Building a full-sized cockpit

[Justin]

i f'ing love this thread, please keep the updates coming

 

[Witcher1979]

i f'ing love this thread, please keep the updates coming

I could not agree more.

 

[Ed.D]

i f'ing love this thread, please keep the updates coming

I could not agree more.

+1 here too.



I have to ask, Salaxi, how come you mounted the panel switches through wood and plexi glass and not directly into the plexi glass? :huh:


All the best.

 

[salaxi54]

Gee, thanks for all the kind comments fellas!
@Ed.D: Easy to explain! Have a look at a fine replica example:
http://www.simpits.org/fileproc/files/My_ICP_Done.jpg
Notice there's actually three (3) elevations to the fascia!
The frontmost being the one with the 6 round buttons, then the main one with all the rest of the switches, and another underneath it.
As most hobbyists, i chose plexiglass for the 2 of them, but i went a bit different on the bottom one. Reason is, my gear (tools) does not permit me to risk too many errors ($$). I feared if i stress plexiglass enough while fastening the nuts that secure the switches, i would easily have cracks around the holes. Now wood, is a much softer material, and can take more stress than plexi..
However, not all panels will be built like that. Most have just one construction layer. Which means, that i will either have to build them solely out of wood, or borrow/rent quality tools picard) to make things safer.
I will be building the smallest panel next just for experimentation using only plexiglass to see how it goes, and decide depending on the results!

 

[salaxi54]

Just a small improvement on the round buttons..

 

[protek]

Whoa that looks totally awesome! My switch panel wasn't even close to that quality. Perhaps that's why I ended up ordering the Saitek Pro Flight panels.

 

[salaxi54]

Thanks for the kind words Protek! Now, d'you fellas remember a couple of months ago i showed you some bottle caps? Well, it's time we use them!

Had to cut 4 pieces of wood that would fit inside the caps to fill the blank space. (When outta dough one must save on resin...)

Here's how they fill the blank

This is a dimmer pcb attached to the cap

And a screw on the outer side

A few coats of white spray...

And here's the before,

..and after

Some minor details left there.. as always, stay tuned

 

[salaxi54]

Here's another minor update. The 'fingerguards' lol

It's the plastic thingies between the square buttons..

And buttons in place.. (not yet secured though)

These buggers kept me busy all day, but there's so much detail still to be done..

 

[salaxi54]

Here's a quiz for the electronics wizards!
I need to power 7 (white) LEDs. They're at 3vdc, 0.02 Amps
So, i tested 3 in series, powered by a 12vdc psu, using a 68 Ohm resistor inbetween. So far, so good. The 3 LEDs actually power up, and i have sufficient illumination. My thinking is to do 3 sets:
1x3 LEDs and 2x2 LEDs all sets in series.
The 3-LED set will have the 68 Ohm resistor, and each 2-LED set an 270 Ohm resistor. Can they all be powered though from the same psu, or will it act as if they were all sets connected in parallel?
Thanks for any suggestions! The psu is rated at 4,8 Watts

 

[Templar]

I'm not an electronic wizard, but I just want to say that you're doing a fabulous work mate.

 

[ptyerman]

Here's a quiz for the electronics wizards!
I need to power 7 (white) LEDs. They're at 3vdc, 0.02 Amps
So, i tested 3 in series, powered by a 12vdc psu, using a 68 Ohm resistor inbetween. So far, so good. The 3 LEDs actually power up, and i have sufficient illumination. My thinking is to do 3 sets:
1x3 LEDs and 2x2 LEDs all sets in series.
The 3-LED set will have the 68 Ohm resistor, and each 2-LED set an 270 Ohm resistor. Can they all be powered though from the same psu, or will it act as if they were all sets connected in parallel?
Thanks for any suggestions! The psu is rated at 4,8 Watts

I would say no, not if they're wired in series. At 3v each your 1x3 LED's are pulling 9v and the resistor will add a little to that, and your 2x2 set will require another 12v.

 

[salaxi54]

I would say no, not if they're wired in series. At 3v each your 1x3 LED's are pulling 9v and the resistor will add a little to that, and your 2x2 set will require another 12v.

Hmm! Maybe an alternate connectivity method would do the job?
For instance, if i were to connect 4 LEDs in series, i bet the same 12vdc psu would if be adequate, but i still would need to power another 3 LEDs...
I read in various places that parallel connection is not recommended, but dunno why. It would've been an advantage, cause in series, when 1 LED goes off, they all do! icard

 

[ptyerman]

I would say no, not if they're wired in series. At 3v each your 1x3 LED's are pulling 9v and the resistor will add a little to that, and your 2x2 set will require another 12v.

Hmm! Maybe an alternate connectivity method would do the job?
For instance, if i were to connect 4 LEDs in series, i bet the same 12vdc psu would if be adequate, but i still would need to power another 3 LEDs...
I read in various places that parallel connection is not recommended, but dunno why. It would've been an advantage, cause in series, when 1 LED goes off, they all do! icard

Yes, if you wire in parallel then the LED's will be receiving 12v each and the current draw increases by each LED added, wire in series and the current stays almost steady but the voltage is added to by each LED. If they were 12v LED's you would be fine wiring them in parallel but being at 3v they would probably blow! If you could reduce the voltage closer to 3v, you would be fine then, the current rating is plenty for wiring them in parallel.

 

[salaxi54]

Thanks! I'll have to do some calculations for the resistors now..

 

[ptyerman]

Thanks! I'll have to do some calculations for the resistors now..

Bringing the voltage down with resistors should be fine, use 5 watt or higher and keep in mind that they might get quite warm or even hot to the touch. If you can get it down to anywhere around 5v the LED's should be ok at that and bright.

 

[TheCorfiot]

@salaxi

I will post some parts out for you tomorrow my friend.

TC

 

[salaxi54]

@salaxi

I will post some parts out for you tomorrow my friend.

TC

Ooooh! Awesome!! Looking forward to that Bas!

@all: Thanks for the kind words fellas!

---------- Post added at 21:39 ---------- Previous post was at 21:09 ----------

Forgot to post the usual pic..

Test-driving the 3 LEDs

 

[salaxi54]

Latest update.. Let there be light!

Experimentation went well, and as you can probably see, there's 7 LEDs illuminating simultaneously. I did a set of 5 LEDs in series, and another set of 2 LEDs in series, and had the two sets connected to the same power supply hooked in parallel. Yeah, i know icard
By the way, in order to do that, i chose a 15vdc psu, and had the 5-pack connected with a 270 Ohm resistor, and the 2-pack with a 540 Ohm resistor. What you see here is illumination in max, with the pot in operation.
This will rarely be the case, as i think a lower setting is more ideal, but it's still good to know that the potentiometer is doing its job.
Pic is a bit dark, as i opted not to use a flash..

 

[johnim]

great mate coming on nicely

 

[jvdbossc]

quite surprising project, but keeps coming in, i love these kind of projects