Upgrade Your Trucking Sims with This PC-Connected CB Mic

Yahtzee Croshaw, of Zero Punctuation fame, coined the term "post-dad games" to refer to titles that simulate blue collar jobs in fantastical settings. But regular old "dad games" are still very popular and give players the opportunity to take on entirely mundane virtual trades. When playing those, a good interface can make all the difference. If trucking sims are your thing, then you'll want to enhance your experience with this PC-connected CB mic designed by Delchi.

Delchi built this device specifically for American Truck Simulator, which puts a player in the driver seat of a big rig cruising along the endless highways of the United States. That can be a single player experience for people who just want to relax, but it also has a multiplayer mode. When playing that way, you'll want a way to talk to other truckers on the road. A standard headset would kill the immersion and that is why Delchi designed this device. It works with any CB mic with the standard 4-pin male plug and lets players use that just like they would on a real CB radio.

This device acts as an adapter between the CB mic and the PC running American Truck Simulator. It has two crucial components: an Adafruit QT PY RP2040 development and a USB sound card dongle.

Delchi's CircuitPython code configuresthe QT PY board so that it appears like a standard USB HID keyboard when plugged into the PC. When you push the button on the CB mic, the QT PY sends a virtual key press to the PC to activate the game's voice chat feature.

The USB sound card dongle takes the audio signal from the CB microphone and passes it to the computer. In order to keep the wiring tidy, Delchi added a compact USB hub. The USB cable from the QT PY and the sound card plug into that hub, so only a single USB cable needs to plug into the PC. Other than the project box to hold these components, the only other hardware required is a female port for the CB mic's cable to plug into.

While thereare CB-style mics on the market built for games like American Truck Simulator, Delchi's adapter device lets you use any real CB mic that you want and we think players will appreciate that freedom.