DB-9 (Male)
data1	data2
data1	data2

This cable is marked by the tag DB9-DB9.

PC to Personal Iris/Indigo/Indy

This cable connects the PC to an Indigo or Indy SGI via a serial port connection. Again, the PC side of this cable is a DB-9 (Female) plug and can be plugged into either of the two nine-pin serial ports on the back of the PC. The first port (labeled "A" on the back of the PC) corresponds to the UNIX serial device /dev/cua0 while the second port (labeled "B" on the back of the PC) corresponds to the serial device /dev/cua1.

The SGI side of this cable is a Mini-DIN-8 (Male) plug and can be used to connect the PC to any of our Indy, or Indigo workstations. As before, I suggest plugging this cable into the second DIN-8 serial port on the back of these workstations.

Pin Outs

I'll place a pinout table here so we know how it's hooked up.

This cable is marked by the tag DB9-DIN8.

Other Cables

There are two other cables that resemble the above cables. These are unmarked and were used to communicate between the old PC (Gateway 2000 P5-75) and the SGIs. These will not work with the current setup.