737 Sim

Stack

• MS Flight Simulator 2020
• ProSim737
• OpenCockpits SIOC
• ESP32-S3-DEVKITC-1 + nanoFramework

This video provides excellent coverage of ProSim, OpenCockpits SIOC and microcontroller integration. Although he integrates with an Arduino device, the same principles apply to other microcontrollers.

ProSim Setup

Getting started guide can be found here and manual here.

OpenCockpits SIOC Setup

OpenCockpits SIOC can be downloaded here.

ESP32-S3-DevKit Setup

Overview

NOTE: As of 8/2023, the 32MB version of the dev board is not supported by nanoFramework. Follow the GitHub issue here.

The ESP32-S3-WROOM is a general-purpose Wi-Fi + Bluetooth LE MCU module that integrates complete Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE functions. The following versions are available:

• ESP32-S3-WROOM-1: Quad flash, 3.3V SPI voltage, integrated antenna.
• ESP32-S3-WROOM-1U: Quad flash, 3.3V SPI voltage, extenal antenna.
• ESP32-S3-WROOM-2: Octal flash 1.8V SPI voltage.

The ESP32-S3-DevKit is a development board that incorporates the ESP32-S3-WROOM MCU. The following versions are available:

• ESP32-S3-DevKitM-1
• ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 v1.0
• ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1 v1.1

The following development boards are available:

Development Board	MCU	Flash	PSRAM	SPI Voltage	Antenna	Buy
ESP32-S3-DevKitM-1-N8	WROOM-1	8 MB QD		3.3 V	PCB	adafruit
ESP32-S3-DevKitM-1U-N8	WROOM-1	8 MB QD		3.3 V	External
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N8	WROOM-1	8 MB QD		3.3 V	PCB	DigiKey, adafruit
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N8R2	WROOM-1	8 MB QD	2 MB QD	3.3 V	PCB	DigiKey, adafruit
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N8R8	WROOM-1	8 MB QD	8 MB OT	3.3 V	PCB	DigiKey, adafruit
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1U-N8	WROOM-1U	8 MB QD		3.3 V	External	DigiKey
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1U-N8R2	WROOM-1U	8 MB QD	2 MB QD	3.3 V	External	DigiKey
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1U-N8R8	WROOM-1U	8 MB QD	8 MB OT	3.3 V	External	DigiKey
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N16R8V	WROOM-2	16 MB OT	8 MB OT	1.8 V	PCB
ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1-N32R8V	WROOM-2	32 MB OT	8 MB OT	1.8 V	PCB	DigiKey, adafruit

• QD: Quad SPI
• OT: Octal SPI
• U: External antenna
• N: Flash size
• R: PSRAM size
• V: WROOM-2

Board Firmware

The nanoFramework will need to be flashed on the board as described here.

1. Install the nanoFirmwareFlasher:

dotnet tool install -g nanoff

2. Connect the device to the USB port (not USB-to-UART, they are both micro USB connectors).

3. Put the device in download mode:

   • Press and hold the [BOOT] button down
   • Press and Release the [RESET] button
   • Release the [BOOT] button

4. Check which port the device is connected too:

nanoff --listports

Should give the following output (port will vary):

.NET nanoFramework Firmware Flasher v2.5.34+c89f1d1d65
Copyright (C) 2019 .NET Foundation and nanoFramework project contributors


Available COM ports:
  COM6

5. Check connectivity as follows (optional, replace the COM port with the one in the previous step):

nanoff --platform esp32 --serialport COM5 --devicedetails

6. Update the firmware (replace the COM port with the one in the previous step):

nanoff --update --target ESP32_S3 --serialport COM6 -v d

Should give the following output:

.NET nanoFramework Firmware Flasher v2.5.34+c89f1d1d65
Copyright (C) 2019 .NET Foundation and nanoFramework project contributors


Using COM6 @ 1500000 baud to connect to ESP32.
Reading details from chip...
OK

Connected to:
ESP32-S3 (ESP32-S3 (revision v0.1))
Features WiFi, BLE
Flash size 8MB GD25Q64 from GIGADEVICE (manufacturer 0x200 device 0x16407)
PSRAM: undetermined
Crystal 40MHz
MAC 34:85:18:6C:F8:3C

Trying to find ESP32_S3 in stable repository...OK
Downloading firmware package...OK
Extracting ESP32_S3-1.8.1.388.zip...OK

Updating to 1.8.1.388

Erasing flash...OK
Flashing firmware...OK

7. Unplug and replug the device and list the ports:

nanoff --listports

Should give the following output with a different port than the boot loader:

.NET nanoFramework Firmware Flasher v2.5.34+c89f1d1d65
Copyright (C) 2019 .NET Foundation and nanoFramework project contributors


Available COM ports:
  COM4

The device should be ready to use.

Dev Environment

1. Install Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition.
2. Install the nanoFramework Visual Studio extension.
3. Open the device explorer under View > Other Windows > Device Explorer.
4. Add a new "Blank Application (.NET nanoFramework)".
5. Install the following nuget packages:

Install-Package nanoFramework.CoreLibrary
Install-Package nanoFramework.Runtime.Events
Install-Package nanoFramework.System.Device.Gpio
Install-Package nanoFramework.System.IO.FileSystem
Install-Package nanoFramework.Hardware.Esp32
Install-Package nanoFramework.Iot.Device.Ws28xx.Esp32
Install-Package nanoFramework.Json

6. Run the blinky program:

using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Threading;
using Iot.Device.Ws28xx.Esp32;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        // Built in LED positions on ESP32-S3-DevKitC-1
        // v1.0: pin 48
        // v1.1: pin 38

        var led = new Sk6812(48, 1);
        var toggle = false;

        while (true)
        {
            led.Image.SetPixel(0, 0, toggle ? Color.Lime : Color.Black);
            led.Update();
            toggle = !toggle;
            Thread.Sleep(500);
        }
    }
}