🚀 DCS-Anywhere

A minimal USB HID and UDP bridge for DCS-BIOS. Connect your panels to any PC, run DCS anywhere.

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✈️ What is DCS-Anywhere?

DCS-Anywhere lets you connect your DCS-BIOS-enabled cockpit panels (built with ESP32 microcontrollers) to any PC on your network, no serial ports, no drivers, no physical link to your DCS computer required.
It uses a high-performance USB HID protocol (no COM ports!) and a Python network bridge that relays DCS-BIOS traffic via UDP multicast.

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🛠️ Requirements

• PC running DCS World with:
  • DCS-BIOS Skunkworks fork installed and exporting UDP traffic
• Panel hardware:
  • ESP32, ESP32-S2, or ESP32-S3 running the ESP32 Arduino Core (only Arduino C++, no MicroPython or STM32!)
  • DCS-BIOS Arduino Library installed in your Arduino IDE
• Host PC for panels (can be Windows, Linux, or Mac)
  • Python 3.7+
  • hidapi, tkinter, and standard libraries (pip install hidapi)
• Network: All machines must be on the same LAN (multicast UDP must be permitted).

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📁 Directory Structure

DCS-Anywhere/
├── DCSBIOS_USB.ino         	# Main ESP32 firmware
├── WiFiDebug.cpp/h            # UDP network logging
├── RingBuffer.cpp/h           # USB/UDP frame buffer
├── GPDevice.cpp/h             # USB HID interface
├── Config.h                   # Device/protocol config
│
├── Tools/
│   ├── DCS_stream_replay.py      # Replay DCS-BIOS UDP streams
│   ├── DCS_commands_logger.py    # Log all UDP commands to DCS
│   ├── UDP_console_debugger.py   # Live debug console for ESP32
│   └── dcsbios_data.json         # Example binary stream data
│
├── HID Manager/
│   └── HID_Manager.py  	   # Python network-to-HID bridge/dashboard
│
├── README.md
└── (plus additional .cpp/.h sources)

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⚡ Key Features

• 🔌 No Serial Ports: All panel communication is via USB HID. No drivers, no COM headaches.
• 🌐 Panels can be remote: Plug your panels into ANY computer on your network (not just your DCS machine)!
• 🧠 Smart network bridge: Python HID Manager auto-detects the DCS PC’s IP via multicast—no user setup.
• 📝 Modern, modular C++ and Python: Easy to adapt for any DCS-BIOS panel project.
• 🛠️ Developer tools: Simulate DCS traffic, log panel commands, and debug over the network.
• 💻 Full cross-platform: Panels and bridge run on Windows, Linux, MacOS.

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🔗 Required Software & Links

• DCS-BIOS Skunkworks (PC):
  https://github.com/DCS-Skunkworks/dcs-bios
• DCS-BIOS Arduino Library (Arduino IDE):
  https://github.com/DCS-Skunkworks/dcs-bios
• ESP32 Arduino Core (for your IDE):
  https://github.com/espressif/arduino-esp32
• Python HIDAPI:
  pip install hidapi
• tkinter (for dashboard GUI; standard with Python on Windows, or sudo apt install python3-tk on Linux)

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🚦 Supported Hardware

• ✔️ ESP32, ESP32S2, ESP32S3 (with Arduino framework)
• ❌ Not supported: STM32, Teensy, MicroPython, ESP8266, or any non-Arduino board.
• ❗ Tested only with Arduino Core for ESP32 using Arduino IDE 2.x. No PlatformIO, ESP-IDF, or other toolchains.

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🏁 Quick Start

1. Flash ESP32 Firmware

• Open DCSBIOS_USB.ino and its dependencies in Arduino IDE.
• Ensure DCS-BIOS Arduino Library and ESP32 Arduino Core are installed.
• Select ESP32S2 Dev Module as your board (or any ESP32 compatible board)
• Upload to your ESP32 panel hardware.

2. Set up DCS World & Skunkworks DCS-BIOS

• On your DCS computer, install DCS-BIOS Skunkworks and enable UDP export.

3. Run the Python HID Manager (on your "panel hub" PC)

• Install Python 3.7+ and hidapi.
• Run:

  python HID\ Manager/HID_Manager.py

• Plug in your ESP32 panel(s).

4. Debug, Log, and Simulate (optional)

• Use Tools/UDP_console_debugger.py for live debug logs.
• Simulate DCS-BIOS streams with Tools/DCS_stream_replay.py.
• Log panel-to-DCS traffic with Tools/DCS_commands_logger.py.

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🌐 How It Works

• DCS World (PC) ➡️ DCS-BIOS UDP Multicast ➡️ Python HID Manager ➡️ USB HID ➡️ ESP32 Panel

• ESP32 Panel ➡️ USB HID FEATURE reports ➡️ Python HID Manager ➡️ UDP ➡️ DCS-BIOS on PC

• The Python script listens for DCS-BIOS UDP multicast frames, splits them into USB packets, and relays to your panels.

• Panel input (buttons, axes) is sent back as ASCII commands via USB HID, forwarded by Python over UDP to DCS-BIOS.

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🖥️ Platform Support

• Panels: ESP32, ESP32S2, ESP32S3 (Arduino C++)
• Hub PC: Any OS with Python 3.7+ (Windows, Linux, macOS)
• DCS World PC: Windows, with DCS-BIOS Skunkworks

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🧩 Included Tools

Tool	Purpose
UDP_console_debugger.py	Shows all ESP32 UDP debug output
DCS_stream_replay.py	Replays a recorded DCS-BIOS stream (from JSON)
DCS_commands_logger.py	Logs all UDP commands sent to DCS
dcsbios_data.json	Sample DCS-BIOS session (for sim/replay)

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🙋 FAQ

Q: Can I use this with any microcontroller?
A: No, only ESP32/ESP32S2/ESP32S3 with Arduino Core are supported.

Q: Do I have to plug my panels into the DCS PC?
A: No! Plug them into any PC, anywhere on your LAN.

Q: Does this work on Mac/Linux?
A: Yes—both for the panel bridge and Python dashboard.

Q: Do I need to manually enter any IP addresses?
A: No. The Python HID Manager listens to multicast and auto-configures everything.

Q: What if I don't have DCS running?
A: You can use the included tools to simulate streams and debug your panels without DCS.

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📄 License

MIT License (see LICENSE)

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Made by the CockpitOS Firmware Project Team.
Plug in, fly anywhere.