Simviation Forum - Cockpit Construction Continued (Part 8)

Aug 25^th, 2004 at 11:34pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

More Instrument Panel Facings

Here are some more control panel face plates for the simpit I'm building ...... as are also documented in the "Cockpit Construction Continued (Part 5) thread. All of these will be located on the center pedestal along with the avionics stack. There are more to come too.

They should be pretty much self explanatory.... particularly if you read the stuff in the other thread. Wink

The locations of leds and various types of switches are indicated.

The panel above will have a lot of active flight controls that work in the sim and also light the appropriate leds and such. A combination of toggle and push button switches will be used.

NOTE: On the "Passenger Signs" panel above... when the "Seatbelts" rotary switch is turned to the "on" position the computer will play a tone and a recorded flight announcement of at flight attendant asking people to return to thier seats and fasten seat belts.

An appropriate indicator will also light up for "No Smoking" and "Seat Belts". A red indicator will show for "Evac".

The "Evac" command switch will have a red switch protector mounted over the toggle switch. The "test" function will sound a real piezo alarm.

The lighting panel above will control reall dimmer circuits for the panel lighting and will function as labeled.

The system test panel above will mainly be "eye candy".... although it will have leds that light to reflect swithces being pressed.

The flight door lock panel above will light some leds..... but that is about it. Wink

The emergency lighting control will light appropriate leds and also a 12 V overhead light in the cockpit will come on when in the "on" position.

So...... it continues.

best,

...................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #1 - Aug 26^th, 2004 at 6:16pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Here's what one of the completed instrument panels for the simpit looks like when it is finished:

The background image that I created a while ago was in the thread "Cockpit Construction Continued (Part 5)".

The switches here are all illuminated 12V dc and supply real dc to the noted lights.

This will be mounted to the background panel with large head hex screws at the four corners.

best,

...................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #2 - Aug 27^th, 2004 at 8:25am

SilverFox441 Offline
Colonel
Now What?
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Gender:
Posts: 1467

Nice looking switch panel.

About the Flight Deck door...

Couldn't you tie the green and yellow LED's to an aircraft condition (like airborne) and have it work on the AUTO mode that way? They would still work based on manual swicth position of course.

A little creative electronics and you could have the red LED blink if the aircraft was airborne and the switch was not in the LOCK or AUTO position.

Steve (Silver Fox) Daly

&&

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #3 - Aug 27^th, 2004 at 3:22pm

Fly2e Offline
Global Moderator
It's 5 O'clock Somewhere!
KFRG

Gender:
Posts: 199132

John, you're a real nut! Grin

Dave

Intel Core i7 Extreme Processor 965, 4.2GHz/8MB L3 Cache, Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel X58 Chipset Cross
Fire & SLI Supported, Mushkin Redline 6GB (3X2GB) Memory, eVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285, Vista 64.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #4 - Aug 28^th, 2004 at 5:00pm

alrot Offline
Colonel
Freeware Designers Above
All..

Posts: 10231

that is getting shape,beutifull swich panel jonh

Venezuela

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #5 - Aug 28^th, 2004 at 7:10pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Center Pedestal Layout Taking Shape

I am getting more of the center pedestal instrument panel facings done..... and can really start to see what the center pedestal is going to look like now.

On the left of the throttle in the "bay" next to the pilot seat are two of the eventual four real Goflight 166 radios and also a RP-8 switch module. This setup will form the "radio stack".

Soon, all the control components (switches and knobs) will be mounted on the facings. Then comes the wiring job.... which is another whole major project itself Wink

.

Thanks Alrot....... appreciate the positive feedback. Grin

And Dave...... I take your statement as a total compliment. Wink

SilverFox....... good thoughts. I can write the code to access the FSUIPC data stream to do what you are thinking quite easily....... but since I am not using stuff like EPIC cards........ accurate output control from the sim is difficult. I can approximate it by tying the "cockpit door lock" function to the gear position handle. If the gear is "up".... it's a good bet the plane is in the air (other than on immediate takeoff or final). So a simple "AND" switch logic circuit controling the 12V dc should do it to power a flashing red LED on that panel. Thanks for the suggestion.

Sorry about the fuzzy picture. Roll Eyes

best,

...................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #6 - Aug 29^th, 2004 at 3:53am

SilverFox441 Offline
Colonel
Now What?
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Gender:
Posts: 1467

That'll work, "AND" the UNLOCK and the Gear Handle together...output goes to the red flasher LED.

Steve (Silver Fox) Daly

&&

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #7 - Aug 29^th, 2004 at 7:13am

chuckcrc Offline
Colonel
Simpit builder
Australia

Gender:
Posts: 170

Hi John
great work on those panels. They're a real professional job and finish. I think that doing the face panels first is the way to go because you can see how everything fits together and you can use them as a template to drill the metal work for the contol/switches .

I did mine the other way around and I now having a bit of a struggle to get the graphics to look good. I've ended up using Lettraset which is hard to apply and get straight. Your method is the way to go. Did that graphics software cost much?

cheers
chuck

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #8 - Aug 30^th, 2004 at 1:04am

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

chuck,

Thanks for the kind words.

The program I am using for the panles is called Serif Draw Plus. It came as part of the Serif Publishing Suite..... with the main program being a Pagemaker clone called PagePlus. It also has PhotoPlus and some other stuff. They all will output many broadly compatible file formats... including pdf files.

The draw program is VERY easy to use. The panel facings are a real snap to make. I have "blanks" stored so I just open the basic size I need... and add lettering and lines.

And for some "test" ones, I will output the program to a pdf file on a CD...... and than take them to a place called "Fastsigns" (chain type sign operation) that will output them in black adhesive vinyl..... with the "white" areas cut out (reverse). Put that on a milky white plastic substrate.... and you have the makings of a backlit panel with a few leds behind it. They charge by the sq ft of vinyl... and it'll work out to less than $7.00 per panel. Expensive...... but cheaper than other backlighting options.

The whole Serif Publishing suite only cost me something like $60. I've been using the Serif products for YEARS and YEARS....I started with version 1. I think this one is version 7. Do a web search for them.

best,

...................john

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #9 - Aug 30^th, 2004 at 2:24pm

Fly2e Offline
Global Moderator
It's 5 O'clock Somewhere!
KFRG

Gender:
Posts: 199132

Quote:

And Dave...... I take your statement as a total compliment.

That was my intent! Grin

Dave

Intel Core i7 Extreme Processor 965, 4.2GHz/8MB L3 Cache, Asus P6T Deluxe V2 Intel X58 Chipset Cross
Fire & SLI Supported, Mushkin Redline 6GB (3X2GB) Memory, eVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285, Vista 64.

Back to top

IP Logged

Reply #10 - Oct 2^nd, 2004 at 8:18pm

JBaymore Offline
Global Moderator
Under the curse of the
hombuilt cockpit!

Gender:
Posts: 10261

Wiring Of Cockpit Lights Panel

I got to doing the 12V DC wiring for the the cockpit lights panel which was described above in the thread tonight. This panel will get a main supply of 12V DC from the fuse panel, which then will be controlled by the lighted switches on the panel. These will send the power to various light functions. These are for real lights in the cockpit... not lights in the simulation (when done there will not BE a cockpit in the simulation Wink

).

A couple of the outputs will first be routed to a circuit board that will convert the fixed 12V DC to a variable 0 to 5V DC... connected to the potentiometers located on the light dimming panel installed on the center pedestal.

The connections are made with automotive blade type quick disconnects. This will allow easy servicing of a panel, and facilitate the modular/re-locatable nature of the overall simpit.

The top buss is common to all switches and is the -12V DC... and the bottom is the common + 12V DC. The center pole is the +12V Dc to the unit being controlled. The short leads are the ones that will connect to the various cockpit lights. The long lead is for the + 12V DC source voltage from the power supply.

best,

......................john

PS: Yes, the unit in the background left is a real ventilation unit from a commercial jet. Have to change the 24V DC motor to a 12V DC one for use in my pit.

Intel i7 960 quad 3.2G LGA 1366, Asus P6X58D Premium, 750W Corsair, 6 gig 1600 DDR3, Spinpoint 1TB 7200 HD, Caviar 500G 7200 HD, GTX275 1280M, Logitec Z640, Win7 Pro 64b, CH Products yoke, pedals + throttle quad, simpit

Back to top

IP Logged

	Search the archive: